In This Issue: Eleven Ways to Learn a Language, Books, Networks
- BOOK: New Volume of Daily Devotions from 300 Missionaries
- WEBSITE: Global Community Health Education Network
- EVENT: International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
- BULLETIN: Church Around the World
- ARTICLE: Eleven Ways to Learn a Language
- BOOK: New Volume in Series of Biographies from John Piper
Dear Readers,
Great news! Recently we passed the 5000-subscriber mark, a long-held Missions Catalyst goal. We want everyone who can use what we publish to get it! Besides subscribers, others read what we write through our website, feed, forwarded articles, and links.
Reaching 5000 subscribers is a good, healthy sign. But it also means we’ve crossed a threshold in our email service rates and will be paying an additional $20/month to send you Missions Catalyst. Three ways you might respond:
1. Tell your friends about Missions Catalyst. Encourage them to subscribe. Let’s see how quickly we can get to the next threshold – a circulation of 10,000!
2. Send us a fan letter. Wait, did I just say that? I guess I did! Really, we try to take our affirmation from God, but we’d love to know if you find what we do helpful. (Extra credit if your note includes constructive feedback.)
3. Make a donation. Our ezine is completely free and does not sell advertisements. We like it that way! If you find yourself in a position to help us pay the bills, though, we invite you to give. It’s easy to donate online.
Thanks for your support and encouragement!
Marti Smith
BOOK: New Volume of Daily Devotions from 300 Missionaries
Voices of the Faithful, Volume 2, by the International Mission Board. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. 480 pages.
In 2005 Beth Moore, Kim Davis, and others pulled together a devotional book written by missionaries for a general Christian audience (including Beth Moore’s many fans; she wrote the introduction). Voices of the Faithful sold more than 300,000 copies. This month Thomas Nelson released a second volume constructed much along the same lines.
Voices of the Faithful: Volume 2 is composed primarily of one-page devotionals written by more than 300 missionaries (both male and female) asked to share about their ministries, struggles, relationships, answered prayers, and the lessons they have learned along the way.
Each devotion begins with a brief scripture quotation and closes with a prayer, but the book centers around the missionaries’ stories and seems more of a theme-driven prayer guide than a Bible study.
All of the contributors are Americans serving cross-culturally through the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board, which may be a limiting factor, but the book strives to appeal to more than just an American or Baptist audience. It is also intended for both men and women.
The book is designed to be read through in a year starting with January 1, so it might make a good Christmas gift, e.g., from missionaries to their supporters (or vice versa). The first volume was (and is) available for purchase in bulk at a significant discount; perhaps this one will be as well.
>> Purchase it from Amazon for US$13.59.
WEBSITE: Global Community Health Education Network
“Catch community health education online,” we read in Brigada Today. “CHE has a new website.”
CHE, Community Health Evangelism, is a model that has been around since the 1980s and designed to help lift whole communities out of the cycle of poverty and disease. It integrates evangelism and discipleship with community development and health education. More than 250 organizations are now using CHE in 81 countries.
The website of the Global CHE Network is designed as a place for practitioners to connect, access resources, and build their ministries.
>> Learn about CHE and see if it’s for you. A good place to start might be this page.
EVENT: International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
“In the traditional church calendar, ‘All Saints Day’ and ‘All Souls Day’ stand out in the month of November, set apart to remember the saints of the church and the souls of those who departed this world. It is fitting that the modern church has set apart the month of November to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP),” say organizers.
November 8, 2009 is this year’s International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The theme is “Persecuted: Not Abandoned.” The international website includes prayer points, Bible readings, a devotional, materials for children, a map, a video, and promotional helps, as well as links to IDOP sites from various organizations and different countries.
>> Visit the IDOP International website.
>> Planning or aware of a prayer campaign that would interest our readers and ought to be on our mission events calendar? Please let us know.
BULLETIN: Church Around the World
“The Church Around the World bulletin can keep your people informed on worldwide developments that affect the work of the church and which are significant for Christians everywhere,” says Tyndale House, the publisher.
“Over 600,000 people per month enjoy reading Church Around the World’s timely news about missionary activities, global outreach, the persecuted church, and how God’s people are making a difference around the globe.”
These come in full color and gracefully pack a lot of information into a small space!
>> Order 100 copies for US$12/month.
>> Of course, it’s easier than ever to make your own bulletins from the news sources of your choice (like Missions Catalyst?). So this may be a trade-off between convenience and control. Check with your denomination, too, to see what similar resources might be available.
ARTICLE: Eleven Ways to Learn a Language
“There is no better way to understand a different culture than to learn the language of its people,” begins a recent article in the online magazine, Women of the Harvest.
WOTH is a ministry to North American women serving cross-culturally, but they don’t mind other people reading over their shoulders, and this is one of those articles that could be helpful to anyone. You have to register on the WOTH website to access content, though all of it is free.
“If you are curious about the Middle East, learn Arabic, and if you want a peek into the next world super-power, start learning Mandarin. Here are eleven fun ways to learn a language without shelling out hundreds of dollars…”
>> Read Eleven Ways to Learn a Language after you register with WOTH.
>> Find more helpful resources for language learning at the Language Impact website.
BOOK: New Volume in Series of Biographies from John Piper
Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ: The Cost of Bringing the Gospel to the Nations in the Lives of William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton, by John Piper. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009. Hardback, 128 pages.
“The history of Christianity’s expansion proves that God’s strategy for reaching unreached peoples with the gospel includes the sufferings of his frontline heralds – the missionaries who willingly die a thousand daily deaths to advance God’s kingdom.
“The price William Tyndale, Adoniram Judson, and John Paton paid to translate the Word of God, pave the way for missionary mobilization around the world, and lead the hostile to Christ was great. Yet their stories show how the gospel advances not only through the faithful proclamation of the truth but through representing the afflictions of Christ in our sufferings.”
>> Purchase Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ from Desiring God Ministries for US$11.69, or, on the same page, download the 1.3 MB PDF for FREE – nice!
>> Four other books in this series, The Swans Are Not Silent, profile Augustine of Hippo, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Bunyan, William Cowper, David Brainerd, John Newton, Charles Simeon, William Wilberforce, Athanasius of Alexandria, John Owen, and J. Gresham Machen. Paper books are available for purchase but other editions and related materials are free.
Questions, comments, submissions? Contact us.