By 2050, 30% of the World Will Live in Rural Areas & Villages
Yikes. So what will have happened to the rest of the world? They will all have moved to the city. All 70% of them. We HAVE to become better at understanding and, dare we say, ‘fixing’ the city and all its challenges. In fact, cities like Dhaka (pop density = 73,000 per sq. mi) and Manila (107,000/sq. mi) are facing seemingly insurmountable odds already — with everything from traffic congestion to housing. For pictures and more, see…
http://www.businessinsider.com/inside-worlds-most-crowded-cities-2017-4/#it-almost-makes-new-york-city-look-quaint-by-comparison-almost-18
Do you live in one of the world’s 40 largest cities (those with populations of 10 million or more)? Do you see these struggles daily? If so, please click “Comment” following the web version of this item and share a quick story about the challenges you face there. Thanks in advance for any help you can give. (Thanks Linda!)
When I Grow Up, I Want to Make Maps Like These
How can you get to know countries like the USA — and the world? You can read about them in books, of course — or see them in maps like these..
Who are the highest paid employees (coaches or teachers)? How fast and where have Walmart stores grown? How many meth labs are there per county in which states? Which countries have the most overweight people? Which lands have the most people in jail? So much to learn and so little time to learn it. (Thank you Tim!)
Ethno LA Raises the Bar for Studies on MegaCities
Jerome Hannaman, Gerry Gutierriz, Don Overstreet and Kallie-Jo Ho have done a super job on “Ethno LA: Reaching the Nations, Tongues, and People of the Greater Los Angeles Metro Area.” Our only regret about this book is that we don’t have similar works yet for the other 39 or so cities with 10 million or more population. This is a brand new work (in fact, it’s not actually released yet; the copy we’re holding here is a pre-release review copy), slated to be available in October. Packed with profiles of every significant ethnicity in the metro area, plus maps and more, this beautiful 182-page work would look great on your coffee table (do people still have coffee tables?). The print is incredibly clear (plenty large for eyes of all ages) and, frankly, it’s an extremely professional production with color that ‘pops.’ If I were a megachurch pastor in L.A., I would ask my staff to pray through this book one profile at a time, one day at a time. In fact, even though I’m NOT a megachurch pastor in L.A., I’m still going to pray through it — because… Should we not be concerned with the welfare of this city? It will be premiered at the Finishing the Task event in December in L.A. as well. But you can get a sneak peak at this secret new website…
You’re going to love this book.
Galactic Communications Gets Good Marks for Security AND Service
We received multiple comments, both public and private, about our item last week regarding Galactic Communications (Item #4, What Do We Know About Galactic Communications?). The comments were uniformly positive — that not only is Galactic trustworthy and secure, but they’re also the real deal service-wise too. One informant clued us in on the group that runs Galactic. Extremely trustworthy. Learn more about their services at…
Rumors About Christianity Failing Last Week Largely Misunderstood
If you thought that last week’s item, “Is Christianity Failing? If so, Why?,” was aimed at the whole world, please forgive. The researcher who submitted the item is himself South Asia and he still resides there today. We believe the ultimate aim of his request, “Is Christianity Failing,” was to discover why it’s possible that Christianity seems to be declining in parts of the Western world. His goal in researching this question was to do whatever possible to avert any similar failure in the Global South, where Christianity is indeed growing quite rapidly. Christianity might not be the fastest growing world religion worldwide, (that honor goes to Islam, because of biological growth, primarily), but it is likely the fastest growing world religion when considering solely conversion growth (and ignoring biological growth). These statistics are available broadly and have appeared in Perspectives courses now (Lesson 9) for two decades or more. So we applaud this gentleman’s search for truth and we look forward to any additional substantive theories about the decline of Christianity in the West. See the original item and the multiple accompanying comments at…
https://brigada.org/2017/09/10_21185
So, to summarize, the original submitter of the request was anything but ethnocentric or prideful about the West. He doesn’t even live there. He’s just trying to learn from the past — so he can help us all avoid repeating it. If that helps spur on additional comments, please add to the thread at the original location. Thanks.
Great List of Missions-focused Churches
If you missed our request last week for the greatest mission-focused churches ever, it’s not too late to see what some other Brigada participants are posting. Just glance at…
https://brigada.org/2017/09/10_21181
Please add to the list there until we make it to 100. Thanks!
The Answer is: (How Many Missions Pastors are there?)
Last week, we also asked how many missions pastors there were in the USA (world) right now. There were a couple of responses, the second of which (thank you Ted Esler!) seems spot-on. If your opinion differs from Ted (gasp), please add to the thread there…
How to Use New Media to Engage the Unreached
Mission Media U (MMU) is an online learning platform designed to train Christians to be more effective in making disciples and establishing churches. Their course, “Foundations of Media Strategy,” is starting November 2, and running through December 7. Each week in the 5-week course requires 3 hours of work per week including a one-hour live instruction session. For more information, go to:
http://www.missionmediau.org/courses/foundations-of-media-strategy/
We’re Grateful for…
…The caring people behind Children’s Outreach Resources, who sent $50 to help speed Brigada on its way to thousands of mobilizers, missionaries, and church leaders around the world. Thank you and God bless!
…Perspectives in Louisville, KY, for sending a $100 gift to Brigada. God bless you and may Perspectives courses all around the world keep growing!!! To learn more about this course that helps you the world from God’s perspective, click to…
Would you consider joining with them in empowering Brigada to the nations? Do you think your church would consider sending a one-time gift to multiply the capacity of each of the thousands of churches, organizations, and individuals who receive Brigada? It’s easy to give. Just click “Donate” at www.brigada.org, or mail a check payable to Team Expansion (Brigada), 13711 Willow Reed Drive, Louisville, KY 40299. Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so, for USA citizens, your gift to Christ through Team Expansion is tax-deductible. Thank you, in advance, for your partnership!
The Last Bit: Nabeel Qureshi (1983-2017)
Last week, we asked for prayer for Nabeel Qureshi (in the item, “Author of ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus’ Needs Your Prayers”). Unfortunately, we’re so sorry to have to report that he passed away on Saturday, Sept. 16. His loss will be widely and deeply felt among all those who desire to see Muslims come to faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
We first heard about Nabil from field workers who were implementing disciple-making movement principles overseas. They were using Nabeel’s writings as a significant part of their ministries, seeing fruit from their labor. A portion of their work was being significantly (and positively) impacted by Nabil’s writings and testimonies. He will be missed. Learn more about his remarkable life in sites like these:
https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2017/09/16/nabeel-qureshi-1983-2017/
Did Nabil make a contribution to your own life? If so, please say something about that contribution as a memorial here. We’ll make sure these are seen by Michelle and Ayah. Thank you in advance for your words.
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