News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
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In this issue….

Introducing PGC

BURNING QUESTIONS

A bunch of us have been scratching our heads, wondering how in the world one part of Christendom might get word to the other parts about a need among a particular people group or city. As for me personally, I’m a relative newcomer.

Because of a project I was asked to coordinate (called Envision ’96), I started asking such questions just this past February. “Where do the least reached people live? How can we find out which groups have no proponents — i.e., people trying to reach them? And in cases where at least one church or agency has taken responsibility to reach them, how can we get a phone number or email address to get more information?”

So, after lots of interviewing, faxing, and questions to people all across the world, Brigada was born. That has been our driving question. How in the world can we find answers to these and other questions. Out of it, well over 800 people have rallied together to form dozens of email conferences targeting various peoples, cities, projects, and issues.

But we still couldn’t find the answer to a simple question: Who in the world cares about reaching the Yemeni? And what of the Sulung?
It was impossible — until this morning. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUR QUEST!

What we were all dreaming of was a way we could simply plug the name of a people group or city into some huge machine somewhere and “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” — out would come the people group location, language, population, Ethnologue reference material (that’s a big reference book about languages by the people who write them down for us: Wycliffe

), . . . virtually all kinds of data… and (the most important part) pointers to resource people and contacts who might be able to tell us more! Real live people who knew about the Sulung and the Yemeni . . . or whatever group or city for which we were burdened. Specifically, we wanted to be able to get phone numbers for people who had the inside scoop, so that, once they were sure I was who I said I was, they could tell us how much help they needed there and more importantly, what kind of help would be appropriate.
Those were our questions… until this morning.!!!!!!

THE PROBLEMS

The problem was that we don’t by nature work together. We live in different houses which are located in different towns which are organized in different counties which make up different states or provinces which form different countries which are separated into different continents by the oceans of water and culture which divide us. Besides, we were always scared of security concerns. And additionally, what kind of technology would allow for the design of such a machine, let alone the construction of it!
Well those were our problems… until this morning. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT STARTING THIS MORNING, THINGS ARE DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“… WHRRRR… SSSS… GRRRR… THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!”

Sometimes dreams do become reality! Guess what. You got it. You’ve got the little box that goes “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” You think I’m kidding. But I’m not! Guess what else. If you got this Brigada Today by email or the WorldWide Web, you can use the little box that goes “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” all by yourself, the same way you got these paragraphs!!! Don’t ask me why God is using the INTERNET to finally answer our questions… maybe it’s the vision of the people who started CrossConnect (the agency that laid the foundation to make possible Brigada — and PGC, by the way!). Maybe it’s MAF (the people who are paying the bills at CrossConnect

; Ahem! Let’s not forget them! [Sublimital message — gently whispering in what sounds like the breeze outside your window: Join CrossConnect! Join CrossConnect! Send them your $52 for a one-year subscription. Join CrossConnect! For more information, contact Cathleen@xc.org.]

They don’t pay me; I’m a volunteer working with Brigada. So I’m just a customer. But they’ve sure made some dreams come to reality for many of us!). Maybe it’s all of us working together… or maybe God just wants a job to be done and He’s ready to use us if we’re willing to be used. After all, didn’t he use a donkey in the Old Testament to try to talk some sense into a mixed-up profit . . . er, I mean PROPHET??? If he can use a donkey, maybe He can even use the 800+ people who have joined together to form Brigada! Maybe He can use you! Maybe previously, it would have been nearly impossible to find the answers.
But that was before this morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE PRICE!

Want to hear the best part? The price has been paid. (Not only for our sins on the cross, but also . . . ) Here’s how much it’s going to cost you for every single access to the little box that goes “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!”:

That’s right. Zilch. Zero. 0. Nada! The number that takes its shape from the top of the toilet bowl! No hay que pagar nisiquiera un peso! (We’re talkin’ a deal here folks.) But that’s not because it’s been free to develop it. The truth is, it has taken years for people to have obtained the data, built the vision, acquired the technology, and learned the skill to bring this little box to reality. Well, starting this morning, it’s here. Welcome to the PGC.

INTRODUCING… THE PEOPLE GROUP CONSULTANT (PGC)

Let me tell you all you have to do. If you have email, you send a simple message to (you guessed it!

) hub@xc.org(hey — this hub thing is no fool, is it!). Compuserve users — they’re different — will have to spell the address as INTERNET:hub@xc.org but either way, just put this in the text/body of the message:

search yemeni

search sulung

search whatever people group you can think of.

Simple. Nothin’ to it. In five minutes or less, log back on and get your email. “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” There in your inbasket it will be. I’m serious folks. Just try it. I dare you. Think up a people group and I betcha’ it’ll already know the answer!!! 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even on Christmas and Easter, the PGC will be there to help.

IT GETS EASIER!

Got access to the worldwide web? (In other words, know anyone with Compuserve, or America Online, or Prodigy, or Netcom, or nearly every other INTERNET carrier in the business?) It’s even easier. Point your browser to the Brigada homepage: http://www.xc.org/brigada/brigada.html

I’ve set up my Netscape browser so that Brigada is the default page that comes up every time I log onto the worldwide web. Where else would I want to go?

Scroll the page down a bit and click on the line entitled, “Reaching the Least Reached Peoples.” In a moment, you’ll see a page with various resources listed and at the top, beside a graphic of little globe, you’ll see the line, “People Group Consultant.” Just click it.

In a split second you’ll be there: ( The direct address is actually http://www.xc.org/pgc.htmlif you want to skip the Brigada stuff. Hey. It won’t hurt my feelings either way. I get paid the same no matter what. That’s right. “Zilch. Zero. 0. Nada! The number that takes its shape from the top of the toilet bowl! )

It’s the People Group Consultant, alias the “PGC.” Read the disclaimer (at least the first time), then scroll down and fill in the blank with the name of some people group. (Maybe someday you’ll be able to use a city name, or a country, or other stuff. For now, just use the people group.) Go ahead. Try it! Humor me. Listen to the “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” and in 5, 10, or 15 seconds (depending on how fast your modem is — with 28.8 it’s about 2 seconds; with 14.4 it can take longer… up to 10 or 12), out’ll come your answer. Just like in the movies!!! Can you tell I’m excited about this or what. Put in the Sulung. Then try the Yemeni. Then try one you heard about years ago. They’re all there.

NOW COMES THE HARD PART

Reaching them! There are well over 10,000 groups already programmed in, thanks mainly to the kindness of

a) John Gilbert and the Global Research division of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, who plans to update these data — The Integrated Strategic Planning Database — on a yearly basis each April.
and
b) Jonathan Marsden. Jonathan works for CrossConnect. He’s the genius that makes the box go “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!” I think in a former life he was named Edison or Bell or something. For now though, he just stays up all hours of the night making dreams turn into reality. From all of us, thanks Jonathan.

Within the next few days, there will be even more data available. Just last night, the Adopt-a-people Clearinghouse made a firm decision to contribute their data. Yowza! This is what their work is all about. Their new Director, Keith Butler, has made a clear-cut decision to back the PGC all the way. Others are scrambling to try to link in data from PIN, Wycliffe (Thanks Ron!), the Urban Leadership Foundation (then you’ll be able to put any one of several thousand cities into the blank!!! — thanks Viv and Leland!), and many more. The AD2000 & Beyond “adoptions” will be plugged in as they occur (Thanks Luis and Pete!).

SAFE AND SOUND

In every case, the integrity of the data will be preserved. We will never be listing information that might put anyone at risk. For example, if you ask for information about some group in the Middle East, PGC’s email pointers and/or phone numbers will refer you to information people but not on-site teams. (By the way, it will then be up to the contact person to decide how much and what type of information to release at what time and to whom. Everyone gets to broker their own private info. at the level they prefer. They can always join CrossConnect and get a forwarding email address so they can use the address info-on-Iraq@xc.org or whatever. Then, when they get mail, they decide what to do with it and how open they want to be.)

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

It took some marketing rep. for Microsoft to dream up the ad campaign, “Where do you want to go today? (TM)” But that’s the question, folks. Where do you want to go? Now you’ll have the data. The hard part is reaching them. Can’t wait for next week. Where do you want to go? Now you can make informed decisions. You know what else? The eventual goal is that you’ll be able to fill in forms and actually add the information yourself and even make future changes to your own record! This is 1995 gang.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Tell the PGC about your church’s “adoption” or your agency’s intentions to reach…. _______ (fill in the blank). Specifically, when you enter the query form, the fourth bullet down from the top, click on “Adopt-A-People Clearinghouse.” If you’ve configured your browser correctly, up will pop a form letter to fill out. Write them a short paragraph. Not 30 seconds ago, I sent a paragraph saying that our organization, Team Expansion, has adopted the Muslim Crimean Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine. I gave our contact person’s name, his phone, fax, addresses (both snail mail and email

), and said thanks. That’s it! The staff and volunteers at the AAPC will then take care of making sure your data is properly entered in the PGC. It’ll be viewable before you know it. Only when we take time to enter our intentions will the PGC really start paying off. Until then, it’s just a lot of “… whrrrr… ssss… grrrr… thump, thump, thump, THUMP!”

HAVE YOU ORDERED YOUR MAP TODAY?

Remember, you’ve only got about 3 more hours to order your quantity of 100 poster-sized maps of the 10/40 Window at the $3.95 price from GMI. Call them at 1-800-569-6312 or, from outside the USA, fax to 719-548-7459.

Remember these are prepaid orders only. (Yikes! I just remembered I haven’t phoned in our order! [Doug pauses to phone Harold Britton……] I’m back. Harold said, “You know Doug, what we want here at GMI more than anything else is for people to gather all over the world and pray for these cities and nations like never before.” Amen Harold.)

WE’RE TAKING A POLL

WHERE’S THE BEST SCHOOL TO LEARN RUSSIAN? — Send your answer to Brigada-Russia. We’ve got lots of folks over there in the former USSR that still haven’t learned the language. C’mon gang. Let’s get serious about trying to help these folks learn the heart language of the people with which they’re working!

SO WHERE WILL THE PRAYER PROFILES COME FROM FOR AD2000 & BEYOND?

Many will come from Bethany Church, thanks to the five staff people they’ve assigned to the project!!! Wow….. Where do we find more churches with that kind of vision!!!

ONLY 36 SHOPPING DAYS ‘TIL OCTOBER

Preachers, we got a phone call yesterday from a minister in Indiana who wants to preach a 5-Sunday sermon series on missions, with special emphasis on the least reached people in places like the 10/40 Window. Give us your best shot. Join the contest. Winner gets an extra jewel in his Heavenly crown. Give us your best 5-Sunday sermon series and I’ll relay it to the minister in Indiana and make it available to everyone else. Please submit entries in email form only please, if at all possible. Faxed and hard copies accepted only if the content justifies me taking time to scan it in.

DLucas@TeamExpansion.orgor fax to 513-244-8430. Due by Sept. 1, please. Employees of Brigada and their families are not eligible to participate. (Wait a minute! Brigada doesn’t have any employees!)

NEW ETHNIC OUTREACH CONFERENCE HOPING TO SPAWN GREATER EFFECTIVENESS

Thanks to David Householder for championing the cause of reaching the internationals who live next door! David writes, “Brigada-us-ethnics is a brand new discussion forum where all of us who are involved in some way with ministry to immigrant ethnic peoples in North America can share demographic discoveries, resource materials, prayer support, and mutual encouragement for the task of reaching the peoples of the world within the borders of the USA and Canada.” Write David Householder via Davidhousholder@xc.organd/or join the conference by sending email to hub@xc.orgwith only the following line in the body of the message:
subscribe brigada-us-ethnics

GLOBAL GLIMPSE

Here’s the Global Glimpse for you to put in your church bulletin or newsletter:

A young man from the Vietnamese “Tai Dang” tribe was sent to jail unfairly and met pastor Ai who was in jail for his faith. The young man became a Christian, was released, and went to a local Bible School which requires students to share their faith with five people. A month later the young man called pastor Ai, asking him to send a trained pastor to baptize the new converts. Astonished, Ai asked why he should send a pastor to baptize 5 converts. The reply: “Pastor Ai, I have not won 5 people but 5 villages – 753 people.”

Source: DAWN Friday Fax 28.95

John Hanna, Caleb Project

FROM THE “LET’S GET SERIOUS ABOUT VISION” DEPARTMENT

Ya know, I always thought that if a person was highly technical, highly skilled, highly process oriented, then they would probably be pretty scared about bulging growth. Not so with Jonathan Marsden, who manages the technical end of CrossConnect and, as such, helps with Brigada technical projects. When I asked him this past week about how he felt about Brigada growing past the 800 mark, I was surprised to hear him say he wasn’t satisfied. “I won’t be happy until we have 10,000 people on board, with hundreds of conferences about least reached people groups and cities all over the world.” Wow. When I grow up, I want to be like that.

Have a great week!

BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY… — … the following team of regular volunteers:

Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
ADVANCE: Mark A. Kelley, Kainos Press, 70420.1057@compuserve.com
Web Wizard: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
Web Art: Patti Mayhew, c/o mayhew@xc.org
Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, CrossConnect jonathan@xc.org
Compiler: Doug Lucas, Team Expansion & Brigada, DLucas@TeamExpansion.org
and many other occasional contributors too numerous to mention! But thanks for working together! That’s the dream of Brigada!