Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Catalyst Services, July 2019

Are senior pastors too busy to lead their churches in global outreach? In this month’s Postings, two lead pastors describe why missions is a priority for them. They also explain how they ignite vision and serve as the #1 cheerleader for missions without being #1 worker.

At the end of the article, you will find (1) practical ideas for pastors who want to better shepherd their church’s global vision and (2) suggestions for a missions team that wants to strengthen their pastor’s global vision.

» Read the article. It includes links to other resources. Then browse the Postings archives for lots more great content.

Source: Missions Catalyst

There’s still time to complete our survey about helping kids grow in their global vision. We’d love to hear your thoughts on that. Read this article to get your mental wheels turning.

» Take the survey. One respondent will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

Have you subscribed to Muslim Connect, from Missions Catalyst’s own Shane Bennett? This weekly email is written to help people like us understand and connect with Muslims and equip others to do so as well. Just 300 words, it’s practical, pithy, and fun.

If you sign up now, you’ll get a free PDF called, “Ten Simple Ways Normal People Can Be Nice to Muslims. With a Danger Rating for Each!”

» Subscribe to Muslim Connect. See back issues at shanebennett.com.

Sources: Various

If one of these topics catches your attention, click through to listen. Like what you hear? Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

• The Unstoppable, Global Gospel, with Tim Keese (The Gospel Coalition Podcast). Conference message; refers to Tim’s new book.
• The Future of the Missions Organizations, with Eric King (The Upstream Collective Podcast). Emphasizes that churches, not organizations, need to own the mission.
• The Rise and Fall of Movements, with Steve Addison (Engaging Missions Podcast). Also the title of Steve’s new book; get a taste.
• It’s Tea Time Somewhere: All about Expectations (Taking Route Podcast). Women living cross-culturally talk about comparison.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

August 2-9, ReBoot Re-entry Program (Calgary, AB, Canada). For returning missionary kids, ages 17-20, transitioning to life in Canada. Held in two locations each summer.

August 5 to December 8, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). Another class will take place August 12 to December 15. Live classes will be launching in many locations throughout the month.

August 10, Reaching Your Hindu Neighbors (King of Prussia, PA, USA). A one-day training where you discover simple ways to share your faith with Hindus via everyday relationships.

August 12-16, Cubs to Lions (Vancouver, BC, Canada). Discipleship for Christians with a Muslim background. From Horizons International. Similar events held worldwide.

August 15, Circle Up! (online). Part of a series of “nugget” trainings for disciplemakers; this one about coaching circles. Provided by Beyond.

August 16-17, One More Conference (Rome, GA, USA). Weekend conference on missions for lay leaders as well as professionals.

August 17, An Introduction to Bible-based Trauma Healing (Clarkston, GA, USA). One-day course from the Trauma Healing Institute.

August 19 to December 6, Christian Engagement with Muslims (online). Course provided by the Lilias Trotter Center, in partnership with Wesley Biblical Seminary.

August 22, Spiritual Direction: A Growing Practice in Missions and Member Care (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

August 26 to September 6, Engaging Islam Institute (Beirut, Lebanon). Training event from Horizons International.

August 28-29, Support Raising Bootcamp (Charlotte, NC, USA). Provided by Support Raising Solutions.

August 28, The Sending Triangle: Missionary, Church, Agency (online). Free webinar from Sixteen:Fifteen.

August 29, Stewardship of Short-Term Missions with an Emphasis on Discipleship (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

» View the complete calendar. Additions welcome. Want to know more about a specific event? Contact the event organizers.

In this edition: Should we just leave them alone? Questions people ask about missions and evangelism

1. VIDEO: Happy the Way They Are?
2. ARTICLE: Five Secular Myths about Missions
3. BOOK & BIBLE STUDY: The Gospel Above All
4. BOOK: How to Bless a Missionary
5. EVENT: Mobilizer Equipping School
6. EVENTS: Conferences, Classes, and Retreats

Dear Readers,

In this issue we share a few tools that will help you tackle questions about Christian ethics and priorities. You may be grappling with these questions yourself. If you are not, perhaps they are areas of concern for friends and family, supporters, or those you seek to influence.

Let’s not be people who let ambiguity or past mistakes keep us from pressing on. Let’s be people who think deeply and communicate clearly. May today’s edition of Missions Catalyst help you respond with grace and wisdom.

Every blessing,
Marti Wade

Source: Access Truth

Should missionaries leave jungle tribes alone? Are they just fine the way they are? Certainly the vulnerable have been hurt by missionaries and mission efforts more than we like to admit, and it does us no good to cover that up. But the negative press that Christian and mission efforts get in our world is sometimes deeply flawed.

» Watch the seven-minute video Happy the Way They Are? from Access Truth (also on Facebook).

Source: Trevor Johnson, HeartCry Missionary Society

November 2018—a medically trained young man, John Allen Chau, was killed trying to go ashore to reach the unreached people of North Sentinel Island among the Andaman Island group. He is heavily criticized and even mocked online.

As Western civilization pulls away from its Christian moorings, we see a rising anti-missionary sentiment. This was brought home to me in a very personal way in September of 2018. After 12 years of service among the remote Korowai tribe, I was shocked to read this bold headline, “Ancient Tribe on the Brink of Being Wiped Out by Christian Missionaries.” In another newspaper I read these further accusations, “Fight for Survival: Ancient Jungle Tribe of Super-Strong Hunters Close to Being Wiped Out by Christian Missionaries.”

» Get Johnson’s take on the ancient tribe in question and the flawed assumptions behind the headlines. Article includes helpful links and addresses these myths:

Myth 1. Missionaries destroy cultures.
Myth 2. Missionaries coerce local people into Christianity.
Myth 3. Missionaries bring deadly pathogens which decimate tribal peoples.
Myth 4. Tribal people are pure, innocent, and in harmony with nature.
Myth 5. Secular reporters are unbiased and objective and report on these issues truthfully.

Source: B&H Books, LifeWay Press

Above All: The Gospel Is the Source of the Church’s Renewal, by J. D. Greear. B&H Books, 2019. 240 pages.

“Is gospel Christianity dead? Pundits are writing the obituary of historic, orthodox Christianity, but pastor and author J. D. Greear believes the postmortems are premature. Jesus promised to build his church. He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The church is not going away. Along with this promise, Jesus gave clear instructions for how the church would prevail. He promised to build it on the rock of the gospel.

“The most pressing need for Christianity today is not a new strategy. It is not an updated message. It is a return to keeping the gospel above all.”

This is new and I haven’t had a chance to read it. If you want to use it with a group, pick up Gospel Above All: Bible Study Book (also available in a teen edition). That folds in discussion questions and a series of videos, most 20-30 minutes in length, in which Greear discusses the topic with other Christian leaders. I don’t think you can watch the videos without purchase, but I found clips on the author’s Facebook page.

» Learn more and download a sample chapter from the book website. On Amazon, the paperback is US$15.29, US$8.49 for the Kindle edition. See also Aren’t Short-term Mission Trips a Big Waste of Money? (episode from Greear’s podcast, Ask Me Anything).

» Looking for something to help you or your church get back to the basics when it comes to global outreach? Check out When Everything Is Missions, by Denny Spitters and Matthew Ellison. It packs a punch.

Source: Jennifer Brannon

How to Bless A Missionary: Practical Ideas for Your Church and Family, by Jennifer Brannon. Self-published, 2018. 160 pages.

This is a quick read, but as a book it goes into greater depth than other formats can provide on the topic of showing missionaries you care.

After a brief exploration of what it means to bless someone, the author unpacks more than 100 practical ideas, from the tried-and-true ways supporters blessed her family when she was growing up in Mexico to newer strategies you may not have thought of. It’s seasoned with stories and examples and also offers a gentle dose of how-to detail and tips on what not to do. The author has a blog, FamiliesforMissions.com, though it’s a little sparse.

» Learn more or purchase from Amazon at US$9.95 for the paperback or US$4.99 in the Kindle edition.

» See also Neal Pirolo’s Serving as Senders Today, or check out Mind the Gaps: Engage the Church in Missionary Care (David Wilson) or Well Sent: Reimagining the Church’s Missionary-Sending Process (Steve Beirn).

Source: SVM2

Maybe you know your primary calling is to mobilize others—your friends, church, network, or nation—for the Great Commission. But where do you get trained for that? A one-month program in Chiang Mai, Thailand November 3-29 may be just what you need. Apply by mid-September. The cost is US$700, though partial scholarships are available. And they have tracks in several languages.

» Learn more and apply online. By the way, SVM2 is in the midst of taking a name that better communicates what they do. Within a few months they will be the Global Mission Mobilization Initiative.