November 2013 – Missions Catalyst

Missions Catalyst 11.27.13 – Resource Reviews

In This Issue: The birth of the Kazakh church, devotions for advent, and prayer for the persecuted

Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!

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Marti Wade is a writer, speaker, and project manager for the Church Partnerships Team at Pioneers. As a mission mobilizer, she has also trained and sent out many short-term teams to do relationship-based research to serve among the world’s least-reached peoples.

Marti has managed and published Missions Catalyst since 2004 and is the author of Through Her Eyes, a book about the lives of women serving cross-culturally in the Muslim world. She and her husband Chris live in Oregon.

BOOK: Church Planting in Central Asia

Source: James Wright

Fields of Gold: Planting a Church among Central Asian Muslims, by James Wright. Create Space, 2013, 150 pages.

Fields of Gold tells the story of the remarkable beginnings of the Kazakh church in southern Kazakhstan. James Wright, along with his family and teammates, went to rural Kazakhstan in the early 1990s. Working to introduce the good news of the Messiah Jesus in the Central Asian context, his international church-planting team learned many valuable lessons about living as witnesses among an unreached people. A companion study guide draws upon their story to explore issues of working across cultures and offers insights for personal growth. The book provides many cultural and missiological insights, all seen through the lens of the author’s personal pilgrimage.

The real strength of this book is the way it pulls back the curtain on the struggles faced by frontline workers not only in rural 1990s Central Asia, but also in other times and places. Fields of Gold covers difficult ground frequently experienced by frontline missionaries but glossed over in missionary biographies: the mixed excitement and disappointment of raising support, painful effects of cultural immersion on one’s idealism, team tensions and breakup, conflicts and false accusations from other believers, and the bouts of depression and burnout that can bring down cross-cultural workers who may not know how to slow down or take a break. The author provides helpful reflections on ways to navigate these challenges, grow though them, and avoid missionary attrition. His experiences and what he learned from them offer insights to those who care for and support cross-cultural workers as well as those who go.

“It reminds me of 2 Corinthians 4:7,” writes Dr. Rick Love in an endorsement: “‘We have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.'”

I’d recommend this book to anyone involved in Central Asian church planting but would hope it finds a wider audience as well.

» Learn more or purchase the Kindle edition for US$4.99 (US$7.19 for the paperback). The study guide is sold separately.

WEB SERVICE: iCommitToPray

Source: Voice of the Martyrs

Christians in more than 60 nations face persecution and request our prayers. The Voice of the Martyrs is introducing its newest prayer initiative at iCommitToPray.

Members can read prayer requests from around the world and post their own prayers for the persecuted Christians highlighted on the site each week. Whenever possible, Voice of the Martyrs will share those prayers with the persecuted believers.

» Learn more or sign up.

BOOK: Daily Readings for Advent

Source: Desiring God, via Doug Nichols

Good News of Great Joy: Daily Readings for Advent is designed especially for Advent 2013. With readings beginning Sunday, December 1, and going through Christmas Day, this free book of Advent devotionals aims to put Jesus at the center of your holiday season.

These short meditations are excerpted from the ministry of John Piper and correspond to the daily readings in Desiring God’s free devotional app, Solid Joys.

» Learn more or download the book.

WEB SERVICE: Visual Bible Stories in Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin, and More

Source: Distant Shores Media

New drafts of Open Bible Stories translations in Farsi and Arabic are now available. If you (or someone you know) can read them, please check them out. A translation in Mandarin is underway, and producers will be traveling to Europe next month to meet with believers from Central Asia to help them start Open Bible Stories translation projects into regional languages in that part of the world.

» Learn more or access materials.

BOOK: Singles in Mission

Source: Condeo Press, via Brigada Today

Single Mission: Thriving as a Single Person in Cross-cultural Ministry, edited by Dr. Debbie Hawker and Rev. Tim Herbert. Condeo Press, 2013, 313 pages.

Single Mission aims to encourage and equip single missionaries and help them be strong in their faith, effective in their ministry, and resilient and content with their lives. The book is written for single missionaries as well as their supporters and member care providers. It includes contributions from more than 30 women and men from diverse backgrounds on six continents.

» Learn more or purchase the Kindle edition for US$8.95; paperback also available.

» See also Ron Kotesky’s free online articles about singles in missions (Missionary Care).

EVENTS: December Conferences and Courses

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

December 4 – Kingdom Expansion 101 Facilitated Course (online). Six-session introduction to local and global outreach. Provided by DualReach.

December 5 – Church Planting as a Family – Possibilities and Problems (online). Webinar by Missio Nexus.

December 9-11 – Mobile Ministry Consultation (Orlando, FL, USA). On how to reach the next generation for Christ via mobile device strategies.

December 12 – Nurturing an Organizational Culture with a Developmental Bias (online). Webinar by Missio Nexus.

December 27-30 – Cross Conference (Louisville, KY, USA). A new student missions conference, for the global glory of Jesus Christ.

December 28 to January 2 – Mission-Net (Offenburg, Germany). Gathering of younger Christians passionate about serving God.

» View the complete calendar and/or submit an item. Note that our January 1 edition will list all the mission events we know about for 2014. Let us know what to include!

Missions Catalyst 11.21.13 – World News Briefs

In This Issue: Ways to pray for the nations

About Us

Pat Noble has been the “news sleuth” for Missions Catalyst since 2004. In addition to churning out the news, she is working to create a SWARM (Serving World A Regional Mobilizers) in Northern New York using the NorthernChristian.org website. You can connect with her at www.whatsoeverthings.com.

PHILIPPINES: Devastation Heartbreaking

Source: Christian Aid, November 11, 2013

As their nation reels from incomprehensible destruction in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, several Philippine ministries are pleading for immediate help and steadfast prayers.

One of the strongest storms in recorded history – with winds reaching upwards of 235 mph – slammed ashore November 8 in the central Philippines. Tens of thousands are feared dead and more than half a million are now homeless.

Entire coastal villages were swept away by giant waves reminiscent of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. The wide swath of structural destruction across the archipelago has directly affected some 4 million Filipinos.

The city of Tacloban on the island of Leyte was hit particularly hard, where the death toll is expected to rise to thousands.

Recovery efforts will take months, even years, and structural damage has been immense across the central Philippines. However, survival is the most pressing concern now, and water, food, and shelter are critically needed.

“The devastation on the islands is heartbreaking,” said a ministry partner. “We covet your prayers.”

» Read full story.

» Reports of how specific groups are responding to this disaster are too numerous to include here, but see How Churches Can Help without Hurting after Super Typhoon Haiyan (Christianity Today). Learn more about praying for the Philippines (Prayercast) and Muslims in the Philippines (30-days).

BRUNEI: Stricter Sharia

Source: Worthy News, October 23, 2013

The Sultan of Brunei has announced the implementation of severe corporeal punishments as his sultanate shifts towards a stricter interpretation of Sharia law, according to The Standard.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah – who first instituted Islamic law in 1966 – said a new Sharia Penal Code would soon be implemented in phases; punishments will now include stoning to death for adultery, severing of limbs for theft, and flogging for the consumption of alcohol.

Currently, Brunei has a dual court system with civil courts based on British law and Sharia courts that were limited to family issues and personal disputes.

» Read full story and a related story (PBS NewsHour), as well as more information about Brunei (Operation World) and how to pray for Brunei (Window International Network).