19950611 Brigada Today

News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
Compiled byDLucas@TeamExpansion.org
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Visit Brigada on WorldWide Web: http://www.xc.org/brigada/brigada.html

In this issue….

BRIGADA’S TOP LEVEL — 457!

Currently we are 457 in the “top level”! If you’re new to Brigada, check out the Brigada www homepage: http://www.xc.org/brigada/brigada.html

HAVE YOU SEEN AIMS’ “100 GATEWAY CITIES” WWW PAGE?

If you’ve got a WWW browser (and if you’re 100% INTERNET, or a compuserver or an aol-er or prodigy-er you do), visit AIMS’ answer to “Praying through the Window II” http://www.regent.edu/AIMS/The10-40WindowProject/SubMain.html You’ll be glad you did! At this point, the AIMS webmasters have finished phase I, which consisted basically of transferring the book (Praying through the 100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Window) to the web. But we can now see how that, with such a framework already in place, the AIMS staff could now arrange for links to information, resources, and networking for each of the cities. This is the kind of platform we’ve needed for interacting about the cities before, during and after the October prayer emphasis. Thanks to the visionaries at AIMS (e.g., Lawrence Shrank at Lawrsch@beacon.regent.edu) for the energy, time and money invested into this project!!! Now, let’s pray we can move forward together into the next phase and that God will continue to bless!

ICCM ’95 NOW HISTORY

They came from near and far, some even flying in from international destinations specifically for the conference. They invested long hours in praying, planning, and preparing for the future. They discussed mapping, tracking, and following world evangelism globally. “They” are the people of The International Conference on Computing and Missions, held this past weekend in Upland, IN, at Taylor University. In one session, a futurist described the culture of the web. Back to back with that, a CPA would be found describing auditing procedures (you guessed it — from Capin Crouse, LLP). In one breath, they’d be trying to describe how to recruit volunteers for your latest computer project, while just down the stairs, a dozen ICCMers would be walking the web itself in the Taylor University computer lab. Got an impossible project you hope to pull off in the year 2001? Don’t be surprised if, this past weekend, they were trying to piece together the technology that will make it possible! For example, one speaker recounted the fact that years ago, a group of ICCMers began dreaming up the idea of a Christian cooperation that would make possible interactive email conferences and distribution lists via the INTERNET. Out of that all night brainstorming session came CrossConnect… and as we’ve said before, it’s CrossConnect that makes possible the Brigada conferences. (For more information on that, see the “

CROSSCONNECT READY TO CONNECT YOU WITH THE WORLD

Perhaps it’s true… that most people are still waiting for tomorrow’s “information superhighway.” And maybe they’re right… that others are already accelerating down their individual roads. Unfortunately, many of those roads are full of potholes and some Christian ministries are having a difficult time finding each other … and whatever else is “out there” in “cyberspace.” Enter “CrossConnect.” CrossConnect is a actually a small network of professionals who have joined together to provide valuable services such as email conferencing, forwarding and consulting. At ICCM, they also announced that they are immediately offering sites for worldwide web homepages, as well as the consulting to create them. Obviously, technology doesn’t always come without a price. But thanks to visionaries from the past, most of the necessary equipment is already in place… and thanks to the courtesy of Morning Star Technologies (see blip below), links to the INTERNET are being provided to CrossConnect at virtually no charge… for the time being. So really the only cost is the consulting time for the professionals who make possible CrossConnect’s services. Fortunately for us (and possibly fortunately for them too, if you have a very long look at retirement plans that just might be out of this world), those professionals have been willing to take serious salary cuts to make their skills available to Christian communities. Take Pete Holzmann, for instance. At ICCM, we learned that Pete actually helped write the mapping program that all of us used in the late 80s, “PCGlobe”. He was then hired by Strategic Mapping, which makes the mapping program of the 90s! He’s given up six-figure salaries so that he can help connect your agency, church or organization with the world… and in the process, as a part of the CrossConnect staff, he’s helping make possible Brigada!!! (If you haven’t considered it before, you might consider it now more than ever…. become a CrossConnect “member”. You’ll be joining an ever-expanding community of Christians and you’ll be helping extend Brigada’s future. CrossConnect asks for a donation of $52 per year in exchange for providing a members directory, a monthly newsletter (Connections, scheduled to start next month), public and private conferences on the topic of your choice, networking opportunities galore, your own “xc.org” address (to simplify having to remember long strings of numbers or complex initials), a collection of experts to help solve your computer networking questions, and more. For more information, write to Cathleen@xc.org and speak to Cathleen Sward, charged with “Member services” and the “help desk”. (Note that neither Doug Lucas nor any other Brigada moderator receives any direct financial help from CrossConnect, but all of us in the Brigada network are profiting from their vision and their service, every time we send or receive a Brigada conference message.)

GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST APPROACHES THE CENTURY CLUB!

Only 3 Brigada conferences have exceeded 100 members so far — the top level Brigada (carrying this weekly Brigada Today update, 457 members), Brigada-orgs-teamex (which carries distribution for Team Expansion’s HeartBeat Online to the mission’s members and friends, 124 members), and the news channel created especially for GCOWE in Seoul (brigada-pubs-gcowenews, 151 members). But another list is just about to break the 100 mark. As of yesterday afternoon, the US Center’s Global Prayer Digest, published by Frontier Fellowship, stood at 97 subscriptions! If you would like to boost them “over the top” (while receiving a daily reminder to pray for an unreached people group somewhere in the world), simply send email to hub@xc.org with only the following (one) line in the text of the message:
subscribe brigada-pubs-globalprayerdigest

Best of all, Frontier Fellowship is sharing this significant prayer tool at no cost! Join me in thanking the Lord for the Kingdom perspective that they are modeling!!! Ask Him to bless them richly many times over!

WANT “THE ULTIMATE BIBLE”?

Then you probably need a CD-ROM. For just $68, Simila Soft (800-991-3004 or SimilaSoft@halcyon.com) will provide you with the ability to compare different Bible versions, words, topics, and commentaries from 25 reference books and Bibles. There’s a version for Windows, MAC and DOS.
(Source: Pulse, June 9 — to subscribe to Pulse, call 708-653-2158 or fax 708-653-0520. Note that they do not have email at this time. When you subscribe, put in a word for it, won’t you? We need Brigada-pubs-pulse on-line now!

WELCOME “THE PRAYER COMMAND POST!”

She’s one of southern California’s sharpest leaders in the prayer movement. If you say, “Lynn, would you pray for me?”… she takes you seriously and stops you there in the street and prays for you!!! She is Lynn Heatly of the Prayer Command Post prayercntn@aol.com or Fax: 909-395-9130 or, if you want, old-fashioned telephone requires her to be there when you call but gives you a chance to hear her cheery voice: 909-395-8990). Lynn is now fully plugged into Brigada-prayer-mobilizers, which by the way, a conference which has recently grown to well over 30 members! Her Prayer Command Post is a model for prayer warriors worldwide. From her office, she networks with needs and opportunities around the world. To her, prayer is a serious ministry. With her help and the help of others, we hope it will grow all the more significantly for all of us!

WANT TO SAVE UP TO 90% ON COMPUTER HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE?

Try them. We were ready to pay over $400 for a 2nd copy of Pagemaker and this source had it for $249. . . if it’s going to a non-profit org. In fact, you can order Windows ’95 from them right now… for about half of what it will cost on the open market in August! (It’ll street price for $65 or so and they have it for $25.) Call CCB (Consistent Computer Bargains — Hey, don’t look at me! I didn’t think up their name! I’m just telling you their prices are good!

) at 800-342-4222 or fax 414-886-1940. But first call a couple of other places and get the best price. That way you’ll know how much you will have saved when you call CCB!

pre-formatted IBM 1.4 meg diskettes for 40 cents each ($19.95)?