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News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse https://brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is “the missionary helper newsletter!”
Compiled by Doug Lucas <dlucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
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In this issue….
* AD2000 & BEYOND WANTS YOU!
* SCUBA ANYONE?
* HEADED TO THE WORLD CUP? START PLANNING NOW!
* PRAYER WAVE FOR IRAN
* INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE KNOCKING…. WILL YOU ANSWER?
* GLOBAL GLIMPSE FROM CAIRO
* 30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS SET FOR MAY-JUNE
* “WHO’S ON FIRST?” (MAFxc CONFERENCE COMMAND REVISION)
* TRY THIS SHIPPER
* NEED A VIDEO FOR YOUR PROJECT?
* SEMINAR ON CHINA
* SO WHAT ARE YOUR “GREAT PASSIONS?”
* TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
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AD2000 & BEYOND WANTS YOU!
The AD2000 & Beyond Movement is in the process of conducting a survey to update the status of work among Joshua Project 2000 peoples. The last survey (1996) brought in 25,000 pieces of information from over 800 agencies in at least 80 countries. This data is used globally for mobilization, networking and avoidance of duplication. The current survey will assess the status of church planting efforts as well as the existence of indigenous churches among Joshua Project 2000 peoples. The survey will be sent automatically to those who received the initial mailing. If you or someone you know did not receive the earlier survey, but would like to respond now, please send your name, agency and mailing address to the AD2000 and Beyond Movement info@ad2000.org. For more information regarding the motivation for completing the survey, use and distribution of the collected data, and security guidelines used when sharing data; just email info@ad2000.org with a message that says, “JP2000 Survey Information.”
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SCUBA ANYONE?
Interested in helping get literature into certain restricted access countries? If so, Frontline Evangelism would like to know! For example, they’re presently looking for individuals with sailing or scuba experience and equipment. Apparently this will be the “purpose” of the short-term trip … with a Christian perspective, if you know what I mean. If you’re interested, contact dbg@ix.netcom.com.
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HEADED TO THE WORLD CUP? START PLANNING NOW!
If you’re headed to the World Cup in France this summer, now’s the time to start planning! Write mwozniak@rbc.org for a press release regarding outreach tracts/videos that RBC ministry will be making available in both Spanish and English. You’ll get a kick out of the possibilities!
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PRAYER WAVE FOR IRAN
Here’s a group in the UK that would like to create a “wave” of prayer around the globe (a la the kind of “waves” you see at football stadiums and Promise Keeper rallies) for Iran. Cool idea. Write RapAdvance@aol.com for more information or if you’re willing to pray May 29-30 for a group in Iran. Put “The Wave” in the subject line. thumbs-up
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE KNOCKING…. WILL YOU ANSWER?
Over 550,000 international students currently study in American Universities. If you’re reading from some other country, some international students are probably studying at a university near you. As for the USA, every year, 120,000 new students come in and nearly 90,000 return home. These students are the brightest and the best, the top 2-3% from their countries. They will go home to become future leaders in some aspect of their country’s society and socio-economic matrix. There is no question about whether these students will make a difference. The question is, will that difference be for Christ. The World At Your Door is a very practical guide to the vision and the how-to’s of getting individuals and churches involved in outreach to international students. It addresses the strategic and urgent nature of the window of opportunity that God has given the church in America to touch people who will be change agents when they return home. If you’re in the USA, call 1-800-ISI-TEAM. Overseas, use Net-2-phone, or write BNorsworthy@ISIonline.org for more information. Put “The World” in the subject line.
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GLOBAL GLIMPSE FROM CAIRO
world globe More than 4,500 people gathered for a three-day, standing-room-only rally at a church in downtown Cairo and 97 made first-time decisions for Christ. The rally was sponsored by Trans World Radio for people who listen to Arabic language gospel radio broadcasts. Also, evangelist Luis Palau will preach four evangelistic meetings March 12-15 in Cairo, at Kasr el-Dobara Evangelical Church. The messages will be videotaped and hand-carried to hundreds of churches throughout Egypt for showings the next day.
(Source: January 1998 Advance newsletter https://brigada.org/advance/adv9801.html>.
Global Glimpse is compiled each week by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
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30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS SET FOR MAY-JUNE
The dates for the second annual “30 Days Hindu Prayer Focus” are May 17 to June 15 (contrary to some news that was unfortunately publicized prematurely, and that placed the dates mid March to mid April). Be so kind publicize these dates. Prayer guide booklets are currently being written and will go to print in late March. In England: South Asia Concern, email: 100126.3641@compuserve.com, In Germany: ABM.VFA@t-online.de. Everywhere else:
WorldChristian News
PO Box 26479
Colorado Springs, CO 80936
USA
Tel: 1 (719) 442-6409; Email: wcn@xc.org,
http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html
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“WHO’S ON FIRST?” (MAFxc CONFERENCE COMMAND REVISION)
So, what’s the name of the command you use to get a list of the members of your conference? Wrong. Who? Wrong again. Confused? Right! Let’s start over. Since Feb., 1995, when the Brigada family of email conferences came into being, we’ve always been able to send a command to <hub@xc.org> to get a complete list of everybody in a particular conference. This past week, MAFxc finally had to give in and disable the generic “who” command (Exception: the owner of the conference can still do a “who”). This is a good news/bad news story. The bad news is that it’ll be tougher to network. We won’t be able to send a quick “who” to the hub and get an email address list of everyone in our working group. The good news is that security is much tighter and for most of us, the good news probably outweighs the bad news. Now those who were wishing to start or join certain private conferences can do so without fearing that someone will get grab our email address. And now it’ll be impossible for “spammers” (Internet advertisers and bulk mailers) to harvest email addresses from each conference. So if you know of someone who jumped out of the Brigada network because of security fears, please pass along the word that things are now a lot tighter. And if you know of someone who might benefit from one of Brigada’s conferences, please feel free to invite them aboard! Finally, thanks to Jonathan and all the folks at MAFxc for doing their best to maintain a tight ship. Brigada is only one set of conferences on the MAFxc hub (the largest, by the way) — there are hundreds of other conferences and networks. Those MAFxc folk stay pretty busy out there in Redlands, CA. Would you join me today in bowing for a moment to give thanks for their commitment to excellence?
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TRY THIS SHIPPER
Next time you need to ship overseas, try Richard at RMJ Services (Resurrected Messiah Jesus), rmjservices@juno.com. Apparently, he has shipped missionaries, non-profit and relief organizations for over 25 years. He does international truck, air and ocean shipping. FAX: 313-941-8127. Let us know what you think!
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NEED A VIDEO FOR YOUR PROJECT?
Dan & Judy Anderson have a deal for you! Her Visionary International Video reportedly provides “quality low priced promotional productions for mission agencies, institutions and their missionaries.” They’re headed to Costa Rica the end of February and staying there for a month, then to Italy the end of April through mid May. Check out their web page at: http://www.chrysalis.org/anderson or write for special prices on your project VisionVid@aol.com. If you’d like to talk to a reference, see Don at 100622.613@compuserve.com.
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SEMINAR ON CHINA
A wide range of local churches and ministries are sponsoring a regional seminar on unreached people-groups in China, March 6 & 7. The purpose is to promote awareness and mobilize evangelistic adoption of unreached minorities in China. The focus will be on both a survey of the unreached peoples and their needs, practical specific steps toward reaching them, and referrals to possible ministry partners in specific areas. Registration is $5 for Friday evening and $5 for Saturday. For more details, contact Seminar Coordinator Matt Gurvich, mgurvich@livenet.
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SO WHAT ARE YOUR “GREAT PASSIONS?”
Honestly, I think I got the idea from the Navigators. As soon as I heard it I knew it was a keeper. The question was actually quite simple. If I were asked, ‘What would be your five great passions?’, how would I answer? This past week, I wrote each of our Team Expansion staff people (115 in some 20 countries) to recommend that Team Expansion begin espousing Five Great Passions everywhere we go in the programs we present, in the newsletters we write, and the letters we send. How effective will we be at communicating them? Only time will tell. But I suppose it’s even more important that we begin living them! So . . . your list might be different . . . but here are the five that we proposed (with great gratitude to the Navigators!):
1. God — We have a passion for God. He’s central to everything we love and do. He’s the reason we’re in business. He’s the focus of our highest dreams and our deepest desires. He’s the purpose for which we labor, the central idea for which we live. We love Him, we live for Him, and yes, if need be, we’d even die for Him.
2. Worship — “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” John Piper has made it popular (Let the Nations be Glad!), but the Bible’s been saying it all along: The most urgent task isn’t evangelism after all! The noblest activity on earth is to give honor to the one not limited to the earth . . . to praise Him who is above all things. We exist to worship Him. Our lives, our jobs, our very hearts and souls are oriented toward His whispers. Like moss growing on the North side of the tree, we lean into His wind so that in turn, we can sail in the direction of His future. We worship because . . . we were created to do so.
3. Holiness — In gratitude for all He’s done for us, dare we offer anything less than our very lives, our souls, and our heart’s admiration? He’s asked us to live holy and pure lives, reeking of integrity and honor. We don’t live straight lives because we’re scared not to. We live each day with integrity because we’re incredibly overwhelmed by how much He’s been willing to look past our failures when we’ve stumbled! We’re basically just a bunch of broken people, cracked pots, and ruptured vessels. And to that bunch of assorted junk, He has brought love, compassion, mercy and hope. Yikes. Keep us holy, Lord.
4. Prayer — Can you believe we have a pipeline to the throne room? I can’t. He owned us, bought us, then brought us to His presence through prayer. We can walk the world, traveling the trails of continents near and far. In one mere hour, we can lift up the names and faces of the hearts we treasure. We’re committed to spending time with Him… communing with Him… building a relationship with Him. And that only happens when we know Him in prayer.
5. People — We don’t go abroad because of our love for people, but rather, because of our love for God. People change, God doesn’t. People reject us, but God never does. At the same time, our hearts break because there are so many who don’t know Him as savior, Lord, friend, and guide. And the tears we shed for the unreached people around us . . . the ones with which we’re trying to share His hope . . . aren’t our primary motivation for being involved in His work. We’re involved in His work because we love Him… but we’re also swept up in the impact His love could have on the people with which we share this planet. So… when we look around us, we no longer see people from an earthly perspective. We see souls… that can live eternally once they’re set free from the chains of this bothersome tendency to sin. And since He has left us with marching orders, we follow them without hesitation . . . to make disciples of all nations. We choose to work together in teams because He sent them two-by-two and also because we take great pleasure in serving together with like-minded teammates. But even if we were the only family left on the planet next to a tribe of people who didn’t know Him, we’d still go to them, because we love Him. And there’s a corollary to our passion for people. It gives way to a love for language. Granted, it can drive us crazy to learn it . . . but watch our determination and endurance. Watch us never give up . . . until we live, breath, and even dream in the language of the people we’ve come to reach with His promise. We learn their culture, commit His words to a culturally appropriate medium and packaging… but the message is timeless… His love never changes.
So those are our Five Great Passions . . . God, Worship, Holiness, Prayer, and People (with language and culture being a corollary to the last Passion). If those passions strike a resonating chord with you, we hope you’ll join us in our quest to serve the great God of all gods. If you need to renew your commitment to one of those passions, please join us in doing so today. And may God bless you in your quest!
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COPYRIGHT — This issue of Brigada Today is Copyrighted © 2001. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available through email autoresponders, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Christianity to reach the unreached. But please include this phrase: “For a free subscription of Brigada’s weekly missions publication, write <brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com>.”
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SUBMITTING CONTENT — To submit content or ideas to Brigada Today, first please get a copy of “Guidelines for submitting items to Brigada” Then, once you’ve composed your item in keeping with those guidelines, send your item for Brigada Today to DLucas@teamexpansion.org.
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Emphasis is placed on items relating to unreached peoples and challenges faced by those reaching them cross-culturally.
not symbolPLEASE DON’T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST — It’s always better to ask before manually force-adding anyone to your list-serve or mailing list. Recently, tons of well-meaning people have been subscribing Doug to their lists. Since he often travels overseas, he doesn’t join many of those, for obvious reasons (like being charged big-time for overseas access). So as a general rule, please don’t bulk-mail us! See the note above if you’d like to submit items for Brigada Today. Thanks for understanding. Bottom line: We will never create Brigada Today items from bulk mail. Bulk mail gets deleted immediately — sorry. Nothing personal. We suggest you apply the same standard to everyone. Ask first!
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BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
*Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
*Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, WebServant@brigada.org
*Brigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.org
*Brigada Coordinator: 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!
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