Exloring Life Eternal

Links indexed from A-Z!
http://www.missionresources.com

A Bible study guide called, "Finding Strength for the Journey," provides a tool for member care or personal encouragement. One missionary writes, "I have been able to relate to it more than any 'stateside' Bible study." Author Janice Lemke drew from experiences as a missionary when writing this series of thirty studies that explores topics such as perseverance in hardship,
dealing with depression, handling conflict, and benefit from trials.

For more information contact cjlemke (at) cs (dot) com

(Visit Brigada-Today online for more info.)

from: OSCAR (http://www.oscar.org.uk), UK information service for world mission

It is obvious but often overlooked. Missions and missionaries depend on prayer support.

When you pray for those in mission work, do you struggle with what to pray? Maybe you have so many things to pray for that it is difficult to focus on the real issues. We don't just need to pray longer and harder, we need to pray smarter. Several valuable resources highlight prayer topics for missionaries and their families. There is even one about how to pray for missionaries' children! Several of these resources are available in print form and on-line.

OSCAR’s Mission Directory
http://www.oscar.org.uk/opportunity/organisations/index.htm
can put you in touch with missions who will gladly supply you with fuel for prayer and have you join their ministry in this way.
Prayer Points - Pray for the current needs of a number of mission organizations.
http://www.PrayerPoints.org

Prayer Square - Pray for the needs of various individual missionaries.
http://www.PrayerSquare.org

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Alternatively, you can pray for individual missionaries’ needs through one of the following sites:
Missionary Prayer Shield:
http://www.prayercentral.net/engage/prayercards/#mshield

24-7 Prayer:
http://www.24-7prayer.com

People Teams:
http://www.peopleteams.org

A leaflet entitled 'Praying for Missionaries' that can help you focus your prayers:
http://www.clc.org.uk/praying%5Ffor%5Fmissionaries.cfm

A further on-line guide entitled 'How to Pray for Missionaries' Kids' is on OMF USA's web site:
http://www.us.omf.org/content.asp?id=9167

Abbreviated version:
http://www.omf.org.uk/content.asp?id=27458

Source (http://www.oscar.org.uk/supporter/roles/pray.htm).

NOTE: OSCAR is also featuring an article about praying for missionaries:
http://www.oscar.org.uk/oscaractive/articles/rich.htm

We enjoyed last month's feature on raising kids overseas:
http://www.oscar.org.uk/oscaractive/articles/knellm.htm

Kudos to Mike Frith who is continuing to build OSCAR into a helpful and dynamic web site for missions resources. He welcomes your submissions!

Becoming a World-Changing Church
By David Mays

This newly released 32-page booklet is the compilation of six articles published in the ACMC quarterly 'Mobilizer' magazine, under the topic "Your Church and Its Mission."

Many books on ”doing church” cite the Great Commission as the church's marching orders, identify the core of the Great Commission as making disciples, and give primary attention to reaching people
like you in your own community. The "all nations" part of the Great Commission is often treated in a page or two near the back of the book under "missions."

This booklet takes a fresh approach to making the Great Commission the central organizing principle of a church. The first part argues that "all nations" or "all the earth" is an integral part of the overriding purpose and mission of the church. The second part helps church leaders look objectively at their priorities and use of resources. The third part outlines what a globally focused church might look like. The fourth part discusses the relationship between purpose and ministries. The fifth part approaches the concept of implementing change. The sixth part examines the roles of church leaders in light of the mission.

Read excerpts (http://www.davidmays.org) from “Becoming a World-Changing Church.”

Available from ACMC’s on-line store (http://www.acmc.org).

NOTE: Like most writers, David is also an avid reader. We enjoy looking over his shoulder and get ideas for our own reading from his Book Notes (http://www.davidmays.org/BN.html). These come out about once a week and deal with mission and culture issues as well as leadership, management, and other interests. To subscribe, write to David Mays <davidmays@acmc.org>.

Please be in prayer for those who are stepping out in faith for work and projects needed to establish presence in the land. One friend is beginning the paperwork process for a project, while the funds are still not sufficient to start. Pray that the Lord will provide for the needs of such work.

Also remember other friends who have recently moved and are beginning to get settled, look for work, and begin the process for establishing a business. Pray for them as they work through culture shock and get accustomed to living in an environment which offers little chance for fellowship.

A third family needs prayer for residency permits. Please lift this before the Lord, that he will provide this critical need at a time when laws are once again being changed in a land of continual flux.

MullinsMedia has been providing media support to missions and missionaries since 2001. Recognizing that a well-designed and regularly updated website is the best communication tool available today, they specialize in providing low-cost, easy-edit web spaces to missionaries (hosting, training and maintenance included).

MullinsMedia also travels worldwide to produce documentary-
style DVDs that mission organizations use to tell their story.

Visit http://www.mullinsmedia.com

Click on "links" to see some of the sites they have developed.

Visit Brigada-Today online for more info.

A saint shared their frustrations with the red-tape of missionary institutions.

"I am really beginning to think all these agencies are a bunch of crock! You either WANT people and are willing to deal with them or not. So these [name omitted] people seem to be the only people taking me seriously and trying to make a way for me - so I think my best bet is to persue that. It's not thru an agency or even any denom but so far they are the ONLY ones I think are truly in this for the Lord and open to using me!"

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I think that C.T.Studd, founder of W.E.C. would understand you completely.

He ended up leaving the position of leadership with WEC because he really did believe that if someone had a conviction that the Lord could use them, then the Lord would make a way & that agencies often create more problems than they solve when they try to "protect"
the weak from going overseas.

(Paul addressed these issues in 2 Corinthians, I believe. He surely must have been the "worst" missionary ever, from an agency perspective & had a penchant for getting persecuted, BUT the Lord blessed because he was -willing-. Some in those days even thought his theology was suspect ... & some still do!!)

It is comical to me: I have a history of Bipolar disorder. However, an M.D. who has watched me did not believe it for a while until I spoke with him & said, "Yes, that is my diagnosis."

BTW: C.T.Studd & E.Stanley Jones both had bipolar disorder, as it would be called today. Amy Carmichael was bedridden for much of her life. William Carey had a mad wife. Fanny Crosby was blind. The missionaries to the Vikings were captured slaves. The first black man was evangelized by a deacon who didn't even have a ride back to his home. The first witness of the resurrection was a woman who had been demonized earlier. The first Christian escapees from jail were considered ghosts. Jesus had to evangelize the whole town of Samaria to get just a glass of cold water. Paul trembled when he preached in Corinth.

"Do you love Me?" That is all He asks.
"You, follow Me," He says.

Have a blessed trip to ... BTW: If you do go, please contact me if you will be going through ... & especially if you have a layover in DBX. Perhaps you could help PTAP in a small way.

Finally, Agencies & denominations have their place & role: to point to Jesus. When they remember that & do not try to supplant the Head, all is well. When they love the lost, even better. But, sometimes he uses saints such as yourself to bless those that will otherwise end up lost. Don't be discouraged by that. You are a pioneer. You don't fit the old patterns because the Lord is doing a New Thing. Always be mindful of the Freshness of the Spirit.

Peace in Christ,
Mert Hershberger

Check out the Visualized Bible Series. Bible Visuals International prints picture-based Bible lessons that cover the entire Bible, highlighting major doctrines, in over 85 languages. They even give rights for national churches to print materials in their language in their country. Contact them to receive a resource catalogue or more information on our overseas printing efforts.

GO TO:
http://www.biblevisuals.org
Or Write for: info (at) biblevisuals(dot)org
Call: (Intl. Prefix) + 1-717-859-1131 .

CONSULTATION ABSTRACTS AVAILABLE ONLINE
The Global Consultation on Music and Missions (GCoMM) is offering an amazing palette of choices at its July 11-15 event. Registrants will select from over 50 seminars, panels, plenary sessions, and media presentations. Experienced leaders from more than 20 organizations will present seminars within the following tracks: Foundations, Media and Related Arts, Contextualization and Case Studies, Methodology, and Overcoming Obstacles. Break-out sessions by geography and interest for networking.

Speaker info & seminar abstracts available online:
http://www.gcommhome.org

www.asiaharvest.org
Asia Harvest

From Headhunters to Church Planters:
An Amazing Spiritual Awakening in Nagaland
By Paul Hattaway

Surely one of the greatest spiritual revivals in history happened
in a remote corner of northeast India from the 1950s to 1970s,
when more than one million Naga people came to Christ. For centuries
the Nagas were head-hunters and lived bound by dark demonic powers.
Paul Hattaway, the author of “The Heavenly Man” and “Back to
Jerusalem,” is a frequent visitor to Nagaland. He has interviewed
numerous eyewitnesses to the revivals, documenting how it came
about, the opposition and brutal persecution that followed, and
the astonishing miracles that accompanied it.

“Today, almost one million Christians live joyful lives in Nagaland.
We have been conquered by God’s overwhelming grace and love ...
I recommend ‘From Head-hunters to Church Planters’ as an accurate
and incisive account of what God has done among the Nagas. May
God be glorified thorugh this book, and may your own heart be
revived as you read the wonderful things that God has done in
Nagaland!” - Naga Pastor Gwayhunlo Khing

Waynesboro, GA: Authentic, 2006, 144 pages.
Available from Asia Harvest
On the Web: http://www.asiaharvest.org
Price US$13 (including postage anywhere in the world)
with discounts for bulk orders.

=====

MERT: Having read some of the accounts, I can honestly say that they have helped prepare me for where I am today & that they equipped me with greater ability to discern danger & do God's work with faith & joy.

BOOK - I THINK GOD WANTS ME TO BE A MISSIONARY
from: Emmaus Road International (http://www.eri.org)

"I Think God Wants Me to Be a Missionary"
By Neal Pirolo

Prompted by the high attrition rate of missionaries who do not
first ‘count the cost’ of cross-cultural ministry, Neal Pirolo
offers this book to help candidates look closely at scores of
issues that should be clarified long before they say goodbye.
In an easy-to-read dialogue style, four young people represent
thousands of others.

A happy-go-lucky guy about to graduate from high school.
A most proper young lady who has always been home-schooled.
Kyle "engaged" to another young lady ... but one Sunday evening ...

In "I Think God Wants Me to Be a Missionary," we enter the lives of these missionary-hopefuls, their pastors, and others, and become involved in the dialogue as these young people deal with scores of issues to consider before saying goodbye.

Ordering information:
San Diego, CA: Emmaus Road International, 2005, 288 pages.
US$8.95 plus shipping and handling
On the web: http://www.eri.org
By phone: 858-292-7020

There are still several thousand language groups that have no Bible translation at all. Please pray that God will provide personnel, especially from within these language groups, to translate God's Word for them.

- from a worker in the USA.

TRAINING: HEART OF GOD MINISTRIES
from: Audrey Colwell <acolwell@heartofgod.com>, Heart of God
Ministries (http://www.heartofgod.com)

Heart of God Ministries (HGM), in Choctaw, Oklahoma, USA is an
interdenominational missions agency focused on training and sending
teams for long-term ministry among the unreached – the two billion
people who currently have no access to the gospel.

TRAIN: Beautiful Feet Boot Camp is a five-month program that
offers missionary training for the whole person: physical, spiritual,
mental, and emotional. HGM also offers a year-long intensive
internship that includes Boot Camp training, discipleship, service
opportunities, and a short-term trip.

GO SHORT-TERM: HGM offers three-week exposure trips in the spring
for those who want to experience what life is really like for
the unreached.

GO LONG-TERM: Those who feel called to serve as missionaries
can train with and be sent by HGM for church-planting work among
people who’ve never heard of Jesus.

VOLUNTEER: You can be a part of what God’s doing by joining with
HGM, as a part-time volunteer, as a full-time staff member, or
as a financial supporter.

MOBILIZE: HGM offers resources like missions mobilization material,
seminars, and speakers, that can help your church to get involved
in God’s global movement.

For more information, visit Heart of God Ministries (http://www.heartofgod.com)
on the web or call 405.737.9446.

EDITOR’S NOTE: They have a very cool web site! Take a look.

ARTICLE: PRAY FOR MISSIONARY WOMEN
Marti Smith <msmith@cproject.com>, Managing Editor

After doing research for a book on women in missions (see the Resource Review from June 22, 2005 of the BOOK - Through Her
Eyes
(http://www.calebproject.org/main.php/resource%5Freviews),
I put together a sheet of ideas on how to pray for women who are cross-cultural missionaries. It's simply entitled, "Pray for Missionary Women," and includes prayer needs of single women, married women, rookie missionaries, and seasoned veterans.

Have a use for such a thing? You can download it here:
http://www.calebproject.org/userfiles/main.php/PMW.pdf
or request a copy of the 60 kb file by e-mail
msmith (at) cproject (dot) com.

WEB SITE: OSCAR
from: *email:mike@oscar.org.uk: Mike Frith, OSCAR (http://www.oscar.org.uk)
– February 17, 2006

On March 1, 2006, OSCAR, the web-based UK Information Service
for World Mission, will re-launch its web site with a virtual
party on the Internet. Party goers will be able to play virtual
hide-and-seek, virtual pass-the-parcel, and mingle with other
virtual party goers during activities and discussions.

The re-launch also coincides with the organization's sixth birthday,
so the idea of a virtual party came about.

Mike Frith, OSCAR's Founding Director, says, "The web site re-
design and re-launch marks the beginning of the next phase of
OSCAR's life. I'm thrilled with all that OSCAR has achieved over
the last six years, but even more excited about what lies ahead."

Everyone is invited to join in the party on March 1 at the OSCAR
web site (http://www.oscar.org.uk), which includes the following
features:

* Opportunity zone - mission organizations and opportunities
plus news and info from around the world.

* Service zone - mission support services and relevant information.

* Supporter zone - information, advice, and resources for mission
supporters.

* OSCARactive - the interactive section of the OSCAR web site.

* News & events - time-critical information such as news, coming
events, and weather.

* About OSCAR - the background of OSCAR plus information on donations
and sponsorship.

Clarence Bos <cbos@execulink.com>, Internet Missions Research
(http://www.internetmissionsresearch.com)

A growing amount of information on the web is not searchable
by ordinary search engines. This so-called "deep web" contains
up to 500 times as much information as the "surface" web. Primary
documents, such as journal articles can often be found only by
querying their respective databases one by one.

Internet Missions Research can help you find what you need and
spend less time searching. Missionaries, church planters, and
evangelists are encouraged to submit requests, especially if
they are in developing countries and lack high-speed or affordable
Internet connections.

Sample questions:

"We are thinking of planting a church in this area. What can
you find out about it to help us in our planning?"

"I would like to communicate with other missionaries in a situation
that is similar to mine. Can you help me find a discussion group
or network of like-minded people?"

To request help for missions-related questions, log on to Internet
Missions Research (http://www.internetmissionsresearch.com).
Or you might first try the Network for Strategic Missions' KnowledgeBase
(http://www.strategicnetwork.org/index.php?loc=kb), which maintains
archives of eight mission journals.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We also like MisLinks (http://www.mislinks.org),
the extensive library of links maintained by top-notch researchers
Scott Moreau and Mike O’Rear.

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Received via Missions Catalyst by Caleb Project

We serve a creative God and we want to thank the Lord for the creativity He bestows in the life of His servants. Please pray with us for two well-thought-out ideas that workers have which would enable them to not only be able to live and work in one North African country, but to bless the people of that country. Pray that if these are from the Lord, He will provide the support and funds to see them begin and become successful enterprises.

* For a Learning Center which teaches computer and English
* For a Preschool, which will offer not only teaching to children, but a godly and loving environment due to her Christian teachers.

As we live and serve in the marketplace the Lord will use us as He did the Apostle Paul. Pray for these modern day tentmakers to be used to His glory.

SIA: MEDIA AND EVANGELISM VIGNETTES
from: link:www.lausanne.org:Lausanne Council on World Evangelism
- February 2006

By Wing Tai Leung

In Indonesia, Christian artists present shadow plays using cow
skin to make vivid characters to communicate the gospel. They
also paint tapestries to tell biblical stories and themes in
non-linear forms. This type of folk media is very portable and
can be featured in the market, home, or other places. Folk media
is very effective with rural Asians or those who have strong
cultural ties.

Television as a mass medium is quite effective in promoting social
profiles for Christian life stories. A Christian group called
Shower of Blessings documents life stories of people who face
crises and are converted to Christianity. These television docu-
dramas are shown in Asia and North American Chinese communities.

Full story here (http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/worldreports/222).

NOTE: Dr. Wing Tai Leung is general secretary of Breakthrough
(http://www.breakthrough.org.hk) and youth ministry coordinator
of Chinese Coordination Center for World Evangelization (http://www.cccowe.org) (CCCOWE).
He convened the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization Issue Group 19 on Media and Technology.
This group produced a 65-page paper available as a PDF; click here:
(http://community.gospelcom.net/lcwe/assets/LOP48IG19.pdf).

===
This & the previous entry are from Missions Catalyst published by the Caleb Project.

Visit our web site at www.missionscatalyst.org or our current
web site at www.calebproject.org.

INTERNATIONAL CHURCHES REACHING UPGS
International churches are filled with unique resources - talented people, money, and know-how. The Missional International Church Network (MICN) models and teaches how international churches can dynamically engage in God's transformational work. The third MICN Conference will be 24-28 April 2006 in Bangkok, Thailand. Speakers are all experienced international church leaders.

For information contact:
conference(at)micn(dot)org
OR: http://www.micn.org

Offers free architectural and engineering design services to ministries in developing countries helping the poor and advancing the Kingdom.
For more info, ministries can contact
http://www.emiusa.org/requesthelp.html