In this issue…

  1. FREE MISSION CHALLENGE VIDEO
  2. NEW!! MEMBER CARE RESOURCES IN CHINESE
  3. FREE DOWNLOADABLE MULTI-LINGUAL TRACTS
  4. A CONFERENCE FOR THE PRAYING, MISSIONARY CHURCH
  5. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY IN INDIA FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
  6. WATCH WHAT YOU DO WITH THOSE VIDEO CLIPS
  7. FOLLOW-THROUGH RESOURCE FOR SHORT-TERM TEAMS
  8. COSIM FOCUSES ON PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS MINISTRIES
  9. ANOTHER OVERSEAS PHONE SERVICE
  10. BONDING IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL
  11. MINISTRY TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS
  12. SERVE IN BENIN
  13. ARE YOU A BRIGADA LURKER?
  14. THE BACKPAGE: GRACE IS OUR TEACHER
  15. CLOSING STUFF

  1. FREE MISSION CHALLENGE VIDEO — PhotoMission offers a free 5-minute downloadable video ‘Every Knee Shall Bow’. With worldwide pictures, appropriate Bible verses and music, but no voice-over, it offers an ideal keynote introduction to the urgency of the mission mandate, which can be used in any mission-advocacy or church meeting. The video is available in a range of resolutions, and PhotoMission is happy for it to be redistributed on, for example, mission promotion CDs and DVDs.

    http://photomission.jkpphoto.com/eksb.htm

    Those who would prefer a different musical background could run a different audio track but still give credit to the original producer for the video content. (Thanks, Tony, for the tip on this resource!)

  2. NEW!! MEMBER CARE RESOURCES IN CHINESE — Check out

    http://www.chinamembercare.com

    Several materials are now available in Chinese to help support Chinese Christian workers. They are free and on-line. Collectively, they are called “Running to Win — Resources for Chinese Workers.” The materials include 16 key articles, five case studies (with audio files), and two books (Thriving in Another Culture, and Through Desert Sands — an account of Chinese workers in Africa). Each article has a short introduction to orient the readers about its relevance to Chinese contexts. Audio files for all the chapters have been finished and will be uploaded soon. Currently all the materials, except the Chinese audios, are in both Chinese and English. (Thanks to the anonymous worker who labored long to develop these.)

  3. FREE DOWNLOADABLE MULTI-LINGUAL TRACTS — In 1954 a pastor preached a sermon entitled, “Steps Leading to Salvation” and distributed his notes. Little did he know that this would give birth to the _Step Up To Life_(tm) evangelistic booklet. Since that time the tract has been translated into 17 different languages and is used worldwide by many different denominations, organizations and everyday “Joe Christians.” More information, teaching materials, free downloads (several thematic English versions and multiple languages), and interactive versions are all available at

    http://www.stepuptolife.com

    Alternatively, e-mail sutlmail(at)aol(dot)com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]

  4. A CONFERENCE FOR THE PRAYING, MISSIONARY CHURCH — Please join us at the “Seek Him to Save Them” conference at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, October 26-28, 2006. Pastors John Piper, Jim Cymbala, and Daniel Henderson are the featured speakers. Through seeking the Lord in united prayer and leading your congregation into the harvest fields, your church can experience a renewed vision for Him and for taking His glory to the ends of the earth! This conference is being held in conjunction with Grace Church’s annual Missions Festival. For more information or to register, visit

    http://www.strategicrenewal.com

    or send an e-mail to Lori Lane info(at)strategicrenewal(dot)com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]

  5. INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY IN INDIA FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS — Here’s an opportunity to travel to Central and North India to capture stories of God’s work in India among the unreached. This two month trip will include visiting our various Bible Colleges, Mercy Homes, and field missionaries – getting professional job experience in various fields. If you are interested in experiencing native missions first hand while using your skills for the kingdom, please contact the Media Director: Stephen Ernst sernst(at)rimi(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 +1-847-856-9321 or browse to

    http://www.rimi.org

    to learn more about Reaching Indians Ministries Int’l.

  6. WATCH WHAT YOU DO WITH THOSE VIDEO CLIPS — This past week we heard from a brother who had just spent a week with local citizens in a sensitive country. They were training local believers for personal evangelism in hostile environments. Apparently, a That led to a decision that no team member, including the director, would any longer grant video taped interviews to anyone at all — even when you are one of the team partners as is my case. More than being disappointed in not getting video for a story that select others need to hear, I was really disturbed that some camera happy brother had carelessly put our team members here even more at risk than they already are. It would be even more disturbing if I were to discover that this individual were using those video clips for his own personal gain in support raising. You know the routine — personal publicity about how well connected one is with frontliners, etc. The Church in today’s world needs to care for the security of those who are out there doing the hard stuff, not parade them for all the world to know about. So please, watch what you do with those video clips. (Thanks to the anonymous brother who shared this testimony.)

  7. FOLLOW-THROUGH RESOURCE FOR SHORT-TERM TEAMS — “The Next Mile” is a collaborative effort of over 30 mission agencies and organizations who believe that a successful short-term mission experience is one that brings about a long-term commitment to God’s purpose in the lives of those participating. Their collective purpose: to address the “black hole” of short-term missions by providing resources for effective follow-through.

    Phase one of The Next Mile includes curriculum for short-term teams that places special emphasis on the follow-up for team members. For example, the Mile Post devotional contains 52 self-paced devotionals designed to encourage returning team members to stretch their experience into a life changing milestone. For more information, USA callers can contact The Next Mile toll free while others can call via Net2Phone at 800-533-5822. Visit on the web at

    http://www.thenextmile.org

    or email info(at)thenextmile(dot)org [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .]

  8. COSIM FOCUSES ON PARTNERSHIP WITH INDIGENOUS MINISTRIES — The next annual COSIM conference is scheduled for June 11-13, 2007 at the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton, IL. The theme is “Breaking Tradition to Accomplish Vision: From frustration to joy in cross-cultural partnerships.” The featured plenary speakers and facilitators are Sherwood Lingenfelter. Paul Gupta, and John Watters. This will be a highly interactive conference to facilitate practical training, creative dialog, case study analysis, and strategic thinking – to equip and encourage Christian leaders engaged in cross-cultural ministry partnerships. For more information, visit the COSIM web site:

    http://www.cosim.info

  9. ANOTHER OVERSEAS PHONE SERVICE — Check out

    http://www.enjoyprepaid.com

    There are 4 different plans available, so you can scale your plan to your specific pattern of use. Costs per minute for United Kingdom range from 12 cents/min. down to *two* cents/min. Other countries are similar. You’ll call a local number then use a PIN — or a toll-free number (for a bit more) when you travel. You can designate your home phone as “pinless.” (Thanks David!)

  10. BONDING IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL — Thanks to those who gave feedback on bonding (as popularized by the Brewsters’ little blue book, “Bonding and the Missionary Task.” It’s plain to see that bonding is still alive and well, and that, though it can introduce hardship, it can also greatly bless. It also seemed that, confirming my hunch, it’s being applied in a very spotty way. There was a clear consensus, though, that it’s worth the effort — when implemented with reason.

  11. MINISTRY TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS — MATS Ministry has been providing for the transportation needs of Christian Ministries since 1977. They’ve provided cars, trucks, vans, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, for domestic, field, retired, furlough, personal use. Get new or used, most any brand, model, make, most any place! There sole objective is to save you money when your need is for ministry. Find them on the web at

    http://www.mats.org

    or email car(at)mats(dot)org or call toll free 888-776-7211 in the USA or 765-965-7777.

  12. SERVE IN BENIN — Short-term mission opportunities are available for those wishing to minister to the interior and unreached people of Benin Republic. Serve 3-6 months distributing evangelistic materials, tracts, reading glasses, Bibles and discussion with the villagers. There is no salary for the services but feeding, accommodation and materials for evangelism will be given. Those interested should email

    pcminternational(at)hotmail(dot)com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with .] or browse to

    http://pcm.ministryhome.org

    (Remember to check out each ministry for yourself before you seek to serve there.)

  13. ARE YOU A BRIGADA LURKER? — We welcome lurkers… those who participate in this ministry by reviewing Brigada Todays, then occasionally using a resource or two here and there, or even passing something on to a teammate or friend. After all, that’s why we go to all this trouble. But we also are very *grateful* for those who undergird this work with an occasional gift. Whether you’re a missions rep. in a local church or a missionary overseas or a college prof — either way, we’re glad you’re hear. If you would spur along our work, we’d be ever-so-grateful. The moment we make our 2006 budget, we’ll not mention money again for the remainder of the year. For more information, visit:

    https://brigada.org

    and click on “sponsor” in the top menu (to use PayPal or a credit card), or if you prefer, send a check payable to Team Expansion to: Team Expansion (Brigada secretary), 13711 Willow Reed Dr., Louisville, KY 40299. As always, be sure to let us know if you’d like us to promote any particular service or ministry, or if you’d prefer your gift be anonymous. In any case, thanks for considering Brigada in your estate giving, your monthly church missions fund, and/or your own personal giving for this calendar year.

  14. THE BACKPAGE: GRACE IS OUR TEACHER — Lately, I’ve been pondering the concept that grace is our *teacher*. It beckons us to walk a pure life because, when given freely, we then serve Him out of *gratitude* rather than because of rules. Galatians 3:24 says the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ . . . but once we come to understand the life of faith, then *grace* becomes our schoolmaster to teach us to be like Jesus himself. Discovering this little point is both freeing and sobering all at the same time. While we celebrate the fact that, in the end, we know we can count on Heaven for eternity (only through the blood of Christ), we are *broken* when we realize that we have abused the freedoms that God gave us, taking them much too far for our own good. So in the end, living life is like constantly walking in that trust… but at the same time, constantly being sorry for the times we’ve abused it. Romans 12:1-2 reads, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” No wonder Paul would break into praise in the middle of his writings. He was so touched by God’s love. Let’s face it — without that love, we’re toast. Thank God for Grace.
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