Habakkuk 2:14 says that the Earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. How about our streets and sidewalks? Use the Holy Ground prayerwalking app to find resources (though most are “coming soon”), see where others have prayed, and track prayerwalks in your own area.
Looks like this started near me, in Portland, Oregon, but even here there are plenty of streets that may not have been prayerwalked. Thought I’d give it a go. What about you? Get a family member or friend and pray for God to be glorified in your neighborhood or town.
Learn more or look for the app from the Apple and Google app stores.
Looking for tools to stimulate prayer for a people group or region on your heart? See Justin Long’s list of prayer guides, recently updated. Many are free downloads. Let him know if you have one to add.
If we wouldn’t seat ourselves onstage at a concert hall without training, is there a reason we wouldn’t need to be trained for other work God has for us (like global work)?
There are lots of lessons around town. The trick is to both train your eyes to see them—and your heart to choose to engage.
Grit to Stay Grace to Go: Staying Well in Cross-Cultural Ministry, by Sue Eenigenburg and Eva Burkholder
Cross-cultural ministry is full of twists and turns. You finally figure out what to do and where to go, raise your support and share your plans with everyone, only to get to the field and find it’s not what you expected, or that the people you were so looking forward to working with are on their way out. Or maybe you’re the one leaving and processing all the implications of that decision.
Whether you stick it out or realize it’s time to let go, Grit to Stay Grace to Go will help you know you aren’t alone.
Each chapter addresses a different dynamic that often comes up, how the authors have seen or experienced it, lies you might fall for and truths you can cling to. Throughout are meaty reflection questions and resources for going deeper—typically 4-6 articles to access online and a book or two for each of the 36 chapters. A series of appendices address topics like soul care, listening, loss and grief, and debriefing.
This is more of a workbook and a reference than the sort of book you read straight through. Team leaders and missionary care providers will find it a helpful resource, and field workers will see themselves on its pages.
Note that both authors have published books for women, but this isn’t just a book for women, Americans, or missionaries from a certain tradition; they’ve made efforts to keep a broader readership in mind.
Missionary Motivations: Challenges from the Early Church, by Matthew Burden
Christianity’s rapid expansion is remarkable. But the earliest Christians had little to say about obeying the Great Commission or concern for the lost. Without dismissing those motivations, the author of this short book takes a close look at the early church’s vision for global missions, notably their focus on filling the earth with worship and holiness (less Matthew 28, more Malachi 1:11).
This thoughtful book explores what drove Roman martyrs and desert fathers as well as the thinking of the saints, monks, kings, and pilgrims who expanded the Church in India, Syria, Central Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Brave Son of Tibet: The Many Lives of Robert B. Ekvall, by David P. Jones
Raised in China by missionary parents, gifted with languages, and able to make friends with anyone, Robert Ekvall of the Christian and Missionary Alliance had advantages that served him well in the two decades he and his family served among Buddhist nomads in northeastern Tibet. The inspiring story is full of adventures, setbacks, and breakthroughs.
After tragedies and opportunities remove him from Asia, he returns as a WWII military attache and intelligence officer with the U.S. Army and later takes up a new life as a university professor. It’s all in this readable and well-researched biography.
You might also appreciate The Empathy Machine, an article from Ted Esler on why we should read biographies.
Jonathan Edwards on Movements, by Dave Coles
What do we make of revivals, awakenings, and new religious movements? How should we sort out what we hear and see? The author, a proponent of CPM/DMM, takes a look at how influential theologian Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) responded to the revivals and Great Awakening of his day and advised others to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
Along the way, Coles asks: what would Edwards say, both positive and negative, to critics of disciple-making movements today? It’s a quick read but a challenging one if you’re not used to the language of early American theologians like Edwards.
June 4-30, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Followed by a Language Learning Accelerator course on July 2-14. Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.
June 7-8, Mission Agency Consultation (Dallas, TX, USA). Workshop for organizational leaders, provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.
June 9-11, ACMI Virtual Conference (online). Conference for people ministering among international students. From the Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals.
June 12-16, Abide Debriefing (Joplin, MO, USA). Help for moving forward with hope and momentum; from TRAIN International (held eight times a year). An additional debriefing will be held June 19-23.
June 20, World Refugee Day (international). Many churches observe this with prayer on the Sunday before or after.
June 21 to July 1, Breathe (Wilderswil, Switzerland). A retreat for mission workers offered annually by Catalyst International. A second retreat will be held September 21-29 in the same location.