Category: Resource Reviews

Source: Perspectives USA

Always meant to take a Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course—or journeying with someone you’d love to see take it?

Perspectives Online is the fully online, asynchronous version of the live class. Coursework requires 4-6 hours a week and includes videos, reading, weekly homework, and group discussions. There are no class meeting times.

A Perspectives Online class will begin November 6, and five more will launch this spring (January 8, January 22, February 5, March 4, and April 8). Registration is now open for all of them.

Learn more about the class or find and register for a class.

You might also check out the Kairos Course and MomentumYes.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

November 2, Resetting Theological Education to Serve Global Church Growth (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

November 2-4, B4T Expo (Austin, TX, USA). Transforming nations through business.

November 2-5, Haven Retreat (Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations. Provided by Azmera.

November 3-4, NWA for the Nations (Fayetteville, AR, USA). Northwest Arkansas Missions Conference.

November 3-4, MissionConnexion Southwest (Tempe, AZ, USA). A free, annual, community-based mission conference. Come early for Leadership Connexion or a Standards Introductory Workshop.

November 3-4, MissionFest Seattle (Bellevue, WA, USA). A free, annual, community-based mission conference.

November 5, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (global). Observed annually.

November 6-17, Mobilization Equipping School (Chiang Mai, Thailand). From the Global Mission Mobilization Initiative.

November 6 to March 10, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New classes begin regularly.November 9, Branding from the Inside Out: Growth Through Authentic Brand Communication (online). Webinar for mission communication and marketing staff. Provided by Missio Nexus.

November 9-11, Global Missions Health Conference (Louisville, KY, USA and online). An annual event; the largest healthcare missions conference in the world.

November 10-11, Student Connexion (Portland, OR, USA). A mission conference just for middle school and high school students.

November 12, Virtual Prayer Gathering: Call to Prayer (online). Held monthly for members of Missio Nexus.

November 12-14, Build a Mobilization Game Plan (Cary, NC, USA). Training for mission mobilization directors from Missio Nexus.

November 13-14, Support Raising Bootcamp (Dallas, TX, USA). Provided by Via Generosity (formerly Support Raising Solutions).

November 13-17, Storytelling Training (online). Offered regularly by StoryRunners, a ministry of Cru.

November 16, Equipping Missionaries to Mobilize Others (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

November 16-18, International Conference on Missions (Oklahoma City, OK, USA). An annual event. An annual conference in the Christian/Disciples of Christ tradition.

November 17-19, Catalyze Boise (Boise, ID, USA). Discover what God is doing in the Muslim world. A three-day intensive offered by Frontiers USA.

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

November 21, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.

November 30, Informed, on the Ground Metrics for Mission: GAPP (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

December 6-7, Denominational Roundtable for Mission Leaders (Greenville, SC, USA). An annual networking event organized by Missio Nexus.

December 7, Developing Movement Catalysts: It’s Within Your Reach (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

December 10, Virtual Prayer Gathering: Call to Prayer (online). Monthly event for members of Missio Nexus.

December 19, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer for Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI for the third Tuesday of each month.

December 21, The Details Matter: How a Project Manager Can Help Reduce Your Workload (online). Webinar for mission communication and marketing staff. Provided by Missio Nexus.

View the complete calendar, updated regularly. Submissions welcome.

1. Book: Thinking Differently About Discipleship
2. Documentary: Savior Complex
3. Article: Functional Atheism and Mission
4. Events: Conferences, Training, and More Coming up in October

Read or share the email edition or scroll down for more.

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Source: DMMs Frontier Missions

The Multiplier’s Mindset: Thinking Differently About Discipleship, by Cynthia Anderson. DMMs Frontier Missions, 2023. 230 pages.

Ever struggled with making disciples or experienced frustration when you tried to fulfill the Great Commission? This book will show you how to recognize and overcome the mindsets that block our fruitfulness and impact.

YWAM leader and trainer Cynthia Anderson leans into Scripture, tells stories, and raises questions related to what we believe about God, ourselves (specifically how God can use us) and how to make disciples who make disciples.

I love this book. It’s written for church-planting, disciple-making missionaries pursuing movements, but much of it has broader application. It’s a quick read but worth working through slowly.

The Kindle edition is just US$9.99 but it’s also available as a hardcover book or paperback. Learn more and get the book or related resources from the book website. You might also consider reading her blog, listening to the interviews she conducted for the book, or taking an online class.

Source: HBO

Here’s an important but disturbing story. Renee Bach was a U.S. missionary who set up a feeding clinic in Jinja, Uganda and is accused of causing the deaths of malnourished children whom she cared for despite a lack of medical training.

Explore the story in Savior Complex, a three-part HBO original documentary that premiered this week on Max. See trailer below.

Maybe, like me, you don’t have access to watch the series. But you can read an article about it in The Guardian or listen to an eight-part podcast series (The Missionary; scroll back to 2020).

See also Shadow Side of Missions, part 1 of 3 in a series on ethics by Ed Stetzer (Church Leaders).

Source: Global Witness, Globally Reimagined, September 14, 2023

Harvey Kwiyani writes:

I grew up in a revival in Malawi—the kind of revival that turned many nominal Christians into fervent followers of Christ, ever ready to pray and evangelize. I learned after leaving the continent that the revival was a widespread phenomenon that touched almost all sub-Saharan Africa and has been going on for decades. In the context of a revival, mission and evangelism tend to be straightforward. I saw many people miraculously convert by themselves because of dreams and other spectacular phenomena. Many of them are still active following Christ today, 30 years later.

Central to all this revival is a theology (shaped by an African worldview) that requires that God acts for and on behalf of people. Even in African (traditional) religion, a god who does not heal or provide is useless and will have no followers.

Yet, such is the God that many other Christians worship, especially in the post-Enlightenment West. Many people profess to follow Christ, yet, they live as if they are atheists. They are Christians, yet they are so self-sufficient that they do not need help from God. They live out their faith as if everything depends on them.

Read the full article and a follow-up, “Will This Jesus Protect Us?” Thought-provoking.

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

October 2 to February 4, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (online). New online classes begin regularly.

October 3-4, Support Raising Bootcamp (Krakow, Poland). Provided by Via Generosity (formerly Support Raising Solutions).

October 3-5, GACX Forum (Dallas, TX, USA). An annual event from the Global Alliance for Church Multiplication.

October 3-6, Pastoral Training in Member Care (Asheville, NC, USA). For anyone involved in caring for global workers; usually held annually.

October 4-7, Christian Community Development Association National Conference (Cincinnati, OH, USA). Learn about CCD and network with others to help people and communities experience God’s shalom.

October 8-9, The Mobilized Church: Keys to Unlocking Your Church’s Mission Potential (Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, USA). Provided by Sixteen:Fifteen.

October 8 to November 3, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Followed by a Language Learning Accelerator course, November 5-17. Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

October 10 to December 12, Mission Leader Cohort (online). Designed to help mission pastors be further developed in the head, heart, and hands of their unique and crucial role. Provided by Upstream Collective.

October 9-13, Culture for Global Gospel Workers (online). Training course offered several times a year by CultureBound.

October 12, Missionary Education in the 21st Century (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 13-14, Evangelical Missiological Society Annual Conference (Dallas, TX, USA and online). Theme: Educating for contemporary mission.

October 16-17, Support Raising Bootcamp (Monument, CO, USA). Provided by Via Generosity (formerly Support Raising Solutions).

October 17, Contend: Monthly Day of Prayer For Mission Mobilization (global). Coordinated by GMMI and held on the third Tuesday of each month.

October 16-19, Thrive Retreat (Cape Town, South Africa). For North American women serving cross-culturally.

October 16 to November 11, COMPASS (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Language and culture acquisition provided by Missionary Training International.

October 17-18, Amplify Outreach Conference (Wheaton, IL, USA). An annual event from the Billy Graham Center in partnership with Outreach magazine.

October 23-27, Language for Global Gospel Workers (online). Training course offered regularly by CultureBound.

October 23-27, Abide Debriefing (Joplin, MO, USA). Help for moving forward with hope and momentum; from TRAIN International (held eight times a year).

October 19-23, International TCK Conference (Chiang Mai, Thailand).

October 24-26, DigitalMediaCon 4.0 (virtual event). This three-day conference for Christian communicators, held by the Evangelical Press Association and the National Association of Evangelicals, is an annual event.

October 24-26, Standards Introductory Workshop (online). An introduction to the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions, from Mission Excellence.

October 25-27, Support Raising Bootcamp (Nairobi, Kenya). Provided by Via Generosity (formerly Support Raising Solutions).

October 26, The End of the Beginning (online). Webinar from Missio Nexus.

October 26-29, Haven Retreat (Marathon, Greece). For kingdom-minded women serving overseas from various nations. Provided by Azmera.

October 27-28, Field Security Seminar (Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire). Provided by Crisis Consulting International.View the complete calendar, updated regularly. Submissions welcome.

Source: Eva Burkholder

Lord God, I’m so weary.
I feel like I could cry but not sure what about.
I’ve run a sprint and I need to pause. Rest. Reset.

It felt like a successful sprint.
I reached my goals. I survived.
I served. I taught. I empathized and encouraged.
I adapted. I pivoted.
I listened a lot. I prayed incessantly.
I invited co-workers into rest.

I heard hard stories and
know that some aren’t doing as well
as I’d like them to.

I made recommendations.
I shared resources.
I nudged toward restoration
and gave the gift of presence.

I also laughed heartily,
soaked in the beauty of your creation,
witnessed your healing and reconciliation,
saw them relax and breathe deep,
find solutions and next steps.
You enabled me to serve well. And I am grateful.

But now I’m tired and depleted…

Read the full liturgy, especially if you serve in ministry leadership or a missionary care role.

The author co-wrote a helpful book that came out earlier this year, Grit to Stay Grace to Go. Read our review.

Sources: Various

7 Principles for Responding to Crises

Emails and church hallway conversations may raise urgent questions: “People are suffering! What will our churcåçh do? How can we help?” Catalyst Services shares principles to help your church decide when and how to wisely respond to crises.

Read the article.

7 Practical Ways Churches Can Care for Missionaries

Want to do a better job at caring for those you support and send out? A winsome Canadian church mission leader shared some solid ideas on the Global Missions Podcast. But they may require leaving margin in your mission budget—funds not allocated to monthly support.

Listen to the podcast (it first aired in 2021).

9 Ways to Share Wins Overseas

“Celebrating out loud is a way of putting skin on how God responds to us, in his own bounding, bursting-at-the-buttons joy. And the Bible’s clear that sharing the wins in community ratchets our joy up a notch.” Go.Serve.Love suggests a variety of ways to celebrate the good stuff.

Read the article.

Prevent Burnout by Enjoying God in 4 Simple Ways

In an article for Missio Nexus, Carolyn from Soul Shepherding offers four little but surprisingly powerful ways to renew your intimacy with God (and includes other helpful insights and links).

1. Share your real emotions and struggles with someone you trust to give you empathy.
2. Get outside to run, hike, walk, or sit and breathe in the beauty.
3. Make a healthy meal and savor it.
4. Sleep or lay in bed for eight hours.

Read the article.

Events: Coming up in September