Read or share the email edition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month<\/a> we asked what topics you\u2019d most like to see us cover in Practical Mobilization. What would you find most interesting and helpful in these monthly pieces and maybe in the Missions Catalyst newsletter as a whole?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to everyone who chimed in. Admittedly, the number was a little small. More of a focus group. But it gave us enough to go on. Often, the earliest data is a pretty good indicator of what will or could come later, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to prove me wrong about that, you can still complete the survey<\/a>. It should only take a couple of minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what we asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what we heard from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the 13 categories we suggested, this one got the most votes. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve addressed in many ways over the years but we\u2019ll plan to lean into it more and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, be sure you\u2019re getting the monthly publication Postings<\/a> from Catalyst Services. You can also find gems in their carefully organized archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Readers mentioned a few specific issues. They are currently struggling with how to get and keep their pastors and church staff involved in missions, how to help their churches become more mission-focused, and how to create meaningful connections between the congregation and their mission partners (some of whom work in sensitive regions).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following close behind that, most readers would like to see us continue covering current events and ministry trends. Will do. Your interest gives me a great excuse to keep up with reading, listening to webinars, and going to conferences. Thanks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also recommend Justin Long\u2019s weekly roundup<\/a> and a new eight-episode podcast exploring the changing face of global missions called MissionShift<\/a>, from Cru City Global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just knowing what\u2019s going on is not enough. How do we apply what we hear about mission shifts and changing cultural trends to our mission and mobilization efforts? In particular, what do we need to know and do to work well with international partners and see more funding for mission efforts from the global south? Those are the kind of questions readers are asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My hope is that just by hearing from us, you\u2019re a bit encouraged and inspired to keep going and not give up. But motivation is something we could address more. Check out Shane Bennett\u2019s 7 Joys of Mobilizers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve started a conversation with Bevin Ginder at GlobalCast Resources<\/a> about creating some articles related to this and other topics on our list. Watch for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, in-person and\/or interactive is best for many of us. Scope out the Missions Catalyst events calendar<\/a> for options that may work for you. And if you\u2019re a mission mobilizer in the US, get yourself connected to a Mobilization Ideation<\/a> group or event in your region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One reader wrote to confess, \u201cThe biggest challenge I\u2019ve been wrestling with as a mobilizer is that I spend a majority of my time encouraging and mobilizing others in the area of disciple-making, while not fully living that out in my own life. I think as mobilizers, we often have resources that help us know how to mobilize others better, but I think many (if not most) of us are really struggling to implement the very things we\u2019re trying to help other people do. At least that\u2019s been my struggle.\u201d Can you relate?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The saying\u2019s been around for a while. \u201cWhen we work, we work. When we pray, God works.\u201d He can accomplish in a day what we might labor over for years. We\u2019ll continue to share ways to pray and tools to help others pray. Nothing we can do or say will convince someone the gospel is true or mobilize them for global missions like hearing from God for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We also hope Missions Catalyst encourages you to pray on your own and with others. One reader said, \u201cMy life as a mom of a young child is full. [I need] to be fueled with prayer ideas to do alongside my daughter.\u201d Another wrote, \u201cI love the mission stories, even the hard ones because they cause me to pray more for the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d love to hear what you think, though, about all the days or weeks of prayer for different places, people groups, etc. that we promote. There are so many of them, and none of us can care about everything. It\u2019s easy enough to put them on the calendar, though. Do you want more of this sort of thing? Or maybe less?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This topic is a discouraging one, but being out of touch with the obstacles and challenges we and others face does us no good either. Many of the books I think of as \u201cmissions apologetics\u201d address obstacles and misconceptions. Some hurdles have been around for generations, while others seem new or growing in strength. See articles from The Traveling Team on obstacles to mission<\/a>. You might have something to add to the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several readers wrote about the struggle to motivate the younger generation and pass the mission mobilization vision on to them. How do we recruit and motivate more young adults, including young professionals? How do we integrate professionals into teams of traditional Bible-school types and see both become fruitful disciple-makers? Those are good questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before the pandemic came along, this was a regular topic for us. Not so much lately. See some from our archives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m going to try to get some fresh content on this topic from friends at Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission<\/a>. Making mission trips better is what they\u2019re all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This topic could go in many different directions. Aside from frequent shout-outs to things like Perspectives on the World Christian Movement<\/a>, we\u2019ve funneled most of our content about training opportunities and resources to our Resource Review editions. But maybe some of it would fit well in Practical Mobilization. How about revisiting immersive training opportunities like those mentioned in our 2013 article about mission internships<\/a>? The options have changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, get yourself over to Global Frontier Missions<\/a> for mission education opportunities in varying levels of immersion and complexity. They do good stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evangelism, crossing cultures, missionary care, fundraising, and other nuts-and-bolts issues came in lower on our list. I was surprised by some of these. Perhaps our readers don\u2019t need practical help in these areas. Or maybe you know you can find it elsewhere. Fair enough. We won\u2019t ignore these topics altogether but may limit our comments to pointing you to other ministries, tools, and training opportunities you can pursue or recommend to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to everyone who contributed to this survey and to everyone who reads Missions Catalyst. Some of you have been with us for decades. Others come with fresh eyes. We need both. May the Lord continue to bless you and make you a blessing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spreading Vision, Keeping Pace, Staying the Course, and Praying Well Read or share the email edition. Last month we asked what topics you\u2019d most like to see us cover in Practical Mobilization. What would you find most interesting and helpful in these monthly pieces and maybe in the Missions Catalyst newsletter as a whole? Thanks … Continue reading What Mission Mobilizers Want to Know<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11131"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11136,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11131\/revisions\/11136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Top Topics from Missions Catalyst Readers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Spreading mission vision in the local church (76.9%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n2. Current events and ministry trends (73.1%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Staying motivated as a mission mobilizer (57.6%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4. Ways to pray and raise up prayer for the nations & missions (57.5%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
5. Obstacles to global and local mission involvement (53.8%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
6. Making mission trips better (50%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
7. Mission training and education (50%)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What didn\u2019t make the cut?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
We appreciate you!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n