Month: February 2026

New Book for Mobilizing Workers: Silver & Bold

Silver & Bold: Age As an Asset in Global Missions, by Steve Richardson with Maxine McDonald. Pioneers, 2026, 158 pages.

Serving in global missions isn’t only for the young. It’s for people like Betty Wilson, who began serving in Central Asia when she was 66 and is still at it than 20 years later, and Mike and Rosemary Harris, who joined their kids and grandkids in a multi-generational ministry in West Africa.

Silver & Bold explores the opportunities and concerns of those who begin new cross-cultural careers in their 60s, 70s, and beyond and provides case studies and insights from those who have done it.

All the quotes and stories in this book are from people serving with Pioneers, but I think you could use it for general mobilization efforts as well. Recently Pioneers launched Encore, a new program tailored to sending older workers, but other agencies send the silver-haired, too, and many have been doing it for years. May God use this book to inspire more to recognize the opportunity and join them.

Learn more or buy the book, or read an excerpt, Rethinking Retirement Dreams. Note that Pioneers will also let you read the whole book online for free (registration required), but they’re selling the Kindle edition for $2.99 so that may be the most convenient option for many.

Read about and learn about other books from Pioneers.

I was happy to hear that Steve Richardson’s other recent book, Perfect Peace Child, made it through multiple couriers to a Sawi teacher in Southeast Asia near where the events it describes took place. She’s thrilled. And 150 copies of a Ukrainian edition of Is the Commission Still Great? were given to participants at a recent mission conference in Kyiv.

More interested in mobilizing young adults? Great! Be sure to check out Tithe Your Career, by Paul Van Der Werf and Katy White—a great book challenging new college grads to start their careers with a season of cross-cultural service (GoCorps). We wrote a review of it last July.

Articles: Helpful for Church Mission Leaders

Sources: Various

Praying for Missionaries

Many people are willing to pray for missionaries but unsure how to begin. Here’s a simple challenge to pray for missionaries you don’t know the same way you’d pray for people you do know (Reimagine Network).

Read Praying With Jesus for an Unknown Missionary. See also 7 Ways to Pray for Missionaries (Wycliffe) and the 2018 book, Praying for Your Missionary.

Setting Mission Goals

How can we proactively set goals to engage the entire congregation more missionally and measure our progress in doing so? See how four churches set goals and measure their progress (Catalyst Services).

Read Raise Your Church’s Missions Temperature. You might also appreciate the books Mapping Church Missions and On Mission Together.

Pastoral Influence in Global Missions 

Pastors juggle many priorities, so let’s not be too critical if promoting missions is not on top of the list. Still, you or a mission-minded pastor you know might get some good ideas from a mission professor’s reflections on opportunities he missed (J.D. Payne).

Read Pastor and Missions: Nine Things I Should have Done. You might also appreciate the message, Moving Beyond the Missions Slot.

Research: The State of Mission Mobilization 

Source: Missio Nexus

Missio Nexus has put together a collection of mission mobilization resources including data about the state of mobilization, best practices for mission mobilizers, what we need to know about Gen Z, and more. Some of it requires a member login but there’s plenty that doesn’t. Much to read, of course, but they have visual media too. See a helpful explainer video, below.

Graphic: A Framework for Measuring Gospel Progress and Sustainability

Note: Looks like this item was published prematurely. My apologies!

I can’t take back the email but am removing the item from our website. It reflects a model that hasn’t been released yet, illustrated by an AI-generated image that’s quite different from what they’re working on.

The good news, though, is that the working group is finalizing designs now and plans to release it publicly in March or April. We’ll share it then.

Marti

Events: Conferences, Classes, Training and More in March

Source: Missions Catalyst Calendar

March 2 to July 5, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

March 3-5, Indigenous Ministry Partnership Roundtable (Scottsdale, AZ, USA). Event provided by Missio Nexus and the Coalition on the Support of Indigenous Ministries (COSIM).

March 3-5, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). Make your mission trips better with the seven standards of excellence.

March 5, How to Multiply Training Results With Coaching (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 7, How to Make Disciples in the Workplace (online). Training from All Nations.

March 9 to April 4, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

March 10-11, Support Raising Bootcamp (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Provided by Via in various locations throughout the year.

March 12, What Is a Disciple-Making Movement? (online). Training from All Nations.

March 17-20, Field Security Seminar (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.

March 18, Mobilizer Family Monthly Zoom Calls (online). Don’t go it alone! Dave Jacobs of Gospel Mobilization hosts monthly calls bringing mission mobilizers together. Register once and come every month.

March 19, Employing Foreign Workers Overseas: Tips and Traps (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

March 23-27, Refugee Highway Partnership Roundtable (Malaga, Spain). An annual gathering.

March 24, How Leaders Lose Their Way (online). Pete Greer shares from his new book in this thought-leader briefing from Missio Nexus.

March 26, Impact With Integrity: Ethical Storytelling for Global Missions (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

See the complete calendar. Submissions welcome.

God Stories from Costa Rica, Vietnam and Beyond

  1. Editor’s Note: On Ramadan and Lent
  2. Costa Rica: Divine Interruption
  3. Vietnam: The Story of the Bible Smuggler and the Police Captain
  4. Armenia: Prime Minister Calls for Removal of the Head of the Armenian Church
  5. India: Pastor Assaulted by Mob and “Cow Vigilantes”
  6. USA: An Unexpected Outpouring of Student Worship

You can also read or share the email edition. Thanks!

Editor’s Note: On Ramadan and Lent

Greetings, readers!

Ramadan and Lent both started this week. You may be on a few mailing lists for content related to either, or both; I know my inbox is overflowing. Here are a few items that may interest you.

Read on for stories from around the world about divine intervention and ongoing conflicts. May they equip and inspire you to pray.

Grace and peace,
Marti

Costa Rica: A Divine Interruption

Source: Every Home for Christ, February 3, 2026

It was all going according to plan, from Pastor Melvin Mora’s perspective.

Churches from all over the community of Ujarras de Cariblanco had gathered to carry Christ to their neighbors in homes and public spaces. It was a perfect Saturday for outreach, too. Bright, warm sun filled the park where Melvin and his team were chatting with people as they passed, praying, and giving away Bibles and gospel literature.

But Melvin’s attention was drawn, over and over, to a man sitting by himself on a bench a little distance away.

He sat beside the man and began to share about God’s love, mercy, and the forgiveness we can have through Jesus.

Almost as soon as Melvin began speaking, the man on the bench burst into tears. Melvin leaned in to hear the man’s words through his weeping.

“I have a knife with me right now,” he said. “I was planning to kill someone today.”

Read the full story to hear what God did in this situation. Spoiler: nobody died. Praise God for bringing new life, instead.

Check out these prayer maps from Every Home for Christ. “Can you imagine a world where every single living soul feels and knows they are loved by God? Just think of the power of that universal love—flowing everywhere, through everyone, pulverizing pain, suffering, conflict, hate, loneliness, and leaving joy, togetherness, and harmony in its wake. Now, do more than think of it—pray on it.”

Vietnam: The Story of the Bible Smuggler & the Police Captain

Source: The Christian Post, February 15, 2026

Some years ago, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a Christian boarded a crowded bus. He carried a forbidden package: Bibles God called him to deliver into Vietnam’s remote interior, spiritual food for fellow believers who had little to no access to Scripture.

He knew the risk if his secret was discovered. The box of Bibles could cost him his freedom. He could be tortured. But he also knew the unstoppable power of God’s Word to change lives. He knew he must answer God’s call. Before the bus departed, he prayed quietly, asking for protection and strength to do what God had called him to.

God answered his prayer in an unexpected way.

Moments before departure, a police captain boarded the bus, his crisp uniform exuding authority. The captain walked down the century aisle, then chose the seat right next to the Bible smuggler.

The officer settled into the seat and quickly fell into a deep sleep. But before drifting off, he took off his police captain’s hat and set it squarely on top of the box of Bibles.

Over the next 12 hours, the bus passed through multiple police checkpoints. Officers boarded at every one, demanding passengers’ ID and inspecting their luggage and belongings. At every checkpoint, police saw the captain sleeping soundly and decided not to risk his wrath by waking him. They noticed his hat on the box of Bibles, and assumed that box didn’t need to be searched. With his slumbering police escort, the bold Christian and his box of Bibles arrived safely.

“I’ve heard stories of an unaccompanied donkey delivering Bibles across the Syrian border, Iranian police who thumbed through Bibles but somehow only saw blank pages, and airport security officers miraculously distracted from their X-ray screens as suitcases of Bibles inched along the conveyor belt,” [says Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs, who shared this story].

The article also addresses scripture access in Vietnam and other places today and what we can do to help.