In This Issue: Online Missions Course, Adopt a Terrorist, and More
- ONLINE COURSE – Six-week “Intro to Missions” Class
- PRAYER CARDS – Who’s Missing? People Groups in Hard Places
- WEBSITE – Love Your Enemies: Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer
- PRAYER RESOURCES – Ready for Ramadan?
- VIDEO – Socotra, Island of Bliss
- EVENT – Conference for Business Professionals
- EVENTS – More Additions to the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Missions Catalyst is a free, weekly electronic digest of mission news and resources designed to inspire and equip Christians worldwide for global ministry. Use it to fuel your prayers, find tips and opportunities, and stay in touch with how God is building his kingdom all over the world. Please forward it freely!
Resource Reviews, edited by Marti Smith, are published once a month.
ONLINE COURSE – Six-week “Intro to Missions” Class
Source: DualReach
Kingdom Expansion 101 is a high-quality, facilitated, online basic missions course. The curriculum uses an online forum, video clips, reading, and other creative means to provide a biblical and strategic framework and assist both churches and individuals in making informed decisions about their local and global outreach involvement.
The material is not only designed to equip church mission committees, but also assists any adult believer as the individual considers his/her response to God’s plan for all the nations.
The six-week course costs US$50.00. Assignments will require 3-4 hours per week, and participants will need a high-speed internet connection.
An orientation session for the next class is scheduled for August 19. The class itself is scheduled to begin August 26 and conclude on September 29.
>> Register for the course or send en email.
PRAYER CARDS – Who’s Missing? People Groups in Hard Places
Source: International Mission Board
The Who’s Missing? Whose Mission? 2009 Prayer Card Set profiles eight groups whose members are among more than 1.5 billion people missing Christ’s invitation to spend eternity with him. Each card is shaped like a puzzle piece. Groups featured are: peoples of Northern India, peoples of Ethiopia, Lezghi people of the Caucasus, Berber people of North Africa, Vietnamese of Cambodia, peoples of Iran, lost cities of China, and peoples of the Canary Islands.
Use these cards in your personal prayer time, Bible study group, or church. The cost is US$1.25, with discounts for large orders.
>> Order prayer cards and other resources.
>> Editor’s note: In September, the IMB is releasing Voices of the Faithful: Book 2, a volume of daily devotions featuring missionary stories and popular teacher Beth Moore. Place your order in advance for a discount.
WEBSITE – Love Your Enemies: Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer
Source: AFTP, July 21, 2009
The ATFP web site has been upgraded. Now you can register and create a log-in account so that your prayer commitment can be tabulated, and the the numbers of people praying for each terrorist or terrorism sponsor through this movement can be posted.
>> Visit the website to register your prayer commitment. Then invite your family and friends to join you and be counted in this focused and strategic prayer endeavor.
PRAYER RESOURCES – Ready for Ramadan?
Source: 30 Days Muslim Prayer Focus
Join the largest ongoing international call to Christians to pray for the Muslim world, August 22 to September 20 (coinciding with Ramadan). 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World calls Christians to make a deliberate effort to learn about, pray for, and reach out to Muslim neighbors across the street and around the world.
In the US, materials are available from World Christian. Prayer booklets include daily readings followed by practical prayer points and accompanied by informative articles and resources for further study and involvement. “30 Days Just for Kids” is a fun version for kids, family devotions, and Sunday schools. Prices of both booklets range between US$1.10 and $3, depending on quantities.
>> Order booklets. World Christian also distributes many other resources, often at the lowest prices available.
You can also sign up to get the free email version of “30 Days” (with excerpts from the booklet). This year there will be blog and Twitter editions as well, and materials will be available from various distribution points and a variety of languages, globally.
>> Find much more information at the international web site.
>> Editor’s note: Want to learn more about loving Muslims? September will see the launch of Encountering the World of Islam classes in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Texas, and the UK, as well as an online class.
VIDEO – Socotra, Island of Bliss
Source: Marti Smith
In our March 25 edition we published a review of a short documentary about the Pushtun people produced by Utmost-Highest Media. The same producer now brings us a similar, eight-minute video about the Socotri people who live on remote, once-Christian islands off the coast of Yemen.
Like the Pushtun video, Socotra: Island of Bliss is available for download (85 Mb) from Behemoth for US$1.95. Both are informative and coherent. The Pushtun video suffered from footage of inconsistent quality. In this one, we found the use of overly dramatic music, effects, and narration somewhat distracting. However, both give a sympathetic view of people groups that are little known or frequently misunderstood.
>> Editor’s note: A 32-page prayer guide for Yemen is available from Caleb Resources. It’s currently being reprinted. Readers can get a 50% discount on orders received before July 31 for 100 copies or more.
EVENT – Conference for Business Professionals
Source: PIONEERS Press Release, July 13, 2009
November 5-7 in Fullerton, California, PIONEERS-USA is hosting Venture’09, a mission conference tailor-made for entrepreneurs, businesspeople, students, educators, physicians, etc. who wish to integrate their professional calling with cross-cultural ministry among the unreached.
The conference will feature as speakers PIONEERS members who have launched and are currently engaged in business as mission (BAM) initiatives around the world.
Attendees will explore topics such as the diverse models of BAM, integrating a business with church planting, creating business plans in a cross-cultural context, and transferring one’s career to the field.
>> Register for the conference or call 1.800.755.7284.
>> Find other events, articles, case studies, and more at the Business as Mission Network.
EVENTS – More Additions to the Missions Catalyst Calendar
Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar
July 30 to August 1 – Being There: Short-Term Missions and Human Need (Deerfield, IL, USA). Conference sponsored by Trinity International University.
September 17-19 – Connext (Chicago, IL, USA). Leadership conference to encourage and equip North America’s emerging South Asian Christian leaders.
October 22-24 – World Mission Celebration (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (USA).
OMF International is sponsoring four events across the US in the coming months:
August 22 – Heart for Asia Prayer Summit (Minneapolis, MN, USA). A Christ-exalting, engaging and interactive day of prayer focused on the unreached Shan Dai and the reached Kachin of Burma (Myanmar) and China.
September 11-13 – Heart for Asia Retreat: Praying in the Kingdom (Idyllwild, CA, USA). A varied program of worship, Bible teaching, fellowship, field reports, intercession, small group activities and personal retreat.
September 26 – Heart for Asia Conference: Expanding the Kingdom through Prayer (Peabody, MA, USA). Fellowship and interaction with OMF missionaries, biblical teaching on prayer, worship and times for strategic prayer to advance God’s kingdom among the unreached peoples of East Asia.
October 10 – Heart for Asia Workshop: Expanding the Kingdom in an Unjust World (Villa Park, IL, USA). A unique interactive learning experience gives participants hands-on training from field practitioners experienced in holistic and indigenous church planting in some of the world’s most difficult places for ministry.
>> See the Missions Catalyst events calendar for more conferences and other events.