Missions Catalyst

Source: Radical

Could you use a tool that pulls data from diverse Christian and secular sources, analyzes physical and spiritual needs country by country, and identifies where the needs are the greatest? Stratus is a brand-new resource designed to help the Church recognize imbalances and reallocate resources more strategically.

Take a look. It does seem rather complex. I’d be interested in your input on its uses, strengths, and limitations.

Source: International Students, Inc.

What are the first things you need to know to get started with outreach to international students in your community? ISI harnessed their years of experience to create a short training course anyone can use to get themselves (or other volunteers) up to speed.

Ten short videos (five to ten minutes each) cover why international student ministry is significant, how to get started, ideas for outreach, tips for home groups, evangelism, storytelling, and more. Each one also includes links to helpful tools, articles, and other resources you can download. And it’s all free. Registration required.

Learn more or take the course.

Source: Abide Publishers

Missionary God, Missionary Bible, by Dick Brogden. Abide Publishers, 2020. 420 pages.

Missionary God, Missionary Bible is a one-year, missions-centered devotional based on a chronological reading of the Bible. Throughout the book, author Dick Brogden makes the case that neither God nor His Bible lets us under-emphasize how central all nations are to His overall plan. Each day includes a Scripture reading, a devotional connecting the reading to God’s plan to reach the nations (though you may find some of them a stretch), and an unreached group to pray for.

The author is an Assemblies of God missionary in the Middle East.

Learn more or purchase the Kindle edition from Amazon for Kindle $4.99 or get the paperback for US$14.99. Note that the Amazon preview is quite generous, including the introduction and all the entries for January.

See also Live Dead Joy: 365 Days of Living and Dying with Jesus.

Source: Janel Breitenstein, Go.Serve.Love

Family friends headed overseas racked up well over 20 medical appointments before they left: Immunizations. Examinations. Checking out weird little problems they didn’t want to rear their ugly heads in a nation with less-developed medical care.

We need the same mindset with our hearts, minds, and marital relationships before heading into the pressure cooker of a missionary marriage.

What could use a tune-up? And if you don’t know… will you make the effort to find out?

Read the article and explore links. Go.Serve.Love has a lot of content to help you take your next step toward global service or assist others. Take a look, for example, at Does Christianity Destroy Culture?

Source: Moving Works

After graduating high school, Robin rejects his Christian upbringing to live life to its fullest. It isn’t until his parents reveal a long-held family secret that Robin discovers the life he has been missing all along.

This film is in German with English subtitles. It’s part of a series of five short, gospel-centered stories to equip the church and engage millions of Germans who don’t know Jesus.

Watch films and explore the website for films in several other languages and created in partnership with ministries in various contexts.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

All those listed below are online events. The shortest ones are often free or low-cost. A few training organizations are offering small, face-to-face events, some of which are listed on our web calendar. Looks like most large conferences are still online or postponed.

May 3 to August 1, Encountering the World of Islam. New online classes start several times a year; also available in other formats/languages.

May 3 to September 5, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. New online classes begin regularly.

May 6, National Day of Prayer (USA). An annual event.

May 6, You Are Not Alone in This. Nugget training about coaching for disciple-making ministry; offered by Beyond.

May 12, Diaspora Ministry in the Local Church. Webinar from Missio Nexus and Sixteen:Fifteen.

May 13, Planning: Global Missions Vision & Unreached People Groups. Greenhouse workshop from Pioneers USA.

May 12-26, Sustainable Resilience. Online training course for cross-cultural workers from the Center for Intercultural Training; expect to put in 12 hours over two weeks. The course will be taught in Spanish in June.

May 13, Lawsuits and Rumors of Lawsuits. Webinar from Missio Nexus.

May 13, Mobilizing People of Color: Part 3, the Latino American Church. Webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen and Avant Ministries.

May 13 to June 10, Foundations of Media to Movements. Develop a social media outreach strategy; from Media Missions U.

May 18-20, Standards Introductory Workshop. Training in the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission; offered regularly.

May 19, Marketplace Ministry Strategies, a Leader’s Perspective. CEO briefing from Missio Nexus.

May 19-21, Support Raising Bootcamp. Provided by Support Raising Solutions on a regular basis in various locations.

May 23, International Day for the Unreached. An annual event from Alliance for the Unreached; see also their mobilization campaign, A Third of Us (referencing a third of the global population denied gospel access).

May 27, Mobilizing People of Color: Part 4, the African American Church. Webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen and NAAMC.

May 27, Principles for Building and Leading a Culturally Diverse Team. Webinar from Missio Nexus. View the complete calendar. Corrections and submissions are welcome.