Brigada Today
22 of December, 1995
Now with 1582 Participants!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
In this issue....
SEND A CARD, HELP WORLD VISION, SUPPORT ALEX TREBEK!
Yes, you read
correctly . . . although I'm fudging a little on the last part. You see,
Bob Hall
BobHall@xc.org stumbled across this great www page where you can
send a Christmas Card to anyone with WWW access. Just point your browser to
http://www.spe.sony.com/Pictures/tv/charity/office.html (Watch the case!).
Bob explains, "You click on "postcard rack" and then select the card of your
choice (scroll down until you reach the World Vision selection -- it's
actually the "favorite charity" of Alex Trebek, but that shouldn't put any
of us in Jeopardy, if you know what I mean
). Once you have selected the
World Vision card you are then asked for the e-mail address of the person
you want to send the card to. You also provide your own e-mail address and
name and then type in a brief message. You "submit" it and it is gone. If
the message is picked up within four weeks then a donation is made towards
World Vision." Apparently, Sony is going to give $10,000 to some charity
and, well, it might as well be our friends at World Vision, right???
They'll decide the actual amounts according to the percentage of the number
of users who pick each charity. So in a sense, every card sent for Alex
Trebek's choice is like a "vote" (or a dollar, perhaps, if there are 10,000
users, literally!) for World Vision!!! If every Brigada Today reader could
just send one card, that's potentially hundreds or maybe thousands of
dollars for World Vision -- and lots of good warm fuzzies for your
friends!!! So hit the web!!! And send a card!! And show Trebek you think
he has good taste in charities!!!!
(By the way, your friend receives
an e-mail message from Sony telling them that a card is waiting for them to
pick up. The message gives them the WWW address to access and also provides
a "claim check number" to be submitted to the postmaster. It's all pretty cool!"
"EXTRA, EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!"-"THE LAUNCH" ON WORLDWIDE WEB
Of course you knew that you could go subscribe to an email conference to "get"
(download) articles about "The Launch" event recently hosted by AD2000 &
Beyond. But did you know that Brigada's Web Magicians had taken time to
transfer all those "Launch" reports to html so you could read them on the
worldwide web? Just point your browser to:
http://www.xc.org/Brigada/toady/articles/launch/launch.html
Thanks Bob and Patti Mayhew!!!
HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE'VE "REACHED" A PEOPLE GROUP
According to the
AD2000 & Beyond International Office, for the purposes of the Joshua Project
2000 emphasis, we'll know the group is reached "when a reproducing
fellowship of 100 members is established." This answer, which just came in
this past week, changes our earlier understanding (as recorded in
Launch
Status Reports) of how AD2000 would measure success. Because of input from
one key researcher, we were thinking AD2000 leadership would count an
on-site mission team as a "seed church." But according to this last week's
response (the first time this measuring stick has been recorded in
writing???), not so. "A Church for Every People" would mean exactly what it
says -- a "Church for Every People!" Yikes, gang. We'd better get busy!
And if that church of 100 is going to be entrusted with reaching the rest of
its respective group, we'd better help it get busy too!
CELEBRATE RAMADAN WITH A FRIEND!
Just around the corner (January
21-February 19) Muslims from around the world will celebrate the holy month
of Ramadan. The 27th night of Ramadan (this year February 16) is known as
the "Night of Power," during which Muslims seek visions, dreams and
supernatural acts of power. One mission, Kingdom Building Ministries
(Denver, CO), is asking, "Why not consider hosting a Concert of Prayer in
your area to pray FOR not against Muslim peoples who will be demonstrating a
deep spiritual hunger?"
Kingdom Building Ministries (in partnership with others) will be hosting
just such a Concert of Prayer in Denver. Their question? "Wouldn't it be
great to have home groups and local churches all over the world meeting for
a special Night of Prayer on the Night of Power?!" For more information,
contact KBM at 303-745-8191 or email
KBMMick@aol.com .
COMISSION ALIVE AND WELL!
And you thought the CoMission was finished
in the former Soviet Union??? Not so. See them on the worldwide web at
http://www.goshen.net/CoMission .
DID YOU PRAY IN OCTOBER???
Or did you take a prayer journey??? If so,
CIN wants to hear from you. "The Christian Information Network has been
receiving messages from some journeyers that they met other prayer teams who
said they had not registered with Christian Information Network," says
Christian Information Network Director, Beverly Pegues. "Are you aware of
any prayer teams who did not register with our office?" If you or someone
you know did not register, it's not problem -- except that you're kind of
skewing the stats, man!!! So please send email to
hub@xc.org with only this
line:
get brigada journey-report
Once it's back in your box, fill it out and send it to the address on the
form. Thanks! Questions??? Write Beverly at
73422.3471@compuserve.com .
LOVE IN EVERY LANGUAGE... WELL.... WOULD YOU BELIEVE... 48???
Want to
wish you loved ones
Merry Christmas in a new and unique way??? Send email
to
hub@xc.org with only the words...
get brigada merry-languages
and you'll be wishing them in
48 languages in no time at all! Yes folks, we've got it all... from
Singhalese to Slovene, you can "Basque" in these "Gaelic" greetings today!
So start Russian to your email program and don't Slovak down until you get
your own copy!!! You'll Polish off this list in no time!
So... Mele
Kalikimake me ka Hauloi Makahiki hou (that's language number 48, Hawaiian!).
Thanks to
chai@uiuc.edu (Ian Chai) for sharing this list!
GATEKEEPERS COME FORTH!
If you're willing to serve as a "Gatekeeper"
for a particular people group on the list of 1685 Least Evangelized Peoples,
and if you have the resources, the time, and the contacts to assist in
mobilizing churches and groups to reach that group, write Eric and his
committee at
76171.1463@compuserve.com . He's collected 40-50 so far!!!
Keep up the great work, Eric!
PEOPLE GROUP CONSULTANT GETS NEW LIFE
Have you recently tried to
access the People Group Consultant ("PGC"), only to discover it didn't seem
to work? You were right!
Following a software switch at the MAFxc hub
(which, by the way, makes all these conferences run a lot more smoothly
now), the PGC had to be "re-primed", so to speak. That restarting process
took place last night (thanks to a very hardworking Jonathan Marsden) and
now the PGC is shining! Try it again! Point your www browser (in AOL,
CServe, or just about any other graphical Internet connection) to
http://www.xc.org/pgc.html and type in the name of a people group you'd like
to research. There's no charge involved. The PGC is at your service!
AD2000 & BEYOND RELEASES SURVEY RESULTS
A big thanks to the AD2000 & Beyond International Office in Colorado Springs,
CO! They recently supplied us with the
results of the survey his office took
at the recent "Launch" consultation there in CS. Very interesting results.
Of some 122 forms which were returned, a total of 67 said they had access to
email! This is particularly significant in view of the fact that some 77
countries represented at the meeting!!! This should tell us something! The
world is becoming more and more connected . . . at least as far as the
AD2000 & Beyond world is concerned! Additionally, 78 of those returning
forms volunteered to render assistance to visiting JP2000 research teams.
And around half of the people groups on the JP2000 list come from those
volunteers' homelands! So... help is waiting in the wings, gang!
For lots more survey results, send email to
hub@xc.org with only the
following line in the body of the message text:
get brigada launch-survey
WE GET MAIL
Thanks to all those who have offered notes of
encouragement recently. For example, after seeing
last week's Brigada Today, one reader wrote in to say,
"Thank you all for your labor with BRIGADA TODAY! (Let's face it, if it was
snail-mailed it would ALWAYS be BRIGADA LAST WEEK!) As a missionary living
60 miles from the Arctic Circle, where just now we are doing well to find
three hours of daylight (and not a minute of direct sunlight), receiving
BRIGADA WHENEVER IT COMES is a joy, blessing and encouragement. Please know
that for us here, it's breath of fresh air and a beam of light!
Yours in Him,
Eric
Korstrask, Sweden"
Yikes Eric. Wish we could email you a
bright and warm Coleman Lantern!
We
basically feel like we're sitting in the grandstands, watching God at work
around the world. So, when we mail out Brigada Today, we're just pointing
to a different part of the field and saying, "Wow
-- did you see that play!?!"
LET A FRIEND KNOW
One Brigada Today reader suggested that we need to
do more to inform those who live in sensitive areas of the world
(restricted- or creative- access countries) about the networking that's
taking place in these Brigada conferences. His concern was that we be
careful about the communication, so as not to cause any undue stress for
those workers, but, at the same time, to encourage them by pointing out the
camaraderie that's developing among those who had previously been working so
independently of one another. If you know of someone working in a sensitive
situation and you are accustomed to phrasing things in a careful way, you
might want to drop that kind of note of encouragement. It's your call as to
whether or not the receiver would be put on the spot by getting such a note.
Either way, let's keep praying that God uses this and whatever medium
possible to bring us together "John 17-style!" That we would be 'one' so
that they may be 'won'!
HAVE YOU BEEN WISHING YOU COULD BE THERE?
Some have expressed that
they wish they could have been present at the AD2000 & Beyond "Launch"
meetings held November 28 - December 2 in Colorado, to hear presentations
from 77 countries around the world, highlighting plans and possibilities for
reaching the world's Least Evangelized Peoples. Well now, you can be
there . . . sort of. Every session was professionally recorded on audio
cassette. There are 13 tapes which include 5-minute speeches by over 35 key
AD2000 Regional, Network and Task Force Leaders. The tapes also contain
about 17 15-minute devotionals taken from the book of Joshua. The Launch
meetings focused on AD2000 National Initiatives and the start of Joshua
Project 2000, a focus on the 1700 least evangelized peoples. The tapes are
available at cost and can be ordered from AD2000 & Beyond for $15 which
includes shipping and handling. Telephone (719) 576-2000 in the USA or
email
mary@ad2000.org for more information.
LIVING ON "THE EDGE"... OR WANT TO???
CBInternational is kicking off
a new printed publication called, The Edge: Targeting the 10/40 Window
next month. It will be published three times a year and will be four pages
per issue. If you would like to receive The Edge (for free!) send your
snail mail (postal) address to Scott Grandi
SGrandi@aol.com and live on
"The Edge"!!! Can't beat the price, Scott. Thanks!
"HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER" FOLLOW-UP
Oops! We've lost it again! Can
anyone find the AIMS pages on the 10/40 Window???
GLOBAL GLIMPSE
NIGERIA -- Kawuri, a new convert from Islam, was
tortured by his tribe because of his new-found faith. Lying close to death
in his small hut, he prayed aloud for God to forgive his torturers. Unknown
to him, his torturers were present and heard his prayer. The following
night, the two Mullahs had visions. One saw Jesus, who showed him three of
his greatest and most secret sins. The following day, both Mullahs repented
and went with their 80 followers to a church. I was encouraged by this news
to pray with 100 other people for specific Islamic leaders. Four months
later, many Mullahs and Qur'an teachers had had dreams or visions. Since
then, many of Nigeria's Mullahs have become Christians.
(Source: Open Doors, quoting Ruth Veldkamp,
via DAWN FridayFax, 12/13/95, (C) DAWN Europe.
http://www.itr.ch/~szbinden/freitagsfax.html
John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.)
MAY YOU HAVE THE HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS FOR JESUS!
On this
Christmas weekend, during which we celebrate Jesus' birthday, we mark the
first Christmas for the Brigada family of email conferences and homepages.
From all of the volunteers who moderate and participate in these networks,
to all of you who likewise share in their growth, we say thank you for an
explosively successful first 9 months... and have a very, blessed and happy
Christmas and a wonderful start to your new year!
_______________________________________________________
| |
| | |
| \ / |
| /\ |
| -- < > -- |
| \/ "...and you are to give him the |
| / \ name Jesus. He will be great |
| and will be called the Son of |
| the Most High. The Lord God |
| ________ will give him the throne of his |
| / \ father David, and he will reign |
| / \ over the house of Jacob forever; |
| / \ his kingdom will never end." |
| /| 0 _____ O |\ Luke 1:31b-33 |
| |/:\ \___// \| |
| | M / \ M | |
|_______________________________________________________|
(Thanks to Tom, Toni, David, Daniel, and Rachel Schneller, missionaries
serving in Honduras, for sharing this home-made holiday greeting with the
entire Brigada family! )
TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY, send email to
hub@xc.orgwith only the
following message:
subscribe brigada
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
, send email to
hub@xc.orgwith this line
in the text:
unsubscribe brigada
BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project, jhanna@cproject.com
People of the Week: Justin Long, GEM/Barrett Office, JDavidLong@aol.com- ADVANCE: Mark A. Kelley, Kainos Press, 70420.1057@compuserve.com
- Web Wizard: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer, mayhew@xc.org
- Web Art: Patti Mayhew, pmayhew@discover.net
- Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, MAFxc jonathan@xc.org
- Communications: Revis Ann Massey, rmassey@post.cis.smu.edu
- Compiler: 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!
22 of December, 1995
