Read or share the email edition or scroll down for more.
Source: Missio Nexus
Essentials for People Care and Development, edited by Heather Pubols and Geoff Whiteman, Missio Nexus, 2023. 222 pages.
Whether you serve in a sending agency, lead a ministry, or are a concerned pastor or care provider, you’ll find something in this book to help you care for global workers.
It’s a slim book but includes 14 articles from 15 authors serving in a variety of contexts, though most are in professional member-care roles. Each provides reflections and recommendations rooted in scripture and research. Footnotes and resource recommendations will help you go deeper if you like.
Learn more, get the ebook edition for US $14.95, or find the paperback on Amazon.
You might also appreciate an interview with a member care provider on the latest episode of the Relentless Pursuit Podcast (Pioneers-USA). After sharing her own somewhat painful story, she talks about what she’s learned about the interplay of suffering and spiritual growth.
Source: Global Frontier Missions
Remember GFM’s short teaching videos on mission topics like the biblical basis for missions, what makes a group unreached, the state of the world, and more? You may have seen or shared them in a missions class or used them with your church or small group.
But say you wanted to share them in another, non-English-speaking context. You may be in luck. These videos have been translated into Russian, Vietnamese, Swahili, and Portuguese.
Take a look. Thanks, GFM!
See also a collection of short videos defining and exploring what the producers call difficult mission terms (Lausanne Movement). They unpack words like polycentric, missio Dei, evangelical, and ecumenical.
Sources: Various
Help This Person
“Don’t take my word for it. Instead, for the rest of the day, try thinking ‘help this person’ every time you interact with another human being.”
Read Three Words That Will Transform Your Career (Bruce Kasanoff).
Have This Conversation
“When you’re thinking about serving in missions, inviting your pastor or church leader into your journey from the beginning can be an invaluable source of encouragement and wisdom. But how do you start?”
Read 7 Questions to Ask Your Pastor When You’re Thinking About Missions (Wycliffe Bible Translators).
Fear of Failure
“What if I don’t feel qualified to be a missionary? What should I do?”
Read What If I Don’t Feel Qualified to Be a Missionary? (Global Frontier Missions).
Growing Passion for the Nations
“The church members most involved in missions become those most excited about missions. Engagement in missions drives excitement about missions.”
Read 10 Ways to Develop a Missions Culture in Your Church (ABWE).
Source: Perspectives USA
Always meant to take a Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course—or journeying with someone you’d love to see take it?
Perspectives Online is the fully online, asynchronous version of the live class. Coursework requires 4-6 hours a week and includes videos, reading, weekly homework, and group discussions. There are no class meeting times.
A Perspectives Online class will begin November 6, and five more will launch this spring (January 8, January 22, February 5, March 4, and April 8). Registration is now open for all of them.
Learn more about the class or find and register for a class.
You might also check out the Kairos Course and MomentumYes.
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
November 2, Resetting Theological Education to Serve Global Church Growth (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
November 2-4, B4T Expo (Austin, TX, USA). Transforming nations through business.
November 2-5, Haven Retreat (Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations. Provided by Azmera.
November 3-4, NWA for the Nations (Fayetteville, AR, USA). Northwest Arkansas Missions Conference.
November 3-4, MissionConnexion Southwest (Tempe, AZ, USA). A free, annual, community-based mission conference. Come early for Leadership Connexion or a Standards Introductory Workshop.
November 3-4, MissionFest Seattle (Bellevue, WA, USA). A free, annual, community-based mission conference.
November 5, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (global). Observed annually.
November 6-17, Mobilization Equipping School (Chiang Mai, Thailand). From the Global Mission Mobilization Initiative.
November 6 to March 10, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New classes begin regularly.November 9, Branding from the Inside Out: Growth Through Authentic Brand Communication (online). Webinar for mission communication and marketing staff. Provided by Missio Nexus.
November 9-11, Global Missions Health Conference (Louisville, KY, USA and online). An annual event; the largest healthcare missions conference in the world.
November 10-11, Student Connexion (Portland, OR, USA). A mission conference just for middle school and high school students.
November 12, Virtual Prayer Gathering: Call to Prayer (online). Held monthly for members of Missio Nexus.
November 12-14, Build a Mobilization Game Plan (Cary, NC, USA). Training for mission mobilization directors from Missio Nexus.
November 13-14, Support Raising Bootcamp (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by Via Generosity (formerly Support Raising Solutions).
November 13-17, Storytelling Training (online). Offered regularly by StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru.
November 16, Equipping Missionaries to Mobilize Others (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
November 16-18, International Conference on Missions (Oklahoma City, OK, USA). An annual event. An annual conference in the Christian/Disciples of Christ tradition.
November 17-19, Catalyze Boise (Boise, ID, USA). Discover what God is doing in the Muslim world. A three-day intensive offered by Frontiers USA.
November 17-20, Field Security Seminar (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.
November 21, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.
November 30, Informed, on the Ground Metrics for Mission: GAPP (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
December 6-7, Denominational Roundtable for Mission Leaders (Greenville, SC, USA). An annual networking event organized by Missio Nexus.
December 7, Developing Movement Catalysts: It’s Within Your Reach (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.
December 10, Virtual Prayer Gathering: Call to Prayer (online). Monthly event for members of Missio Nexus.
December 19, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer for Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI for the third Tuesday of each month.
December 21, The Details Matter: How a Project Manager Can Help Reduce Your Workload (online). Webinar for mission communication and marketing staff. Provided by Missio Nexus.
View the complete calendar, updated regularly. Submissions welcome.
I live near a busy border. The din of thousands of migrants coming across the border has been constant these last few weeks. It happens every year at this time, but this year we have had a long, warm fall season, so I’ve been outside a lot, hearing them and seeing one group after another. I’ve been wondering what on earth they say to each other, but imagine them saying, “Look! A place we can rest!”
I’m referring, of course, to Canadian feathered friends who are heading south for the winter.
But if I come into the house to warm up a bit, I see another group of migrants on the TV. One million Gazans heading south hoping to cross a border and find rest. Millions of others are like them, fleeing other conflicts or migrating due to one pressure or another.
I am pretty sure that when the geese fly over my house in years to come, I’ll think of these migrants, too, and wonder: What are they saying? Where are they now? Did they get to go home?
It might be a strategic time to read the recent Lausanne Occasional Paper, People on the Move. If you don’t have time to read it all I suggest this part: World on the move: We are all migrants.
When it comes to Canada geese, I’ve heard it is especially tiring to be in front, so they take turns leading the flock. I am praying for a new leader in Gaza. I have a name in mind but I won’t mention it. He was a visiting professor I met years ago. I sensed he was a real man of peace and I’ve prayed for him ever since to be a gospel light in his part of the world. Please join me in praying for him as you pray for this region.
For the gospel and the homeless people of the world,
Source: Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, October 11, 2023
At 11:30pm on Friday, October 6, Gaza-based Islamic terror group Hamas started firing the first of 5,000 rockets into Israel. At 1:15am Saturday October 7, Hamas announced the start of a military operation dubbed “Al-Aqsa Flood.” By 1:45am, Israel was returning fire; and at 3:34am, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was at war. As the sun rose on Israel, some 1,000 Hamas terrorists invaded the “Gaza envelope” (populated area within seven kilometers of Gaza) by land, sea, and air.
By Monday, the death toll had risen to over 1,500 including some 900 Israelis, mostly civilians (including whole families, even infants) who were slaughtered in cold blood. A further 2,500 Israelis had been wounded and around 150 abducted—including small children and an elderly holocaust survivor.
On October 8, HizbAllah official Hashem Salhab delivered a speech in Lebanon where he claimed that “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” is just a maneuver in advance of a larger and multi-arena operation that will eliminate Israel, indicating that what we have seen is just the beginning.
Read the full story with links and analysis. It also addresses ways this war puts many vulnerable Christians in danger. Other news channels are full of developments related to this situation. Other news channels are full of developments related to this situation. Thanks for praying.
Source: Christian Today, September 20, 2023
An update from the Observatory of Religious Pluralism in Spain [reveals] some of the challenges and opportunities facing Christians in the traditionally Catholic country.
The latest release of data collected across a municipal level has revealed that while Catholicism continues to be the dominant Christian expression, with three-quarters of the places of worship recorded in the report belonging to that tradition, evangelical Christianity has continued to grow over the last two decades.
Of the almost 31,000 places of worship across the nation, the vast majority were either Catholic or evangelical, with 22,947 and 4,259 churches respectively, with Muslims following in third with 1,749.
The number of evangelical churches has shown a significant increase since 2011, when there were only 2,944.
The growth in the numbers of evangelical Christians has been driven by an influx of believers from Latin America, but a 2019 report from Evangelical Focus Europe pointed to their numbers being concentrated in urban centers, with only Madrid (420), Barcelona (220), and Valencia (112) having over 100 evangelical churches. This leaves over 90% of towns and villages across Spain without an evangelical place of worship.
For another snapshot of religious data, see More Singaporeans Are Choosing Christianity or No Religion at All.