19990307 Brigada Today

Now with 9047 weekly participants!
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.]

In this issue….

YOU’RE ALL INVITED TO THE VIRTUAL BIRTHDAY BASH!

Next week, on March 21st exactly, we celebrate 4 years of weekly editions of Brigada Today, without a single miss! You can’t exactly set your watch by it (not a chance), but you can use it as a reminder to tear off the weekly calendar sheet!

Last year, on March 21st, we were about 7000 in number. Next week, we’ll be well above 9000!

So anyway… here we are, ready to celebrate 4 years together! And some in the Brigada family have been there the whole time! We’ve got folks who remember …

Those little graphical “maps” we used to try to draw of the Brigada family of conferences (some of those sub-conferences are still active, mind you!)

The 100 Gateway Cities maps (how many gazillion of those were actually sold, anyway!)

The introduction of Brigada-peoples, still in use today to give insight and guidance on finding people group help

The “People Group Consultant” (whatever happened to that, anyway?

I think the AD2000 web site came along and raised the bar significantly!

)

The GCOWE meetings in Seoul

The “Launch” conference in Colorado Springs (where the JP2000 list was first introduced)

Envision ’96 in Lexington, KY

All the videos, web-sites, books, training conferences, travel agents, water filters, computers, car rentals, and tons of other stuff…

The humble beginning in January 25th, 1995, with just two people

The day we “went public” on the concept of Brigada, March 21st, 1995, with 106 participants

All 911 pages… 3.8 megabytes of resources, proposals, ideas, and missions mobilization tools . . . . . . okay… so make that 912.

To those who have hung in there for the whole 4 years, we owe you a big thanks. But we’re sorry to have to report today that, as of next week, the Brigada family of conferences will be totally shut down, never to exist again.
NOT!!!!!! Just kidding.

Anyway… in honor of the birthday next week — 4 years old — all 9000 of you are invited for what my wife is calling “virtual reality pizza!” Now don’t ask me what that is, but my 12-year-old says “you just log on and pretend like your tasting pepperoni!” My 9-year-old says it’ll be “real yummy.” So… either way… Happy Birthday Brigada!

FEATURED NOTEBOOK: Y2K REMEDIATION NOTEBOOK

Have you been looking for a one-stop source on how to get your organization or small business ready for the year 2000 computer bug? Dean Huffman’s notebook can do it. Dean is a missionary himself, training leaders full-time in the former Soviet Union. But prior to kicking off his ministry there, Dean worked as a big-time computer consultant in Dallas, Texas. His notebook sells on the web at http://www.brighteagle.com to small businesses everywhere for $139 plus shipping. But because of his passion for missions and Brigada, here’s how you can grab it for about half that price. Dean wrote this past week from Ukraine to tell us that any Brigada participant could simply go to the web page, copy down the mailing address and the questions on the form, then answer the questions on paper and mail them to the address on the form. Enclose a check or money order (or they’ll even send it C.O.D. — but no credit cards please) for just $75 plus $7.50 shipping. Be sure to write in big letters the word “Brigada” on the form, or the charge is $139. Thanks Dean!

FEATURED TESL TRAINING COURSE

Check out the Adventures in English materials (EFCM International Network). With a focus on developing conversational English in a small group setting, these user friendly materials have been developed through 7 years of actual cross-cultural use by short-term teams of non-professional ESL teachers in over 20 countries (including the increasingly multi-cultural US!). For more information or a sample of the 1999 materials, visit the EFCM web site at http://www.efcm.org/adventur.html or contact Don Erickson at 72066.2020@compuserve.com.

“WILLIAM CAREY LIBRARY WILL HAVE IT!”

That’s got to be one of the most common phrases around our mission agency headquarters “home office.” It ranks right up there with “Just call 1-800-MISSION.” But if you need a fax number, don’t waste your time trying to call the one we provided last week. Instead, dial the new area code and number at (626) 794-0477. If you need a regular non-toll-free number, use (626) 798-0819. Thanks Greg!

GLOBAL GLIMPSE ON THE RAILS

Trains in Thailand ride the rails every day between Bangkok and Chiang Mai. But this train is different; its passengers are Christian volunteers from throughout the country who are there to share their faith. Four hundred believers fill the train. Spirits are high. This will be the first time many of these people share their faith on the street. When the train pulls into Lop Buri, the visor-wearing volunteers spring into action. They give out gospel tracts and invitations to a crusade where gift bags filled with much- needed food items will be given away. The “Train to Glory” pulls out for another city, and another parade. The pain of the economic crisis has given Thai people little reason to celebrate, so today’s flood of believers offering hope and comfort speaks volumes. By the end, one hundred thousand books and a half-million tracts have been given to people, many of whom have never heard the gospel.
(Source: CBN Christian World News, “A Ride on Thailand’s ‘Glory Train,'” Airdate: February 25, 1999, Gordon Robertson, reporter, http://www.cbn.org/cwn/990225c.asp.)
Global Glimpse is compiled by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.

KWE’ATCHII 99 FOR NATIVE AMERICAN OUTREACH

For all those who are involved in establishing Native Indian churches in urban centers, or those who have an interest in cross-cultural partnerships among Native Indian peoples – here’s an event you’ll want to check out. It’s called “Kwe’atchii 99,” the fourth biennial Native Urban Church Planting Symposium, May 10-13, 1999, happening in Calgary, Alberta. (Kwe’atchii is an Algonquin word widely understood to mean ‘thoroughly prepared.’) The event is sponsored by Inter-Mission Co-operative Outreach, a 30-year-old association of 10 mission agencies in Canada and US. Come and choose between 4 tracks of workshops, “How to Get Started Right,” “Counseling for Urban Church Needs,” “Life and Ministry Management,” and “Cross-Cultural Partnering.” Some workshops will be co-facilitated by Native leaders and missionaries. Our guest missiologist from Wheaton College and Grad School, Dr. Duane Elmer, will be leading the Cross-Cultural Partnering workshops. Registration (9 meals and lodging) is a bargain for $175 Canadian or $125 US. For a brochure, e-mail Dan Woodard 103535.3026@compuserve.com. Space is limited to the first 75 people registering.

NOW YOU CAN WATCH CALEB PROJECT ON THE WEB

You’re used to picking up their resources… but now you can watch them on the web. Check it out at http://www.calebproject.org by just following the clicks to their promotional video. (You might have to go get a free RealVideo player first.) It’s free!

CALLING ALL BUDDHIST INFO

Ted’s trying to put together a list of resources for learning more about Buddhists. Ted can be reached at TedRondeau@compuserve.com. He’s especially looking for a seminar format, but would take books, courses, websites, etc. We’ll ask him to send us a copy of the final compilation to make it available to everyone here through a “get” file. Thanks Ted!

CATCH THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY ACMC NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Catch it in Atlanta, July 28-31, with featured Keynote Speakers, Gordon MacDonald and Frank Barker. For more information, write Atlanta@ACMC.org.

TO SUBSCRIBE — To subscribe to BRIGADA TODAY, send email to brigada-today-subscribe@egroups.com.

TO UNSUBSCRIBE — Send email to brigada-today-unsubscribe@egroups.com. (Subject and text are ignored.)
IF IT DOESN’T WORK — Write Don & Judy, our Customer Services Managers at help@brigada.org. Yahooooo for volunteers!!!

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>.”
IMPORTANT: To copy or reproduce Brigada Today for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted.

DISCLAIMER — Please note that there’s no way we can possibly screen all the text on all the web sites or items we recommend. We try to check them out first… but if we miss something, please don’t assume that the opinions on those sites are identical to those of the Brigada family of networks. “Eat the corn, leave the cob!”
For subscription questions or problems, write help@brigada.org.

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.
Thanks to for hosting the Brigada mailing list.
Emphasis is placed on items relating to unreached peoples and challenges faced by those reaching them cross-culturally.

PLEASE 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!

WARNING ABOUT FORWARDING EMAILS — Please, before forwarding any kind of request (even if it says “please send this to all your friends”), please check to make sure it has a VERIFIABLE ORIGIN, a VERIFIABLE PURPOSE, and a VERIFIABLE CLOSURE (OPC). By following this simple approach, many “email viruses” could be nipped in the bud… at least in the Brigada family. More information about the full Brigada OPC protocol is available. Thank you.

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!