Day: September 30, 2015

Missions Catalyst Resource Reviews 9.30.15

1. WEBSITES: Ten Sites for Those with TCKs
2. SERVICE: Online Mission Trip Planning Tool
3. WEBINAR SERIES: Missionary Care for Churches
4. ARTICLE: “I Wish My Church Understood”
5. EVENTS: October Classes and Conferences

Dear Readers,

Ready for some armchair travel or training? We’re excited to tell you about great websites for families with third-culture kids as well as a new web-based service for managing short-term teams called “My Mission Journey.”

A good number of webinars and web-based workshops are planned for October. These include a four-session series for mission leaders and several webinars from Missio Nexus. DELTA Ministries has a webinar on managing risk for short-term teams. Sixteen:Fifteen is offering a free, three-part series for sending churches dealing with missionary care (more info on this below).

Several longer courses are about to launch as well, including another six-week course from the Mobile Ministry Forum on using mobile technology for ministry, and an online “Perspectives” class. To learn more, see the events list below (which also includes events where people actually meet face to face!)

I’ve recently learned of several ministries that work with mission groups to provide high-quality online training courses for cross-cultural workers. Check out Crosswired and Grow2serve. I’m also keeping an eye on several newer projects, Culture Voyager and Missions Academy.

Few (if any) of these sites and services could have existed when Missions Catalyst began tracking mission resources twenty years ago. Isn’t it great to see today’s technologies harnessed for the kingdom? May God be glorified!

Blessings,
Marti Wade

Source: Tim Smith, Pioneers USA

Are you a parent serving cross-culturally? Maybe your church or ministry supports or partners with families serving internationally. One of my colleagues at Pioneers who works with families put together this list of his favorite websites and blogs by, for, or about missionary kids (MKs) and other “third-culture” kids (TCKs). These sites will lead you to many other resources, too.

• Michele Phoenix: This popular blog by TCK author and speaker Michele Phoenix includes lots of articles for understanding TCKs.
• TCKid: Site serves as a home for third-culture kids of all ages.
• The Mama Bear Effect: Site focuses on building stronger families and protecting children from sexual abuse.
• Slurping Soup: True stories and activities to help TCKs through transition.
• Cross Cultural Kids Blog: Ruth Van Reken’s website for cross-cultural kids, about whom Ruth Van Reken and David Pollock “wrote the book.”
• Taylor Joy Murray: Insightful blog of a 17-year old TCK from Japan.
• Empowered to Connect: Site from Dr. Karyn Purvis on adoption and attachment is not directly about TCKs but excellent for any parent wanting to connect with their child.
• Among Worlds: Learn what TCKs may become through this publication for adult TCKs. A related blog is no longer being updated but includes interesting articles and links.
• Denizen: Check out this (secular) online magazine by and for TCKs.
• A Life Overseas: This popular multi-voice mission blog isn’t just for mission families, but it covers issues that concern them.

» Comment on the Missions Catalyst website or Facebook page to let us know what resources you find helpful.

Source: STM Toolbox

Looking for tools to help you with mission trip planning? My Mission Journey is an online mission trip planning tool for the team members and leaders. Designed to be simple and focused, this planning tool has the following features:

• Online fundraising capacity
• Team member blogs
• Access to team documents and training materials
• Downloadable helps for leaders

Pricing starts at US$25 per person, and you can “test drive” it before you sign up by accessing demo pages.

This is a brand-new resource, launching October 1, so we can’t tell you about its track record of success. The folks at STM Toolbox have, however, spent the last five years serving churches, schools, and mission organizations as they implement short-term mission strategies and asking those partners what kind of help they need. This resource is designed with those needs in mind.

» Visit My Mission Journey or check out other resources from STM Toolbox.

» See also Software and Services: What tools can I use to track team members, budgets, donors, and details? (ShortTermMissions.com).

Source: Sixteen:Fifteen

Does your church send out missionaries? In a free, three-part webinar series through Sixteen:Fifteen, Jeff Jackson of Shepherd’s Staff describes three essential structures you can establish to effectively send and care for your church’s missionaries. You will have to register in order to participate, but there’s no cost. You can sign up for just one of the one-hour sessions, or participate in all three.

• October 14: Session 1, Making It Practical
• October 21: Session 2, Creating a Missionary Nurture Team
• October 28: Session 3, Building a Missionary Crisis Management Team

» Learn more or register for these sessions.

» You might also want to check out this year’s International Conference on Missions, October 29 to November 1 in Richmond, Virginia, which will feature a track on Equipping Local Churches for Missionary Care.

Source: Catalyst Services

How can we establish and maintain healthy dialog between global workers and their sending and supporting churches? Transparency and sensitivity on the part of both parties are essential.

The August issue of Postings features hypothetical conversations that highlight what churches sometimes say to their missionaries and what global workers may be thinking. It then suggests alternate church messages that could open doors for greater transparency and benefit.

» Read the article or download it as a 6-page PDF. We’d also encourage you to subscribe or browse the archives.

Source: Missions Events Calendar

October 1-3, Open B4T Expo (Minneapolis, MN, USA). Transforming Nations through Business.

October 1-3, Oasis Conference West (Brentwood, CA, USA). Crescent Project annual conference held on the west coast.

October 2-3, Mission Next Forum (Tulsa, OK, USA). Find your fit in missions.

October 5 to February 15, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement Course (online). Provided by the Perspectives Study Program.

October 6, Mobile Ministry Training Course (online). Start of six-week class, repeated several times a year. Learn how to use mobile technology for evangelism.

October 7, Evaluating and Recalibrating Your Ministry (online). Start of web workshop from Missio Nexus; four Wednesdays in October.

October 8, Missions Funding and Global Missions (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 9-10, Missions Fest Seattle (Edmonds, WA, USA).

October 10, Bridges Seminar (Huntington, WV, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

October 11-16, ABIDE (Joplin, MO, USA). Re-entry and debriefing for singles, couples, and families provided by TRAIN International.

October 14, Missionary Care: Making It Practical (online). Free webinar for sending churches, part 1 of 3 from Sixteen:Fifteen.

October 15, Hospitality and the Great Commission (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 16-18, THARS Security Seminar (Mi-Wuk Village, CA, USA). Provided by Morton Security Solutions.

October 19-20, Support-raising Bootcamp (Rogers, AR, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

October 19-22, Thrive Retreat (Rimini, Italy). Refreshment and renewal for North American women serving cross-culturally.

October 19-23, Kairos Course (Louisville, KY). Intensive one-week version.

October 21, Missionary Care: Creating a Missionary Nurture Team (online). Free webinar for sending churches, part 2 of 3 from Sixteen:Fifteen.

October 24, Bridges Seminar (Des Moines, IA, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

October 27, Evaluating and Managing Risk on Your Short-term Mission (webinar). Provided by DELTA Ministries.

October 28: Missionary Care: Creating a Missionary Crisis Management Team (online). Free webinar for sending churches, part 3 of 3 from Sixteen:Fifteen.

October 29, When Helping Hurts: Cross-Cultural Leader Development (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 29 to November 1, International Conference on Missions (Richmond, VA, USA). Conference of the Christian Church/Churches of Christ.

October 31, Heart for Muslims Conference (New York, NY, USA).

» View the complete calendar and/or submit an item. It’s time to start putting together our 2016 calendar. We’d appreciate your help!