March 2018 – Missions Catalyst

Winsome ways to share the gospel | Resource Reviews

Greetings!

It’s been a while since we’ve talked about books; see brief blurbs below for some new and noteworthy volumes on a variety of topics. We’ve also got some free stuff for you, including an evangelism training course and instructions for a simulation of the refugee experience. Plus there are upcoming conferences and events. Is there something for you in this edition? Have a look.

Blessings,
Marti Wade

VIDEO CURRICULUM: Our Gospel Story

Source: Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College

How many people do you think you’ve shared the gospel message with this year? Twenty? Ten? Five? One? Zero? Research shows that 79% of unchurched people would engage in a faith conversation if their Christian friends asked; however, only 39% of Christians shared how to become a Christian with someone in the past six months.

Our Gospel Story is a free, online collection of related resources meant to move you to show and share the love of Jesus with those around you in winsome and creative ways. It includes an interactive video with evangelism scenarios, training videos, a downloadable curriculum, and other resources. The six-lesson curriculum can be used individually or with groups.

» Learn more or access the materials. Looks like these are very thoughtful and high-quality resources.

» You might also be interested in the Gospel Life Podcast.

DOCUMENTARY: Evidence of the Death of Christ

Source: Ronald Clements, Malcolm Steer, and Roger Malstead

Jesus: Dead and Buried? is a 47-minute documentary that looks at the evidence, historical and medical, for the death of Jesus as a real event in history. Join Luke Waldock as he gets expert opinion and travels to Jerusalem to see the places where Jesus himself would have walked during the last few hours of his life.

Though this video can stand alone, it’s third in a series that addresses some of the most common objections or misunderstanding about Christianity in a positive and respectful way. The Jesus Accounts: Fact or Fiction? is focused on the reliability of the Gospels, while Jesus: Son of God? clarifies what Christians mean when we say Jesus is divine. Both are also free online in English and the languages of many of those most likely to struggle with these issues.

» Watch the trailer or order Jesus: Dead and Buried? on DVD. Not posted online yet, but I expect it will be and will let you know.

SIMULATION: How It Feels to Be a Refugee

Source: Women’s Missionary Union, via Loving the Stranger

“Refugee.” The very word evokes strong emotions. These emotions cross the spectrum from pity, doubt, and fear to love, compassion, and benevolence. How does your faith community respond?

Seeking Refuge: A Refugee Simulation is designed to help the American church empathize with refugees by understanding their experiences before they arrived in America. Use with students and/or adults, with suggested adaptations to help you customize the experience for your participants.

» Sign up for this free resource by email. You can learn more from an article at Loving the Stranger, a blog which also includes more great material about welcoming immigrants, etc.

BOOKS: New and Noteworthy

Sources: various

Spirituality and Missions

Sojourner’s Workbook: A Guide to Thriving Cross-Culturally, by Connie Befus. BottomLine Media, 2018. 142 pages; paperback. Does it have to be this hard, or are there ways to make cross-cultural adjustment easier? The author, a skilled counselor, blends psychologically based coping skills with scriptural truth and spiritual disciplines. This book, built around seven goals for a missionary’s first year, might be especially effective in the hands of team and ministry leaders as they equip and encourage new workers.

Spirituality in Missions: Embracing the Lifelong Journey, edited by John Amalraj, Geoffrey W. Hahn, and William D. Taylor. William Carey Library, 2018. 438 pages; ebook or paperback. Authors from 18 countries give us their perspectives on biblical principles and cultural expressions of spirituality particularly as the church engages in God’s mission.

History and Global Christianity

Jerusalem to Timbuktu: A World Tour of the Spread of Christianity, by Brian C. Stiller. IVP Books, 2018. 248 pages; ebook or paperback. What led to the church’s vibrant growth throughout the “Global South”? Brian Stiller of the World Evangelical Alliance draws on extensive research to identify and describe five key factors that have shaped the church, from a renewed openness to the move of the Holy Spirit to the empowerment of indigenous leadership.

Stiller’s book arrived while I was reading two others that cover some of the same ground, both published by academic publishers in 2015:

Scott Sunquist’s The Unexpected Christian Century: The Reversal and Transformation of Global Christianity, 1900-2000 explains how “Christianity moved from being centered in Christian nations to being centered in non-Christian nations” with surprising rapidity and in the process became stronger than ever. Great book.

Douglas Jacobsen’s Global Gospel: An Introduction to Christianity on Five Continents provides a brief history of four Christian traditions and their historical and contemporary expression in Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia and North America. (Prefer video? See the Global Christianity channel on YouTube for free videos designed to accompany Jacobsen’s book.)

Memoir

Love, Amy: An Accidental Memoir Told in Newsletters from China, by Amy Young. CreateSpace, 2017. 252 pages; ebook or paperback. This book sounds like a fun read, neatly providing three things: an epistolary memoir of one missionary’s experience, a window on life in China, and a tool to help cross-cultural workers write better newsletters to their supporters (with tips and tools at the end of each section).

Evangelism and Apologetics

A Christian Reads the Qur’an, by James Wright. CreateSpace, 2018. 290 pages; ebook or paperback. This unusual book, written primarily for those who revere the Qur’an but also for those who want to share the good news with them, is a conversation between a Muslim and a Christian walking through the pages of the Qur’an and bridging to an understanding of Jesus as revealed in the Gospels.

Education

Finally, here’s one for the homeschooling families. Mission: World Wonders Reading Plan is a curated reading list and curriculum integrating a study of world history, world missions, and world cultures. Quite the package!

EVENTS: Upcoming Conferences and Courses

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

April 5, Honor, Shame, and the Gospel course (online). Six sessions from Mission ONE’s Werner Mischke.

April 6-7, The Journey Deepens (Portland, OR, USA). A weekend retreat for prospective missionaries.

April 8-13, ABIDE (Joplin, MO, USA). Debriefing and reentry help for returning missionaries from TRAIN International.

April 10, OnMission 2018 (online). Free, three-hour streaming conference from Missio Nexus. Theme: partnership.

April 14, Refugee and International Student Ministry Conference (Atlanta, GA, USA). Sponsored by the Foursquare Church.

April 20, Innovation in Mission: Developing a Culture of Innovation (online). Live web event from InChrist Communications.

April 23 to May 6, ORIENT (Joplin, MO, USA). Missionary training from TRAIN International.

April 26-27, Support Raising Bootcamp (Rogers, AR, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

April 26 to May 24, Foundations of Media Strategy (online). Mentored course on using social media for deeper conversations and disciple-making.

April 30 to May 1, Standards Introductory Workshop (Phoenix, AZ, USA). Presented by Standards of Excellence in Short-term Missions.

May 1-3, International Wholistic Missions Conference (Phoenix, AZ, USA). An annual event.

May 4-5, Without Borders Women’s Conference (Sioux Falls, SD, USA). Training for ministering among Muslim women. Provided by Crescent Project.

May 7 to September 9, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online).

May 8 to June 6, Mobiles in Mission: Using the Tool in Everyone’s Pocket (online). Mentored course for field workers on leveraging outreach opportunities.

May 12, GOfest Global (Ware, Hertfordshire, UK). An annual missions conference.

May 15 to June 14, 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World (global). An annual prayer campaign.

May 16-17, Interchange Conference (Wayne, PA, USA). From Catalyst Services, bringing together church and agency mission leaders.

May 20, International Day for the Unreached (global). An annual event.

May 31 to June 2, ACMI Annual Conference (Philadelphia, PA, USA). An annual event from the Association of Christians Ministering to Internationals.

» View the complete calendar. Please let us know about mistakes or omissions. For more details, contact the event organizers.

Stories you won’t hear on the news | World News Briefs

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Algeria small The Church is growing in Algeria, though facing opposition. Stories from Christian Aid via Mission Network News, below. (Image from Omar-DZ/Flikr)

ALGERIA: Secularization, an Unexpected Friend to the Gospel
CHINA: Plea for Prayer as Persecution Increases
UGANDA: Refugee Stories You Won’t Hear on the News
MYANMAR: An Open Door for the Gospel
TURKEY: Andrew Brunson May Face a Life Sentence

ALGERIA: Secularization, an Unexpected Friend to the Gospel

Source: Mission Network News, March 15, 2018

The church in Algeria has been growing, but [as] Christian Aid Mission’s David Bogosian shares, “Many who become Christian don’t go directly from Islam to Christianity. They go from Islam to agnosticism to atheism and then to Christianity. So, a huge number of people that are coming into the church have first been secularized. The trend of secularization happening in the Muslim world is probably the fastest growing demographic, ideological, religious demographic change in history.”

This is going on all over the Arab world in places like Iran, Turkey, and Libya… any place that’s experienced or has been affected by radical Islam or Islamic extremists. And between the Arab Springs and the continued Islamic violence against other Muslims in the name of a common god, a lot of people have begun deconstructing their beliefs. They’re questioning their faiths and the ideas which have served as foundations for their lives.

“And that’s actually the first step into the arms of loving God,” Bogosian explains. “As odd as that might sound, you know, to go in that direction. It’s actually something that God is using to bring people to himself.”

» Read full story. Another from the same sources reports opposition: Churches Closed in Algeria, Symptom of Uptick in Persecution.

CHINA: Plea for Prayer as Persecution Increases

Source: Asia Harvest, March 2018

In the past 18 months, the situation for Christians in China has dramatically worsened. At the start, we hesitated to publicly share new information from China for a few reasons. Some of the news we have received from church leaders is so dire that most believers around the world simply wouldn’t believe it if we told them. We also wanted to make sure these things were not part of a short-term crackdown, as over the years we have seen numerous seasons of persecution come and go in China.

However, we believe it is now time to present the known facts, to help people understand what our fellow believers are experiencing right now.

Few Christians around the world imagined that China would ever return to its intense anti-Christian persecutions like during Mao’s rule, but things are lining up for a brutal and prolonged period of struggle for Christians in China. In many ways, because of new technology, believers face an even greater challenge than during the dark days of the Cultural Revolution.

» Full story includes analysis, prayer points, and links to other sources on the topic.

» Watch the five-minute video, In Your Face: China’s All-Seeing State (BBC) or listen to a podcast interview, China Just Made Life Way Harder for Christians (Christianity Today).

UGANDA: Refugee Stories You Won’t Hear on the News

Source: International Mission Board, March 16, 2018

I work with refugees in Africa, and it’s not at all what I thought it would be. I expected it to be about meeting needs and helping people, sort of a one-way transfer of blessing and Christian encouragement. On some level, maybe I thought I would be overwhelmed by the plight of Christian refugees grappling with the goodness or existence of God in what is understandably difficult circumstances for faith.

I wasn’t prepared to be inspired by their faith every time I went into the camps. The believers living in these very humble settings are truly focused on the eternal things. They are planting churches, helping others, and sharing their faith. They are expanding God’s kingdom in the refugee camps. I feel privileged to work alongside them.

You can learn about the various refugee crises in Africa from nearly every world news organization. But there are many stories you won’t read in the news—stories of God’s faithfulness to Christian refugees and their faithfulness to him.

» Read the stories of three refugees, and be sure to watch the powerful video at the top about Sudanese refugees training leaders and planting churches in a massive Ugandan refugee settlement.