Brigada

Have you heard about the Day Tripper? It’s an international medical and medical evacuation plan for short-term teams. With rates as low as 52 cents per day you can’t go wrong with this plan! PLUS when you purchase this plan from Insurance Services of America on their web site

http://www.missionaryhealth.net/brigada.htm

you will be helping to support Brigada and protecting yourself and your ministry from financial loss! In addition to this plan, coverage is available for any international need – individual short-term trips, career missionaries, trip cancellation, short-term teams and term life insurance. At their site, check out their coverage details, rates.

The International Ministry Track at the Chalmers Center is designed to help you understand appropriate goals and strategies for conducting church-based economic development in poor communities within Africa, Asia and Latin America. It will benefit anyone preparing for Christian outreach and ministry among the poor, whether they plan to implement an economic development strategy or not. The next open offering of this course will be April 5 – 30, 2010. Cost of this four-week course is $120 (USD) plus the cost of separately ordered course material.

ChartsBin offers online interactive world maps, each one offering statistics for a wide range of topics. These are very helpful, both for research, or for a presentation in a seminar. You can save any map as a complete web page, and it will work offline to demonstrate later. Check, for instance, web users, mobile phone subscriptions, infant mortality, numbers of feature films produced annually, and much more.

http://chartsbin.com/

Join the FIGT global community for their annual conference March 4-6 at the Westchase Marriott in Houston, TX, USA (hotel rooms only $110/night single to quadruples until Feb 26th). FIGT is a non-profit, educational organization that was co-founded by a missionary who grew up around the globe, Ruth Van Reken. To help understand her own experience and that of others, Ruth wrote the groundbreaking work, Third Culture Kids. For over 10 years, those from the missionary world and many other sectors (military, foreign service, education, corporate, NGO) have shared best practices to help the families of those on overseas assignments survive and thrive while abroad. Ruth will be speaking this year at the conference on Teaching Locally, Thinking Globally. Read more about the FIGT sessions and speakers, including the World Bank, U.S. Department of State, several European and U.S. Universities and many more at

http://www.figt.org

Never Fear. Clover is here. Check ‘em out at…

http://www.cloversites.com/f/friendsofbrigada

See all the features they have now, as well as the new features they’ll have starting Apr. 28th in their “2.0″ service (which will be the same price, by the way; and current users will be upgraded automatically for free).

http://www.cloversites.com/greenhouse-updates

I personally have set up two different sites with this service. Like fallin’ off a log. Try them. Unlike other flash-based sites, the folks at Clover have figured out how to optimize flash for search engines. Hard to believe? Just go to your favorite search engine and put in, in quotes, the phrase “Multiply the Momentum”. Odds are, the first site listed out of 280,000 will be one of my Cloversites. (mtm2010.com) I’m tellin’ ya — they’re good. What’s more, they’re *fast*. Yes, the $1000 set-up fee is hefty, but after that, you pay just $20/mo. But the best part is, your site will pop. Graphics, pictures, text — it’ll all be easy to update and will look great.

The folks at…

http://www.wycliffeassociates.org.uk

are multi-talented people. They’re effective book searchers, and have found hundreds of rare or hard to find books, as well as modern volumes. You just pay the cost of the books and delivery costs. Questions? Write them at…

books@wa-uk.org

Maybe you’ve been there a hundred times. You had the whole Haiti thing down to a science. But you’re wondering, now that the earth shook, should you ask a set of different questions? You bet. Well now you have a script. Check it out at…

http://www.cricon.org/tech_bulletin.htm

These are the folks from Crisis Consulting Int’l. For as long as I can remember, they’ve been coaching cross-cultural travelers on security, safety, and international travel. They’ve got your back.

We give thanks to Mission Nannys, who sent $100 this past week to become a true friend of Brigada. Thanks Mission Nannys! Find them at…

http://www.missionnannys.org

Likewise, we owe a big thanks to Spokane, WA, home base for the Coalition on the Support of Indigenous Missions (COSIM), who also just sent in $100!

We’re also thankful to Insurance Services of America and their customers John, Wade and Donna. ISA just sent $36.68 as a thank-you for utilizing their top-quality insurance policies. Learn more about their offerings at…

http://www.missionaryhealth.net/brigada.htm

Thanks also goes to a Brigada participant in Little Rock, Arkansas, who just sent $50, and another in Ventura, CA, who also sent $50. Thanks so much!

Here’s your chance: Help sponsor an issue of Brigada Today. Our budget for 2010 is exactly the same as it has been for the past two years: $17,120. The 2009 total was $14,224.38. Although we didn’t make budget, but we came very close. Can you help us hit it in 2010? If so, just click on one of the “Donor” links at the top of this page. Both are safe, the one with PayPal and the other with one of the most well-known “real” online merchants on the web. Neither requires you to open an account with anyone … and neither ever spams you. We can even set up a regular once-a-month automatic withdraw from your checking account or major credit card. Set it up once and rest easily, knowing that you’re regularly helping get Brigada on the way to the nations. Or, if you prefer, just send an old-fashioned check payable to Team Expansion to: Team Expansion (Brigada), 11327 Jefferson Trace Blvd., Louisville, KY 40291. (Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so for USA citizens; your checks made out to Team Expansion are tax-deductible.) A gift of any size would help, whether monthly or one-time. If you know someone else who might like to help, just hit reply and tell us about him/her/them. Thank you for your help in fueling the fire of Brigada!

Comment or inquire about this item at…

We wrap up today our three-part series on Lausanne III in Cape town. Learn more about the upcoming Lausanne consultation in Cape Town at…

http://www.lausanne.org/cape-town-2010

(By the way, if you’re from the USA, the delegate list is already set. Didn’t make the cut? Never fear. You can still participate via a “Globalink Site.” Emerald Hills is serving as just such a site, Oct. 16-24. So instead of traveling to Cape Town, just travel to Louisville and you’ll still get every word of every main session the same day they happen in Cape Town… but without the 18-hour flight from JFK. Watch for more information at…

http://www.emeraldhills.info

When Lausanne leadership talks about a session on “truth”, they mean bearing witness to the truth of Christ in our time. The question is, “How do we make the case for Truth and the uniqueness of Christ in a postmodern, pluralistic world? In particular, there are 7 great questions needing answers:

1) Identify the assaults and erosions of truth -

What we’re facing is a combination of ideas assaulting truth and social conditions eroding truth. For example, the world is teaching that truth is relative; Christianity teaches that it is absolute, based on God’s words.

2) Assess the damage to the church and to its message -

Most of the damage is not in the global south. The rot is in two places in the western world among evangelicals. We see clear and tragic softening of the evangelical movement, mounting relativism, and syncretism growing through the extremes of the emergent church.

3) Keep the crisis in biblical perspective -

Our Lord is His own best defender. We are merely the junior councils for the defense.

4) Warn against the neglect and carelessness of truth –

We are all affected by our climate, to one extent or another. Without truth, there is only power and manipulation.

5) We need to carry the arguments against the skeptical and cynical –

Whereas many hold certain things absolutely even in their relativism, everyone has something in their world view that their world view doesn’t account for.

6) Truth as one of the great secrets of our apologetic strength –

We’re entering into a grand era of apologetics. For all the talk of transparency, there isn’t much. Why? There’s no standard of truth.

7) We need to restore truth to its central place in faith and our growth in knowing the Lord –

In our personal growth, we’re not just called to believe the truth, know the truth.. but also to *walk* in the truth. Without truth, our faith is trivial.

The consensus was that evangelicals in America are as weak on truth as any people of God in the world. The challenge was to make Lausanne III provide a ringing declaration that Christ is still *the* way and that by following him, we enable and choose to be people following truth.

Do you have questions, comments, or advice on any of the above? Just click on “Comments” below.

Webinar

To help churches, relief agencies, and individuals respond appropriately to the crisis in Haiti (helping the Haitian people to take ownership of the rebuilding process), the Chalmers Center will host a three-part, webinar lecture series. The webinars are scheduled for February 17th, February 24th, and March 3rd, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (US). They will be presented by Steve Corbett and Dr. Brian Fikkert, authors of “When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself,” a paradigm-shifting book on the causes of and solutions to the problem of poverty

http://www.whenhelpinghurts.org

There is no charge for the webinars. However, to join a live webinar session, you must register — and it works best to register ahead of time (like… now). If you cannot join a live webinar, a download link of the recorded webinar will be posted on the webinar registration page within two business days following the date of the live webinar session. Find the registration link at…

http://chalmers.org/when-helping-hurts/webinar/haiti-02-2010.php

This sounds *reeeeeeeeeeally* good. I can’t figure why they’re offering it for free… unless they see their work as ministry, which is very cool.

On March 6th, Brigada will stage a day-retreat at Emerald Hills in Louisville, Kentucky. New this week — you can attend in person or virtually, via webinar. The primary presenter, Ed Brown, is Director of Care of Creation and author of, “Our Father’s World.” Who would enjoy this workshop? Those that…

• Are concerned about the environment
• Want to see and experience a missions campus with a nature heart
• Would be open to utilizing ecology as a missions platform
• Have questions about whether or not Al Gore is right ( :-) )
• Want to help their local church demonstrate care for creation
• Those who care about God’s earth and want to reconnect with him
• Those interested in prayer (we’ll be doing 2 prayer walks on wooded trails designed for that purpose)

Register to attend in person at…

http://eh.wildapricot.org

To attend via webinar, just go to

http://www.brigada.org

and use either the Authorize.net or the PayPal link to make a donation of $19 or more. (Please mention your desire to attend the webinar.) You’ll receive a link via email to register for the webinar within 24 hours. Be sure to initiate this process well ahead of March 6th. (To participate in the webinar, you’ll need a headset or speakers on your personal computer.)

The day-retreat runs 8am -4:45pm. Those who attend in person will enjoy 2 prayer walks on the beautiful prayer trails at Emerald Hills, Brigada’s home base. The in-person price, which includes the entire day, lunch, and materials, is just $39. Webinar participants are asked to donate $19. Reconnect with creation, reconnect with God, and reconnect with missions — all at a beautiful wooded site on the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky. Hosted by Doug Lucas, who would love to meet you. Sign up today… in-person seating is limited to the first 150 participants. The webinar is a good option after Emerald Hills fills up. (I wish we could give away the webinar for free like Chalmers Center, but we have to pay Ed and his travel expenses.)

Interested in holistic microfinance and microenterprise development training? For those ministering to the poor in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the Chalmers Center offers a series of three distance courses on conducting holistic microfinance and microenterprise development. The initial course, Foundations and Principles of Holistic Ministry, is designed to help you understand appropriate goals and strategies for conducting church-based economic development in poor communities. The next offering of this course is April 5 – 30, 2010. The cost of this four-week course is $120 (USD) plus the cost of separately ordered course material. The second course, Principles and Practices of Christian Microfinance and Microenterprise Development, provides an overview of microfinance and microenterprise development and offers advice to those interested in selecting and designing a holistic intervention appropriate for their ministry context. The next offering of this course is scheduled for April 5 – May 21, 2010. The cost of this seven-week course including materials is $230 (USD). The Foundations course is a prerequisite for this course. The third course in the series is the eight-week course Promoting Church-Centered Savings and Credit Associations. The next offering of this course is May 3 -June 25, 2010. This course is available to those who have taken the prerequisite Principles and Practices of Christian Microfinance and Microenterprise Development. The cost of this course including materials is $300 (USD). To learn more about these and other courses and see a complete course schedule visit:

http://www.chalmers.org

A buddy of mine working in a very sensitive field would like to know. He’ll use his VPN to watch this page directly. He wrote, “Two of the websites we made that got about 250K hits were recently blocked so we’re looking into alternatives.” Would you be able to direct him to any Facebook apps that would be useful in ministry? (Please… and this is Doug talking… no farms or any other sort of animal that you raise, no mass valentines to everyone in your address book, and especially no mafia wars.) :-) Just click into the Comment box below to give him ideas. Thanks in advance.

Know anyone who is preparing to learn another language? TRAIN International still has spaces open at the “Acquire” training in Joplin, MO from March 15-26, 2010. Eric Derry will be the lead trainer at this two-week intensive training which empowers cross-cultural workers with the best known current strategies and tools in language acquisition. At Acquire, you will:

• study phonetics to hear and say sounds right
• practice speaking another language with language helpers
• boost language learning confidence
• understand the connection between language learning and cultural competence
• be more prepared to stay longer and stay effective on the field

For more information, check out

http://www.traininternational.com

or email Mark at

or call 417-621-8962. Better act fast though. Spaces is limited.

Just contact Wycliffe Associates UK at…

http://www.wycliffeassociates.org.uk

They’ll improve the written English of people who have English as their second language. Questions? Write them at

The BodyBuilders “Personal Support Raising Boot Camp” is a two day intense training for first-time support raisers and under-funded veterans. The goal: Getting you to 100% in 100 days! Learn more at…

http://www.thebodybuilders.net

or email

Upcoming Boot Camp dates:

• Phoenix, AZ—February 17-18, 2010
• Iowa City, IA—March 5-6, 2010
• Greenville, SC—March 18-19, 2010
• Bellflower, CA—April 22-23, 2010
• Champaign, IL—May 27-28, 2010
• Nashville, TN—June 15-16, 2010

Register online today.

“Share the Sound” is currently working with a number of missionaries and missionary organizations to provide much-needed sound and pro audio equipment to aid missionaries in delivering the Good News of Jesus Christ. Certainly, the need exceeds the supply, but at a minimum, you’ll be talking to a mission that will work to understand your audio needs and care about meeting them. Learn more at…

http://sharethesoundonline.com

Don’t miss the Ekballo Equipping Conference, March 3-7 and 10-14 in Kansas City. There, Elijah Company will present four days of intensive missionary training. Formerly called Missionary Training Camp, this workshop will feature many of the same topics but with a greater prayer focus. In the shadow of the Kansas City International House of Prayer they will highlight the marriage of prayer and missions.  There’s a special focus on adoption and preparation for unreached people groups.

Learn more at…

http://www.elijahcompany.org

Your calls are welcome at +1(757)333-0446 or email

This is a set of multiple-user online tools to produce a small video project for each of the 490 minority language groups in China that will introduce them to God as their loving Heavenly Father with indigenous pictures, indigenous music and voice — over of 55 scriptures. The organizers invite you to participate. They’re looking for indigenous pictures, music and translators and they’ll be glad to train you. Results will be posted on the web at

http://www.fathersloveletter.com/languages.html

They’ll also supply, at the same site, free downloads in video, audio and print formats. For details and to join the Googlegroup, go to

http://groups.google.com/group/the-father-loves-china/web/project-overview?hl=en

I’m not kidding.

Take a look at…

http://snowfallpress.com/

Believe it or not, they have the equivalent of a giant machine that receives your PDF, prints it, binds it, and spits it out the other side. A human has to package your book(s) for shipping… but everything else is super-automated. As a result, you get that “new printing smell” fresh off the press… (like *yesterday*). And the cool part is, they’ll also drop-ship your book directly to the person ordering it. So it’s kinda like you have your own publishing company? Right now, it’s all black and white, but they hope to introduce color this fall. I asked them for a sample to check the quality. It was *almost* as good as a “big publisher.” The best part: The prices are amazingly reasonable, especially for what you get… like… a 100-page book might run $4, shipped to you next day, complete with shiny color cover. I like it — a lot. (Thanks for the tip, US Center for World Missions!) :-)

The 9th Annual “Reaching Japanese for Christ” Conference is this coming week, February 18-20, 2010. The truth is, few Japanese know Jesus as their personal Savior. The Reaching Japanese for Christ (RJC) Conference will help you share with the Japanese people living near you. This is a great opportunity for cultural training for short term mission trips to Japan, ESL Programs or for those Hosting International Students. To find out more go to

http://www.rjcnetwork.org

or contact Don