20000109 Brigada Today

In this issue….

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS BRIGADA?

Brigada, pronounced “bree-GAH-dah” (rhymes with armada), is the rough equivalent of a “brigade” — in Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Albanian and even Filipino! Founded 25 January 1995 (but made public on 21 March 1995), the idea is to stand side by side to pass buckets of hope for those most in need of Christ’s eternal message! Check out nearly 5 years of weekly back issues at https://brigada.org. See recent back issues and links at http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today. Brigada Today is compiled by Doug Lucas DLucas@teamexpansion.org, Louisville, KY.

A CHANCE FOR STRUGGLING ARTISTS

Don’t miss out on a chance to be featured as the creator of the new Brigada logo. For the full story, send a message to logo@brigada.org. Please help us pass the word! Think globally. We think it would be great if the winning logo came from the hand of a 13-year-old MK in Mongolia or a retired net-savvy national from Nairobi.

BRIGADAFEST TO PROVIDE PLANNING HELPS FOR CHURCHES

If your church is hoping to share Christ’s hope and message with a previously untold people group, head on over to http://www.teamexpansion.org and click on the BrigadaFest info to learn more about a Feb. 3-5 event called BrigadaFest. Bring your missions committee and get the skinny on how to make a long-term difference. Write AKeeran@TeamExpansion.org for more info.

AD2000 RELEASES DECEMBER JP2000 UPDATE

Dan the man is still pressing on. As we turned the corner on the final year of the Joshua Project 2000 campaign, he wrote us last week with an update on the ground we still have to cover in these final 12 months, if we’re going to succeed in launching “a church for every people.”

Peoples on active JP list – 1594
Peoples on active JP list no Church of 100 reported – 1117
Peoples on active JP list no reported on-site Church Planting team – 539
Peoples on active JP list not targeted – 197

So if I’m reading correctly, to succeed in the JP2000 thrust, we would have to launch, at a minimum, some 1117 new churches by this December 31st. Yikes. Hold onto your seats. We need more power, Scotty. On the other hand, even if we don’t succeed in launching those 1100 or so churches, if we could at least get the final couple of hundred groups “claimed”, then, even if we can’t say “a church for every people,” at least we could say we have a “church-planting initiative for every people.” Trouble is, it seems we’re making precious little progress on that list. As of last August, there were 194 groups “untargeted” . . . and now, presumably because of polishing up the database, we still have 197. At BrigadaFest 2000, we’ll lift up those specific groups for prayer… but it seems if we’re going to remain true to our goals, the year 2000 is going to have to be a banner year for “adoptions.” To receive a copy of the “untargeted” list, send a simple blank email to untargeted@brigada.org and our autoresponder will send you the 12K file.

WHICH IS THE BEST SEARCH ENGINE… REALLY

If you’re curious about which search engine has the fastest performance, there is a librarian in Montana ready to help you. Check out his web site at http://www.notess.com/search. The creator, Greg R. Notess, has assembled statistical reports on the best search sites on the Web. The winner as of the end of November was Northern Light and Fast Search. AltaVista and Google! weren’t far behind. Lately, I seem to be using Fast Search for more and more of my searches. Try it at http://www.alltheweb.com.

MISSIONS ARTICLES ON THE WEB

Thanks to Grace for assembling a miscellaneous collection of missions articles ready for your perusal on the Web. In this 5k file, she provides links at various missions sites on topics ranging from the missionary call all the way to staying strong in the Lord on the field. To receive her file via our auto responder, just send a blank mail to missions-articles@brigada.org.

FREE WEBSITE HOSTING SERVICE

PeopleTeams.org is a new, free, Internet hosting service established just for fostering people group advocacy. Launched in October 1999, some 80 teams had signed on by the beginning of the new year. Team leaders and strategy coordinators are invited to request a free website by visiting http://www.peopleteams.org and click on “Request a Free Website.” Options include requesting that PeopleTeams.org host the site or link to an existing site. Each team needs to publish their own site, but PeopleTeams.org is set up to host it for free (up to 10 megabytes) and does not plan to ever run advertisements on the site. The site is supported by a Great Commission Christian group that wants to foster a team environment for advocacy, reachable via email at peopleteams@hotmail.com. In case you’re interested, we refused to feature this site until we were sure who was running it — and we can indeed vouch for the character of the person behind it. What we’re not clear about yet is whether or not the host understands how much work this could eventually bring about for his staff!

For now, however, the site is essentially acting as a signpost directing people to outlying sites on other servers. Once the staff gets into publishing pages for those who are requesting actual hosting, we’re not clear on how it can go forward. Either way, it’s worth a look.

HOW DO YOU HELP ALCOHOLICS ON YOUR FIELD?

Carl carver@spersaoaxaca.com.mx wants to know. He’ll assemble the collection of responses and make it available to us all here on Brigada. He serves in the Oaxaca region of Mexico and is looking for any and all programs that have worked in your area — maybe something similar to AA?

INSURANCE FOR YOUR MISSIONARY OR MISSION

Passport To Ministry (SM) is international insurance protection for travelers with a mission! This exclusive coverage offered by Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company is a policy that will fill the gaps in coverage that your current policies have while you are traveling outside the United States. It provides protection against lawsuits – even auto lawsuits, and includes workers compensation, medical assistance protection like emergency medical evacuations and travel services such as evacuations due to political instability and many more! Passport To Ministry was designed to cover sponsors (churches, mission agencies, denominations etc.) and the short-term mission groups and long-term missionaries they send outside the U.S. It can also cover tour groups, like those traveling to the Holy Land or students studying abroad. Check it out at http://www.brotherhoodmutual.com or, if you’re in the USA or have Net2Phone, call Karen toll free at 800-876-4994 x519.

ANGIE’S STORY

Need ideas for using testimonies in outreach, either on the web or live and in person? Check out the story of Angie in … https://brigada.org/today/articles/testimony.html This is the imaginary story of a student, written in three ways to illustrate the importance of targeting a testimony towards non- Christians – only two are evangelistic. There is an online feedback page for you to add your own comments and suggest how you would have written it. The page is also downloadable as a Rich Text File and is royalty-free for any print magazine to use. Thanks to Tony for his ongoing efforts to help make the web a place for others to find hope. (By the way, he’s looking for folks to translate this page (or even the whole Web Evangelism Guide which it is a part of) into another language. Any takers? If so, write him directly at tony@soon.org.uk.

“ETERNITY” MILLENNIUM CELEBRATION

If you saw the televised spectacular fireworks on Sydney Harbour Bridge, and noticed the word ‘Eternity’ projected onto the bridge, you might have wondered about its meaning. Tony pointed us to the full story, which is available for reprint in any print publication at: http://www.sydney-christian.net/articles/eternity.html

SPIRITUAL TRAINING FOR GOLDEN-AGERS

Calling all middle-agers, early retirees, retirees, and seniors! Check out Ambassadors For Christ. This program, part of Youth With A Mission, is a short introduction to the heart of God and His desire to reach all peoples with the message of salvation. The program will run from March 6-23 at the beautiful YWAM base located near Trinidad, Colorado. Individuals will be challenged to

know God more intimately,
take time to look inward and experience inner healing,
discover Spiritual gifts,
learn how to discover God’s will for their lives, and
understand Christ’s heart and His call to the Great Commission.

For more information contact ywam@ywamcolorado.org or click to http://www.ywamcolorado.org.

SEND YOUR IRANIAN BELIEVER FRIENDS

Here’s a chance for your Iranian friends (believers) to polish their outreach skills. The Iranian Bible School will begin the Spring 2000 semester on Feb 5th. The Iranian Bible School provides biblical, theological, vocational, and educational training for Iranian pastors, missionaries, church planters, and other church leaders. Classes are taught in Farsi. The purpose of IBS is to equip these leaders for effective and meaningful service among Iranians worldwide. For further information contact persianwo@csi.com or visit http://farsinet.com/ibs/.

WEBWATCH: INDONESIANS REACHING OUT TO THE WORLD

Check out the attempts of several Indonesians in their efforts to reach the world with an evangelistic website at http://www.GW2i.com. This is an “Indonesian mega directory.” There’s also information on indigenous people, latest news about Indonesia, and country’s/provinces statistics.

Y2K WINDFALL

Jon jon_ekblad@writeme.com wrote this past week suggesting that maybe some folks might want to check with their overly- zealous friends to see if they can round up any “post-Y2K” survival gear (water filters and such?). You might try mailing it to your favorite missionary. Let Jon know if you hit the jackpot so he can say “I told you so.” .

FROM THE “YET ANOTHER MARKETING SCHEME” DEPT.

Tom says we ought to have a look at http://www.AdSaver.com, where you can set up to receive ads, emailed to you direct. (Everybody’s dream, right?

The thing is, through special software, Tom says the company shows you the ads as a screensaver. Reportedly, you earn money for each ad it displays, regardless of whether or not you are watching the monitor at the time! On top of that, there’s a referral program that pays $10 for every new sign-up you net them. What’ll they think of next.

SEEKING POST-WAR CONVERSION TESTIMONIES

Were you converted during World War I or II or during some other conflict, or know someone who was? If so, Pete petermill@yahoo.com wants to know. He’s producing an illustrated book of servicemen who found Christ during wartime. He’s seeking to encourage Servicemen throughout the world with these stories of Gods grace. Contact Pete if you can help.

WHICH VIDEO WOULD YOU SUGGEST?

Suppose you knew a missionary coming back for home service. Suppose she was looking for a short video with music and pictures of people from all over the world. She wasn’t wanting interviews or promotions for any one particular project or organization. Suppose she was wanting to have it as a visual aid that speaks volumes, to open and touch hearts to become more involved in missions by going, giving or praying. Suppose she was looking for something about 5-12 minutes long, already done. What would you recommend? I know where I’d send her. But what would you say? If you’ve got a suggestion, send it to Renee’ jer2911@hotmail.com, with the phrase, “Missionary Video” in the subject line of your email. Renee’, the only catch is, we want to see a copy of that list once you’ve assembled it, okay?

Now… for my suggestion, I’d send her to Good News Productions for a copy of “Everybody Needs Jesus” and “The Other Side of the World.” Both are upbeat, about 5 minutes long, lots of pictures, totally music, and very gripping, and cost only $9.95 each. For more info, write gnpi@gnpi.org or, if calling from the USA or via Net2Phone, call 800-457-GNPI.

AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSIONS RESEARCH

Jim jims@vei.net is searching for volunteer research assistants willing to clip or to copy articles in newspapers and journals regarding African American issues in global missions, theology, cross-cultural missionaries, etc. Visit his site beforehand at http://www.ReconciliationNetwork.org for a brief orientation.

MISSIONS OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS AND OTHERS

If you’re interested in a short-term mission trip (particularly, but certainly not exclusively African Americans) to serve the Ugandan church, find complete information on costs, travel needs, etc., at http://www.ReconciliationNetwork.org.

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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!