In this issue…
1. DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
2. DUALREACH RESOURCES PUTS ANSWERS IN YOUR CHURCH’S HANDS
3. LOOKING FOR FREE WORSHIP SOFTWARE?
4. PARENTS OF MISSIONARIES: THE “INVISIBLE PIECE” IN MISSIONS
5. WANT TO LEARN RUSSIAN OR ARABIC FOR MINISTRY?
6. TEACH ENGLISH AND REACH THE NATIONS
7. SHARPEN YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
8. DON’T MISS THE MUSIC AND MISSIONS EVENT OF 2006
9. POST YOUR PHOTOS HERE, EVEN VIA EMAIL
10. TEACH TO REACH
11. FREE DESIGN SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS MINISTRIES
12. THE BACKPAGE: WHAT DO MISSIONARIES WANT?
13. CLOSING STUFF
1. DISTANCE LEARNING COURSES ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT — How well do you understand the needs of the poor you serve? Distance learning courses on Christian economic development are available this fall from the Chalmers Centers at Covenant College. These courses are email-based with instructor feedback on weekly written assignments. They feature interaction with other distance students. The courses will help you understand the needs of the poor and how to design the appropriate programs and strategies for Christian economic development in your context. To find out more about these courses or to register, visit the Chalmers web site at http://www.chalmers.org Or you can contact the Chalmers Center by phone at 706-419-1805 or by email at chalmers(at)covenant(dot)edu [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address, please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
2. DUALREACH RESOURCES PUTS ANSWERS IN YOUR CHURCH’S HANDS — If you haven’t already stopped by, don’t forget about DualReach resources, available at: http://wwww.dualreach.org You can sign up there for “Synergy Newsletter,” the free missions newsletter, which supplies you with a toolkit for mobilizing people in your church, along with other helpful resources. (Thanks for the helpful gift of $25 toward Brigada’s expenses! We appreciate you!)
3. LOOKING FOR FREE WORSHIP SOFTWARE? — Try OpenSong http://www.opensong.org It does projection and manages song lyrics and chords, including transposing. It has Windows and Mac editions, with Linux in the works. Cool! (Thanks Tex! :-) )
4. PARENTS OF MISSIONARIES: THE “INVISIBLE PIECE” IN MISSIONS — Parental disapproval keeps numerous young people off the mission field. Those who do go frequently leave behind parents who are supportive but hurting. Parents, missionaries, and recruits can contact the National Network of Parents of Missionaries (NNPOM) for understanding and help. Cheryl, a licensed clinical counselor, and Diane, a POM since 2002, connect POMs with others who understand their experience through NNPOM’s website, tip sheets, and quarterly newsletter. Regional NNPOM groups serve the greater Cincinnati, OH, and Yuma, AZ, areas. NNPOM also desires to help missions leaders who want to provide care for the parents of their missionaries. Missions departments and organizations may link to the NNPOM website. Check out http://POMnet.org or email information(at)POMnet(dot)org [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address, please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
5. WANT TO LEARN RUSSIAN OR ARABIC FOR MINISTRY? — Studying at the Institute of Strategic Languages and Cultures (ISLC) (Formerly Russian Language Ministries) will give you a good head start in learning the needed language and culture. Their experienced staff is called by God to equip you with the language & cross-cultural skills you will need to be effective in ministry to Russian and Arabic speakers. Courses are tailored to your learning needs and offer an intensive and focused experience with, gradual effective immersion in the language, communicative learning methods & flexible duration for all programs. Their U.S. based courses are taught in an encouraging spiritual atmosphere with a focus on future ministry. Classes forming for Fall (Aug. 29 – Dec. 16). US toll Free: 1-800-799-7976 or 1-803-333-9119. Check ’em out at: http://www.strategiclanguages.org or email RLMoffice(at)juno(dot)com
6. TEACH ENGLISH AND REACH THE NATIONS –- Learn how to teach English as a second or foreign language at an intensive 4-wk training schooling at the YWAM base in Lakeside, Montana, U.S.A. Teaching English can open up opportunities to go into restricted nations. The school will run from July 25 – August 19. Those interested can find more information on the web at http://www.ywammt.org or e-mail schoolinfo(at)ywammt(dot)org [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .] or call 406.844.2221.
7. SHARPEN YOUR INTERPERSONAL SKILLS — International Training Partners offers “Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills” workshops in different parts of the world. These five-day, highly interactive workshops focus on biblical application of skills in relating to one another and to the host people. They’re also planning a workshop hosted by Christian Life Assembly School of Missions (PAOC) at a beautiful retreat facility in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, September 19-23, 2005. For info, contact Milann Davies at mdavies(at)christianlifeassembly(dot)com for information. Go to http://www.itpartners.org for details on all of the workshops and information on ITP. If your mission is interested in sponsoring a SYIS workshop, contact Paul Lere at plere(at)itpartners(dot)org.
8. DON’T MISS THE MUSIC AND MISSIONS EVENT OF 2006 — Mark it on your calendar; there’s been an extra day added. The second Global Consultation on Music and Missions (GCoMM 2006) will take place July 11-15, 2006 at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. At GCoMM 2006 you will have the opportunity to learn, fellowship, and worship with leaders in music and missions ministries from around the world. Plenary sessions, seminars, and panels will explore topics related to music and the arts, missions, and indigenous worship world-wide. Subscribe to the GCoMM informational updates listserv from the site at: http://www.gcommhome.org or by writing to info(at)gcommhome(dot)org. [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .] [GCoMM 2006 is made possible in part through a Worship Renewal Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.]
9. POST YOUR PHOTOS HERE, EVEN VIA EMAIL — Don’t forget that at http://www.imageevent.com you can post photos for family, supporters, and friends to view anytime. It’s easy to use and inexpensive. The service allows you to email the photos to the site regardless of size and it handles them. It also has a feature to password protect albums so that only people with the password can view them. This should be a valuable feature for those serving in sensitive areas. (Thanks Scott!)
10. TEACH TO REACH — Grab a TESOL course August 29 through September 23 or October 3 through October 28 at Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, USA. Additional information and application forms can be found at http://www.ywampa.org or write ywampa(at)comcast(dot)net [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
11. FREE DESIGN SERVICES FOR OVERSEAS MINISTRIES — Engineering Ministries International http://www.emiusa.org based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a Christian ministry providing free engineering and architectural services to overseas ministries and churches who are serving the poorest of the poor and preaching the gospel of Christ. They send a team of fully qualified design professionals to the project location for 10-14 days to survey the project site, meet with your leadership, and prepare preliminary designs. Final designs are completed when they return home. All services provided are free to you – they ask for partnership for one airline ticket, and simple in-country lodging and transportation for their team. Since 1982, they’ve completed over 500 projects in 75 developing countries. They are also looking for volunteer professionals to join their project trips to fulfill critical team roles in engineering, architecture, surveying, structural design, water/wastewater, electrical, and more. For more information, call 719- 633-2078, or write info(at)emiusa(dot)org [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]
12. THE BACKPAGE: WHAT DO MISSIONARIES WANT? — In the last edition of Brigada Today, we posed the question, “what do churches want?” We explored the possibility that some congregations might have changed a bit over the past few decades in what they’re hoping to “get back” out of their mission support.
Likewise, it feels to me that today’s onsite workers are different too. Many still want deep teammate relationships, good solid direction and accountability, along with a *cause* into which they can pour their lives. I’m noticing… it doesn’t have to be a cause with global consequences. Many of today’s workers seem comfortable with pouring their lives into a relatively small group of people. Today’s new generation of missionaries don’t seem motivated primarily by the quest of big salaries. In fact, as long as their needs are met, big money seems more and more hollow to them.
A quarter of a century ago, workers would sometimes commit to a particular field sight unseen. Remember your missions history lessons? In William Carey’s time, it wasn’t uncommon that workers would pack extra clothes in their own coffins when they sailed to their newly embraced far-flung fields. Nowadays, I’m not sure some ever even *leave* our homelands. Because of the immediacy of instant messaging and cell phones (not to mention satellite phones), some are able to stay in close touch with relatives and friends back home (oh — and supporters too :-) ). As a result, they never experience a true “leave- taking” … nor the accompanying adaptation.
At the same time, some want more connectivity with home. Some are much more homesick than “E.T.” (“E.T. phone home.”) Many want to see their field in advance, before they commit. And *sooo* many are unwilling to make more than a one- or two-year commitment. Sometimes it feels as if this generation of workers is less prepared in Greek and exegesis, less knowledgeable in the history of missions and cultural anthropology, and less likely to *want* to learn any of those subjects. Instead, they seem to want to “dive in” much more quickly into deep-seated relationships and ministry. This can be both a positive and a negative, depending on the circumstances.
How ’bout you? What’s your opinion? Want to register your thoughts? Jot a note to this email address: brigada-feedback@googlegroups.com You won’t have to join the group or register in any way. Your feedback can even be anonymous, if you desire.
As was the case with the previous question, we probably need to delve deeper into “what missionaries want”… because many literally *are* working in a jungle out there. Doug
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