Brigada Today
30 of June, 1995
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
Compiled byDLucas@TeamExpansion.org
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
In this issue....
IF YOU CAN FIND FOUR MORE FRIENDS TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
... we'll cross that 500 mark!!! That's right, as of this moment, there
are 496 subscribers to the "top level" of Brigada. In honor of what
will be an historic event (our 500th subscriber), we've decided that the
lucky person ("Mr. or Ms. 500") will receive his/her subscription to
Brigada absolutely free. (Of course, so did the other 499! 
) For
information on how to sign up those missing four participants, see the
end of this mailing.
CHALLENGE YOUR AUDIENCES WITH "THE CHALLENGE..."
If you attended
GCOWE, then you probably haven't forgotten the effective 11-minute video
presentation entitled, The Challenge of Our Unfinished Task. Now you
can order the very same video that you and others viewed in Seoul!
Available from WorldChristian News&Books for $14.95 (including US
postage!), this video won't let you down. If you're given two chances
to preach, say, morning and evening, in the church you're visiting this
Sunday, show them Light the Window during one service
and The Challenge... during the other. For more information or to order, email
Paul Filidis at
wcn@xc.org or write P.O. Box 26479, Colorado Springs, CO
80936.
CHECK BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
Thanks to Sherm Pemberton, missions prof. at
Pacific Chr. College, for bringing us up to date on a new service that
apparently will soon be available only from your Sabre-equipped travel
agent. Thanks to the folks at Kroll Associates, MCI and Sabre, you'll
be able to get a "safety report" on traveling to any one of some 250
cities around the globe via the Sabre computer system. Here's the best
part -- the report is evidently updated on a daily basis!!! Included
will be general safety suggestions; information about currency,
transportation and weather; emergency numbers; details about customs;
and updates on special conditions and events. Evidently, after the six
month premier of this service, the providers might renegotiate to send
the service over other lines (e.g., online services???), but for now, as
mentioned above, you'll need a Sabre-equipped travel agent on this one.
(Once again, thanks Sherman!)
STILL TRAVELING, IN SPITE OF THE WARNINGS? GET THIS CALLING CARD
We're still wondering in disbelief. Thanks to Jeff Pike for filling us
in on a special calling card that's apparently free! Here's the note
from Jeff: "Hey travelers! [Want a] free Calling Card with no surcharge
and a flat rate of 17.5 cents per minute? Money Magazine, July 1995
issue, pronounced it the "best buy now" in calling cards. NO SURCHARGE.
(AT&T, Sprint and MCI all add a hefty 80 cent surcharge on each call)
[This] card is absolutely free. [Plus...] no monthly minimum, and no
credit card billing or surety. This is a stand-alone card--no need to
change your long-distance carrier. Just get billed for what you use at
the flat rate of 17.5 cents per minute (state to state). Competitive
International rates also. Provided by LDDS, the 4th largest long
distance company in the US and backed by 24-hour Customer Service, 7
days a week. For a simple and quick flyer with enrollment form, please
send a self-addressed and stamped RETURN ENVELOPE to: Discount Calling
Card, 7540 SW Miner Way, Portland, OR 97225." Thanks to Jeff for this
note. Readers, please fill us in after you've been billed for a month
or two. Almost sounds too good to be true, doesn't it!? Guess that's
why Jeff is "going places"!!!
UPDATE ON "GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST APPROACHES THE CENTURY CLUB!"
In the
June 16 edition of Brigada Today, we reported
that the GLOBAL PRAYER DIGEST was about
to join the "century club" with over 100 subscribers.
We're happy to add that the GPD crossed that mark and now has 107
subscribers. To make it 108 -- and get a daily prayer reminder for some
unreached group -- send email to
hub@xc.org with only the following
words in the text of the message:
subscribe brigada-pubs-globalprayerdigest
"FUN FACTS TO KNOW AND TELL"
And what's more, during June (talk about
"clockwork"), exactly 30 "daily readings" were emailed to those 100 or
so participants for a total of some 3180 messages!!! That makes the GPD
the "busiest" conference on Brigada! The "next busiest" is this "top
level" conference, with weekly messages sent to around 500 subscribers -
- resulting in about 200 messages less by the end of the month: 2970.
(Thanks to Jonathan Marsden of CrossConnect for programming our
statistics report.)
MODERATOR SECURED FOR BRIGADA-CITIES
25 of you are still waiting for
your Brigada-Cities conference to take wing! But God has answered our
prayers! On June 2, we asked (in the Brigada Today) for prayer that
someone would moderate this conference on behalf of the AD2000 & Beyond
Cities Track to build further momentum and help network those who have a
heart for the city. Thanks to those who prayed! Mark Shelly, the
coordinator for Lincoln Christian College's new urban study center in
Chicago, has prayerfully volunteered to fill this important role. He's
finishing his doctoral dissertation at the moment, but hopes to begin
this task just in time for the
100 Gateway Cities prayer campaign in
October. And what better place for the base!!! He's just down the
street from Ray and across town from tons of other urban consultants.
For now, though, We'll let Mark go back to his books ... but will look
forward to his partnership to begin in just three short months! Thanks
Mark! (Yahoo, Viv! We're finally in business! )
Now -- if we
can just see a similar answer for Brigada-Peoples!!!
BIG NEWS! AD2000 & BEYOND CONDUCTS SURVEY
Here's the biggest news
since May 25th. AD2000 & Beyond (more specifically, Luis Bush) is busy
surveying GCOWE participants to put together a plan that would allow the
production of prayer profiles and strategy helps for reaching the least
evangelized groups remaining in the world. Currently being referred to
as "The On-Site Peoples Research Project", the background rationale is
stated like this: "In order to pray effectively and to launch strategic
mission efforts to the approximately 2500 significant least evangelized
peoples of the world, we must have accurate data and assessment. This
will provide the information needed for the production and update of the
prayer profiles required for churches and for the October 1997 global AD
2000 prayer initiative [on the least reached peoples of the world]. It
will also create an awareness resulting in a new wave of mission effort
both by On-Site Peoples Research Project participants as well as
supporting churches and missions." [Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[We're not in any way excited about this, naturally.] The resulting
purpose statement? "The purpose of the On-Site Peoples Research Project
is to gather information for intercession and church planting efforts.
Teams will visit each of the approximately 2500 significant least
evangelized peoples composed of both national and expatriate workers.
The results of these visits will be compiled. ...[Information and
profiles will be gathered to ensure that there is a prayer profile for
each of these groups by April 30,1997." Here are the action steps
currently in the hopper:
- Clean-up of the list of significantly large least evangelized
peoples.
- Development of the questionnaires with consultation of primary
users.
- Recruitment of participating organizations and consultative
committee.
- Resource development for the project.
- Letter written to national and regional coordinators requesting
their involvement.
- Preparation of a training manual for the on-site research project
participants.
- Assignment of peoples, countries and regions in consultations.
- Visits to the significantly large least evangelized peoples by
teams.
- Update of computer information on these peoples.
- Production of updated prayer profiles.
- Distribution of prayer profiles.
- Production of profiles for local church adopt-a-people program, for
mission's agency and country-wide church planting efforts.
- Convene consultations for mission agency leaders to present
challenge and profiles for local church adopt-a-people program, for
mission's agency and country-wide church planting efforts."
Here's how you can help today: Pray that God will empower this new
effort. Pray that He will allow the participants to overcome all the
efforts that Satan has invested in past attempts to gather this
information. Ask God for victory in a battle that has been years in the
making. Pray that participants will not rest until step 14... [and
beyond] is completed. Ask God for harmony among the varying opinions
and approaches that we as human beings seem to naturally bring to the
table every time we join a new project. [soapbox mode on] Truthfully,
if you ask me, this is one battle that Satan has been winning... up 'til
now. So, prayer warriors, please take me seriously. If we're to be
ready for an earnest effort to muster volunteers to adopt the least
reached peoples during October, '97, this is the plan we'll need to
start today! Please pray.
[soapbox mode off]
TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY
Simply send email to
hub@xc.org with
only the following two words in the text of the message:
subscribe brigada
There are now nearly 40 different "
conferences"meeting as a part of the
Brigada family of networks. (Note that you get to choose which one to
join, based on your interests. To see a full list of the choices, send
email to
hub@xc.org with only the word
conferences
in the text of the
message.) This Brigada Today is the one
place (the "top level") where all participants meet, share ideas and
swap resources.
Have a great day!!!
BRIGADA TODAY -- 30 of June, 1995
In just six months, the final
decade in the millennium will be 50% completed. Whew... I hope he
tarries until Dec. 31, 2000! We've got a lot of work to do yet.
