Brigada Today
28 of March 1997
Now with 5151 participants!!!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
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In this issue....
PICK A FIELD FOR A "BRIGADA MISSION COUPLE"
Here's the deal. We've
got this missionary couple willing to basically go anywhere - where no man
has gone before. If you were to pick the most desperately needy people
group in the world . . . and a whoppin' giant one... to which group would
you send them??? Don't worry about money, don't worry about visas, and
don't worry about on-site expertise. Instead, just focus on pure need.
Make sure the group is big enough to be strategic... and has no church
movement in its midst . . . and send your proposals into
DLucas@TeamExpansion.org
with the subject line "final frontier" (please do put that in the subject
line). These proposals could be as simple as, "Send 'em to the ____ people
group of Indonesia; there are 5 million in that group and not a single
fellowship of believers" . . . or they could be a 3-page summary of your
two years of research on the group. If it's possible to provide a contact
person that you'd recommend, please supply that - but don't list names and
addresses of people living in sensitive areas of the world. We'll study the
proposals with the couple, then report their conclusions. And yes, I'm not
kidding, they're really going to try to go to the most desperate situation
they can find. We'll try to follow their progress over the coming years to
see what God does among the group.... as much as security allows. So - - -
let's get those cards and letters coming!
PIT-STOP DENVER TO FEATURE 3 PROJECTS YOU'LL WANT TO KNOW ABOUT
You've heard about the "Amdo video," one of the sharpest prayer tools to
break out of the editing rooms lately?? Meet the guy who wrote the script
and hear about how to put together a prayer journey straight from his own
words. And have you heard about the Evergreen project in China, where local
government officials have invited Evergreen representatives to even help
train city police officials??? Listen to the principles and approaches
they're using, hear the answered prayer, then lift up the needs of that
giant nation side by side with others who share your passion for the
unreached. Oh - and did I mention you'll be able to learn about how God
is raising up an entire network to reach the Pashtun? Hear straight from
the guy who helped launch a movement within his local church (and he's not
even the Sr. Pastor!) that is now engulfing many others with a passion to
reach the Pashtun. And on top of these three successful studies, hear
mini-reports from dozens of other projects, each shared with a view toward
what you can transfer back to your church, agency, or mission field. Find
out how to introduce concerts of prayer for your adopted people. Brainstorm
through a "pert chart" that shows your deadlines, goal-owners, and
mileposts for the next 18 months as related to over 100 important measuring
sticks. Delve into a whole notebook full of guidelines and pick up a
diskette crammed full of the latest information. And join Caleb Project's
CEO as he leads us to the throne room of God to pray this stuff into
reality! It's all available at Pit-Stop Denver, Apr. 25-26, at Littleton
Christian Church (suburban Denver) - jointly sponsored by Caleb Project,
Kingdom Building Ministries, Team Expansion, PACE, "Pit-Stops," and
Brigada. For more information, see
http://www.brigada.org/pace. Entire
weekend, including the notebook, materials, program, diskette, most meals,
and the fellowship - just $45. For more information, write Robert or
Noelle today -
rpeterson@ccu.edu or call (303) 761-6187 or send a note
to
hub@xc.org 
with only the words,
get brigada pit-stop-denver
in the text of the message.
SO WHERE DID WE GET THE NAME, "BRIGADA"???
"bree-GAH-dah" is both
Russian and Spanish for a "brigade." You know - the kind that used to
pass buckets of water person to person, so that a whole house fire could be
doused. While helping with a refugee resettlement project in the former
Soviet Union among Muslim Crimean Tatars, we watched first hand over a
period of months the way they would get together to build a house in a
resettlement project, sometimes all in one day. Neighbors would pitch in,
relatives, even friends from across the village - because time was short
and conditions were desperate. The whole thing (in Russian) was called a
"bree-GAH-dah" - a house brigade. Well today, conditions are no less
desperate. In fact, we believe the situation calls for us all to stand
shoulder to shoulder to "pass the bucket" from one project to another -
the bucket of encouragement, case studies of experience, prayers and
petitions for the saints in needy situations. That's what Brigada is all
about. Under the Brigada umbrella are some 70 email activated
"conferences," all of which are trying in one way or another to mobilize an
army of nations to show concern and love for the lost. That's the dream of
Brigada!
PRAY FOR ONE UNJUSTLY JAILED
Have you heard the story of the
missionary in Guatemala, unjustly jailed for trying to help settle a town
kidnapping? Grab the whole story by sending email to
hub@xc.org with only
the words,
get brigada jailed
in the text of the message. This note
keeps coming into my inbox. For some reason, it's really making the rounds
as people try to lift up the destiny of this falsely accused interloper who
apparently was only trying to help but could now face imprisonment for
"murder" or worse. Find out the details and lift up this need in prayer,
please. And by the way... this is no hoax. These notes come from people we
know . . . who know this guy. So it's for real!
WHAT ABOUT THIS "PrayUSA!" THING?
This is one successful prayer
mobilization strategy! If you're from the USA, it could really give balance
to your prayer thrust - and help those in your church to realize that
you're not only concerned about prayer for the nations. PrayUSA! is
30-days of prayer and fasting April 1-30, 1997, sponsored by Mission
America (the USA national initiative of AD2000 & Beyond). It now involves
dozens of denominations, hundreds of prayer ministries, thousands of
churches, and millions of intercessors! Its purpose is to mobilize people
to fast and pray for revival in the United States (our "Jerusalem") using a
30-day reproducible prayer calendar, a 20-piece kit, a 14-minute video, and
lots of mobilizers. It could serve as a pattern for prayer throughout
other lands... and part of the thrust in PrayUSA! is to pray for the
nations anyway!
As part of the thrust George Otis (Sentinel) has
identified 30 "trouble spots," so that one-a-day, prayer-warriors can walk
the world. For info, call toll-free from the USA 1-800-569-4825. Join 22
denominations, Participants in all 50 states, hundreds of prayer ministries
in partnership, and commitments to mobilize 14,482,780 people worldwide
including... 200,000 in Dominican Republic, 55,000 in Solomon Islands, and
3,000 in India! These guys are serious. I just got the packet yesterday
and it is well put
together, very clear,
and very well-funded. Write
prayusa@juno.com or fax 281-855-6540 or see
http://www.usprayertrack.org.
We can all learn from this one. Only
thing is... I wish we had more time to prepare for it!
MRS WINTER'S SITUATION COULD BE IMPROVING
The latest news is both
good and bad, but the bottom line is that there are a lot of positive signs
indicating that Dr. Ralph Winter's wife is improving from the cancer for
which she has been receiving treatment for months. Please pray that she
would be totally healed so that this saintly couple could continue to
mobilize at the US Center for World Mission and throughout the globe.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GATEWAY PEOPLE CONSULTATION.. OR HELP??
You can, without even leaving you home. Consultation organizers have
created three conferences for these last three weeks' preparation. You can
join and jump into the discussion today. "gpcc-delineation" is a technical
discussion for those who want to discuss which upgs should be in which
clusters. "gpcc-discuss" is a general discussion relating to the goals of
the GPCC: linking the resource base (and adoptive churches) with the field.
"gpcc-announce" is for those who plan to attend or who would attend if they
could. You know how to join... send email to
hub@xc.org with only the
words,
subscribe gpcc-announce
or whichever conferences you want to join.
Three weeks to go before this landmark event draws attention and planning
for clusters of the least reached people groups and the networks forming to
reach them. The world's researchers, mobilizers, and missionaries are
coming together at the US Center to figure out answers... and now you can
join them even if you can't travel to Pasadena! Take part in discussions
with Patrick Johnstone, John Hanna, Luis Bush, and many others. Finish the
task!
IF YOU CAN SEE THE SKY, YOU CAN CALL THE WORLD WITH "PLANET 1"
This
is the moment we've been waiting for. Are you tired and frustrated with
your current communications systems? Consider Planet 1 as solution to this
need. Planet 1, the world's first portable, global, personal satellite
communications system, will allow you to go beyond today's
cellular/wireless boundaries with seamless digital voice, fax, data and the
portability you need.
Planet 1 satellite phone provides:
- Digital Voice
- FAX - Plug in your fax machine to the Planet 1
- Data - Send Email (2400 Baud but soon to be 4800 Baud)
Benefits:
- Size - Size of a laptop computer, weighs less than 6 lbs.(2.4 Kg)
- Portability - Operates on rechargeable battery (12v)
- Easy to use - Point the lid at the satellite, dial your number
- Global coverage - Call from anywhere on the Globe
- "Mission critical" communications is assured
- Tool for "people care" - Isolated staff can "talk" to family, children in
college can stay in touch with mom and dad in the field
You'll recall that these babies used to cost $40,000 (say in '91) and cost
$8/minute . . . .but times have changed and MAF is passing along the savings!
Cost:
- Phone - $2,975
- SIM (Smart Card) - $50
- Service - $50 Initial activation, $25 per month + $3.00 per minute.
MAF is an authorized agent for the Planet 1 satellite phone and has
stock available for immediate delivery.
For further information contact:
Paul Lay
Email:
Planet1@maf.org
Phone: (909)794-1151
Fax: (909)794-3016
Cool! Who would have thought that we missionary-types could take part in
so many activities and gizmos that would allow our latent "James Bond"
inner selves to be so well expressed!!!!
Course, . . . now we just
need three grand to buy one of the things!
I wonder
if anyone rents
these little guys!
I have a hunch the insurance wouldn't be cheap. The
drug runners must love them!
PATRICK JOHNSTONE LANDS AN ASSISTANT VIA BRIGADA
Remember our appeal
for staffing for Patrick Johnstone, hard at work
preparing the next Operation World? Well, it appears that he's
found someone via the Brigada responses
[see "OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME", from 21 of Feb., '97 issue]. Thanks
for working together, Brigada family! You're making a world of difference
. . . at least it seems likely that you did for Patrick Johnstone!
CHINA '97 - IT'S NOT TOO LATE
ISI is continuing to receive
registrations for its "China '97...at the Crossroads" conference, scheduled
for June 20-27, 1997 in San Diego, California. Conference information is
now available on-line. Check out ISI's web site at
http://www.isionline.org
and click on the China '97 link to learn.
ON-LINE SEMINARY PROGRAMS, LEND US YOUR EAR... OR EMAIL
Here's a guy
asking where he can get on-line seminary education. Okay colleges and
seminaries... let's send our responses to
RonLawler@aol.com. He'll
compile them and send in a report in two weeks. We'll post it here for all
the world's missionaries to see. . . and study! Please mention in
particular any missions or cross-cultural studies program that might appeal
to a broad audience of workers from around the world.
BRIGADA-CITIES INVOLVED IN COOL CITIES PRAYER REQUESTS
I like what
Aubrey is doing on Brigada-cities these days. She's kicking off each week
with an intro. to a particular key city (like this week it's Tirana,
Albania), then inviting members of brigada-cities (currently well over 200)
to respond with specific prayer requests and case studies on that city. If
you're into the urban scene... or you have a moment to pray... send email
to
hub@xc.org with only the words,
subscribe brigada-cities
in the text of the message. You'll be glad you did. And Aubrey, Viv, and
all the rest, great ministry you've got going there! For a look at just one
of the projects that Viv, Matthew, Jonathan, and the rest of the '-cities'
crew has launched, see
http://www.xc.org/brigada/adcities. Quite an
accomplishment for a bunch of volunteers!
WHERE TO GET INFO. ON YOUR FAVORITE "UNVIRUS"
Want to find out
whether the "Jessica Mydek cancer patient" email is actually a hoax? Look
at
http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html and you'll be able to read
all about "Good Times", "Irina", and many others. Email viruses consist of
the bandwidth they needlessly use up - and it's up to all of us to stay on
top of them... or they'll be on top of us! So what about the mystery of
"Jessica Mydek?"
It's a hoax too. See
http://www.cancer.org/chain.html to read the whole story. As far as the
American Cancer Society can determine, it was a big hoax from the very
beginning.
Sad... but true. But ACS has a great closing paragraph that
helps people really focus on the needs of cancer victims and the good
intentions of those who are participating in furthering the "jessica" hoax
(by relaying the email to 10 zillion of their friends). Worth a read. So,
Jason from Brazil . . . your suspicions were correct!
WANT A GREAT DEAL ON MISSIONARY PRAYER CARDS?
"Les" says to head for
The Howard Print Shop,
hpsprint@netusa1.net, Fax: (765)453-0054, Phone:
(765)453-6161. Apparently they came in at 1/3 the price of Les' last
prayer cards - from another vendor - and the quality was excellent. Make
sure you tell "Howard" you heard about it on Brigada! Hey - they're full
color!
GREAT RESPONSE ON REGISTERING PRAYING CHURCHES/PEOPLE
Remember the
church out east that is registering those who have agreed to pray for
specific people groups on the Joshua Project list? They report a great
response . . . "from all over, and it really blesses us to hear about what
many others are doing." They'll keep us informed about the number of
congregations/individuals who have signed up to pray for specific groups.
Keep in mind that praying for a group is the first step,
but it's only
a step. To really get involved in planting a church there, someone will
probably have to go there. For that, why not come to Pit-Stop Denver or
some other kind of mobilization/planning event. Also, one Brigada
participant wrote in to ask us why a local church would be registering
these numbers. Why wouldn't AD2000 & Beyond be doing it, for instance?
Well - this church is precisely the registering arm of the Prayer Track of
AD2000 & Beyond. Also, someone else asked why Adopt-a-people Clearing House
wouldn't be doing it. Keep in mind that the Adopt-a-people Clearinghouse
tells us that it has never considered this mission to be its purpose.
Rather, it has tried to gather research (profiles) and distribute them . .
. but has not majored in tracking adoptions. The truth is, until AD2000 &
Beyond came along, nobody was trying to. So I say, . . . if these folks
are willing to tackle it, let's use their services! They're in touch with
AD2000 & Beyond's office in Colorado and will be sharing/receiving all
cross-registrations. Again, to register your interest, write to Dick
Gaffney at Manna Church of Fayetteville, NC
RGaff13817@aol.com. Also,
Dick clarifies that we probably shouldn't be using the term "adoption" for
this purpose... but rather, networking, mobilizing, . . . or maybe
registering your interest to pray.
MEANWHILE THIS REPORT FROM AD2000 & BEYOND
The International Office
of the AD2000 & Beyond Movement issued a press release this past week
citing the results of their 10-month survey on what's happening among the
1739 Joshua Project 2000 list of Unreached Peoples. Pretty encouraging
data. By their definitions, AD2000 & Beyond calculates that there is now a
church-planting movement among at least 897 of those people groups. By
AD2000 definitions, then, I guess that means we're halfway to our goal of
"a church for every people"??? At least 757 groups have been targeted for
prayer, while 1157 have agencies already on-site, intending to plant
churches. The full report is available by sending email to
hub@xc.org with
only the following line in the text of the message:
get brigada jp2000-progress
This is very recent data. The report is dated March 26th, '97. Thanks to
Dan Scribner, Lauri Dennis, and Luis Bush, along with all those who
participated in the entire survey!
WE GET MAIL
Thanks for the very encouraging notes and "birthday
cards" for Brigada. We're in your debt for the encouragement! Only one
snippet of an example, since space is fleeting... This note came from David
in Fort Worth, TX: "Praise God for Brigada Today. My only regret is that
I missed two years before I learned of your existence. Your "Global
Glimpse ..." is awesome - in the best spiritual sense of the word! ... For
the last two months we have been putting together a small net of
missionaries and rope holding prayer warriors who are/have been associated
with the University Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas. ... Your work is
blessing us. Please keep it up. And remember, God can do a lot with
garlic! Much of your garlic, it seems to me, is work-in-process! In our
Lord Christ, David Gray." Thanks David and all!
GLOBAL GLIMPSE OF HOPE
As a young man, Silas grew up learning
witchcraft. After he was kicked out of school he joined a gang, rising
quickly due to his power to ruin people's lives. Running from the law, he
visited an old friend and found a change. "I found out that he had been
born again," he said. "He shared the Gospel with me and encouraged me to
give up my evil ways." Silas joyfully received Christ as his Lord and
Savior that night. He began attending church with his friend and was
publicly baptized. But Silas' family didn't share his joy. His father, a
well-reputed witch doctor, kicked his son out of the home. Silas returned
to his friend's house and continued to study the Bible. Finally he heard
God calling him to full-time ministry. After a year of intensive training
at one of Gospel for Asia's native missionary training centers, Silas now
shares the Gospel among the unreached villages. Instead of destroying
lives, he now leads people to new birth in Christ.
(Source: (Read the full
story and many others!) Gospel for Asia, Report for March 21, '97,
http://www.gfa.org/reports/973/9732101.htm)
Global Glimpse is compiled each
week by my buddy and pal, John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
TO SUBSCRIBE TO BRIGADA TODAY, send email to
hub@xc.org
with only the following message:
subscribe brigada
(Sure you can quote from Brigada Today! But please tell your readers
where you learned about the item, and if it's not asking too much, include
the 3 lines on how to subscribe - see above.)
TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send email to
hub@xc.org with this line in the text:
unsubscribe brigada
If you're changing email services soon, please don't forget to
"unsubscribe" first from your 'old' service then
"subscribe" again once you're on-board your 'new' service.
Maintaining 5000+ subscribers manually
isn't easy for our volunteer "Customer Relations Coordinator," Revis Ann Massey!
And visit Brigada on WorldWide Web at our new domain (please re-set
bookmarks): http://www.brigada.org. Thanks to Bob Mayhew who made the
conversion!
BRIGADA TODAY IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE FOLLOWING TEAM OF REGULAR VOLUNTEERS:
Global Glimpses: John Hanna, Caleb Project,
jhanna@cproject.com
ADVANCE: Mark A. Kelley, Kainos Press,
70420.1057@compuserve.com- Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, Brigada Volunteer,
mayhew@xc.org
- Technical Development: Jonathan Marsden, MAFxc
jonathan@xc.org
- Brigada
Customer Service Manager: Revis Ann Massey,
RevisAnnMassey@xc.org
- Brigada
Coordinator: 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!
28 of March 1997
| "If you've been asked to lead, you've been asked to serve." |
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| Doug Lucas DLucas@TeamExpansion.org
| Phone: +1 (513) 244 8149
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| FAX: +1 (513) 244 8430 |
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| Organization: Team Expansion |