30 years ago this past week, Brigada was born! Way back then, the web was still in its infancy. Brigada took the shape of a stack of email distribution groups. Many were regionally specific, not unlike the new “Lausanne Action Hub” launched this past fall in Seoul at Lausanne 4. But there was a “top-level” group simply called Brigada – and that umbrella group has survived (and has kept on surviving) through more than 1500 weekly editions. It’s the very one you’re reading today! Learn more about Brigada by reading the “About” page — https://brigada.org/about. Believe it or not, there are actually a good number of Brigada participants who have been a part of the family from the very beginning, all the way back to January 1995! (You guys deserve a medal!) Today, Brigada is both a weekly email magazine and a website where each of the weekly editions are archived from the entire 30 years — over 1500 weekly e-zines you can still read today. If you’re one of the pioneers, feel free to comment on this item and tell your story about Brigada. Either way, thanks for being part of the Brigada family! And by the way, I (Doug) would like to thank you for your faithful support through all these years of stories about soccer, the USSR, language-learning, cool tools, and a lot more. We appreciate you!
1) Happy 30th Birthday Brigada!
Been with you since the beginning and have a couple shoe boxes filled with early postings backed up on cassette tapes to prove it!!! Have learned, shared and enjoyed this gift to the cause for many years now!
I am still amazed at how many cross-cultural workers and church leaders are not aware of the tremendous asset that you provide to our community!! Keep doin’ the works and we’ll keep sharing the Good News with others.
Blessings and congratulations for building this resource for our clan! God is blessing us through your ministry!!!
Have been blessed by the info and resources provided. Thanks very much!
I distinctly remember the anxious excitement I felt when I realized that I was going to meet Doug Lucas, the brains behind this new tool: Brigada! Deep down I felt that it probably was too good to be true. Could it be that someone had figured out how to use emerging Internet technology to speed the completion of world evangelization? In Seoul in 1995, I was going to be more fully introduced to both the tool and its founder! I confess that I was nervous.
We met outside on the patio of the event center. I actually laughed at myself during our meeting. I discovered that Doug is as down to earth as anyone I’ve ever met. We immediately became friends and partnered in various ways during the following many years.
Thank you Doug for your faithfulness, your passion, and your effectiveness during these past 30 years. You are a hero!
A significant anniversary indeed. Sometime between that day in 1995 and the summer of 2005 I also joined the readership of “Brigada Today”. (I can’t remember exactly when). What I do remember is that by June 2005 I was well informed. I heard about a course in “Folk Islam” and the possibility of completing an M.A. (ICS) through the German branch of CIU in Korntal, Germany, by attending modular courses…. and my life changed. I began my M.A. (ICS) 20 years ago, our wonderful now adult drummer was conceived in Germany when my wife came to visit me during my summer of first two courses in Korntal, Germany, I completed my degree in 2011, was awarded my degree in January 2012, received it just after my late mother’s premature death and was capped in Germany with my first born in attendance. My life changed due to being informed through Brigada and until 2020 I was able to also teach “Cultural Anthropology for Intercultural Witnesses” at IBEI Bible Institute in Rome, Italy. Have also had many interactions as TEAM EXPANSION has helped to introduce DMM principles in Italy (“Team Expansion” plus “Search Party” in Sicily). Thanks Doug.
And, Doug, we appreciate YOU! And the team who faithfully works with you on this e-zine. I am not sure if I was with you from the very first, but it has been a long journey. And, thanks for the many times you gave notice to our resources, To God be all glory! Great things He has done!
Kelly, Ken, Greg, Andrew, and Neal – Bless you all so much. Greg, I distinctly remember GCOWE ’95. I had heard about Greg Fritz in advance (much the same as you muse about hearing about me) and figured you would probably have a halo. I discovered there was no halo (haha) but there probably should have been. You were, are, and continue to be the real deal — a man of integrity with a passion for the world. Who knew that those days in Seoul would spark a lasting friendship that transcends time, space, and culture. Bless you for encouraging, brother. Andrew, wow – I had no idea! What an awesome testimony! Neal – wow – we *all* hope and pray we can have your faithfulness throughout our lifetimes. Thank you all for your prayers and kindness.