Brigada Today
4 of April 1997
Now with 5198 participants!!!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
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In this issue....
STOP IN AT PIT-STOP DENVER
If you want to help your church or cell
group to truly make an impact cross-culturally, consider attending Pit-Stop
Denver, April 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.
AT LEAST 12,100 ARE PRAYING!
Dick Gaffney at Manna Church of
Fayetteville, NC
RGaff13817@aol.com reports 12,100 registrations to pray
for the various people groups on the JP2000 list. If you haven't
registered your intent to pray, write him today! Note that if you've
already registered at AD2000 & Beyond or Envision '96, your intentions have
already been added to their database. Their goal is to find 10
people/churches for each of the 1739 groups. Just under 5000 to go
[assuming these 12,100 are fairly evenly distributed!]! Thanks to the
volunteers at Manna!
WHERE DO YOU BUY YOUR BIBLES?
Jerry Kingery
jerryk@bf.org would
like to know. He's willing to compile a list of Bible sources - good
prices, great selection, lots of different languages, etc. Maybe SIL or
somebody already has a great web site or a giant search engine to give
Jerry the answer??? Send your best guess to Jerry and he'll compile a
report for us to post here in a couple of weeks. Thanks!
HERE'S A BUNCH OF FREE DENTAL SUPPLIES TO SINK YOUR TEETH INTO!
Several wrote asking for info. on the free dental supplies note..... It's
available from Outreach Latin America
74724.1506@compuserve.com - about
a semi truck load.
SEND YOUR INTERPRETER TO SCHOOL!
Write
servngod@jharper.minsk.by to
find out more about a special course for interpreters... to be held in July
in Kharkov, Ukraine and then in Kradnoyarsk, Russia in August.
HOW MANY URBANA-ITES WILL HEAD OVERSEAS THIS SUMMER?
According to
convention news releases, perhaps as many as 2,753! To see other cool
stats from the conference, send email to
hub@xc.org with the words...
get brigada urbana96
as the only text of the message. It's a short file...
maybe 1/2 page.... but it's stocked with great stats!
WE GET MAIL
Thanks to those who send in notes of encouragement! You
are God's anointed. Apologies that we can't answer every piece of mail.
For example, this week we heard from Brazil.... "Hey, my name is ..... I'm
a missionary in the Brazilian Amazon Basin, rather remote. I e-mailed
friends to get me the $79 Britannica, and a month later they brought it
with them when they came to visit. No problem. THANKS A TON!!!!!! With our
love, ..." [he named his whole family, kids included...; I'm a sucker for
the kids!
] If Brigada can ever help you or yours, we'll give praise to
God!
GOT SKILLS? UNCLE PETE WANTS YOU
Have you got special computer or
communication skills? Pete Holzmann, Coordinator of the AD2000 & Beyond
Interactive Task Force, is putting together a resource catalogue for those
who are making inroads into unreached peoples. He's looking for folks
willing to create web pages, host email conferences, write, edit, etc. If
you're interested, send email to
hub@xc.org with only this line in the text
of the message:
get brigada itf-resource
YOUR ADVANCE ON ADVANCE
Mark
Kelly's Advance has been posted for
your retrieval! Here's a summary:
ADVANCE! April 1997
THE GOSPEL FOR EVERY PEOPLE - Food crisis in North Korea deepens; Israel
bill could outlaw personal evangelism; saving babies' lives in India's
Kondh Hills; 20 million in spiritual captivity in Nepal; lost Libyan hearts
THE PERSECUTED CHURCH - New believer murdered in southern Asia; three
Chinese believers jailed in USA; Indonesia blocking church building
permits; Italian missionary worker murdered in northeastern Peru
SPIRITUAL FORCES OF DARKNESS - Five children killed at Rwandan mission
school; Christian villagers riot in Indonesia; dark forces of Goth
subculture; IBM harasses Christian employees
REJOICE! - 100,000 people in Bogota cell groups; Chinese believers endure
hardship to erect building; 134 Thai families turn to Christ after
cloudburst; North Korea charters first independent Christian church;
missionary released from Iran; 10,000 Ugandan young people signed sexual
purity pledges; Australian lawmakers strike down euthanasia law
NETWORKING - Libya highlighted on Day of Prayer and Fasting for World
Evangelization; weekly electronic mailing covers India; ACMC helps
congregations mobilize world evangelization; International Day of Prayer
for the Persecuted Church; e-mail conference dedicated to practical
application of technology in the global missions; Brigada Web site; Reasons
To Believe Web site; "Human Rights Watch World Report 1997;" new book
documents systematic persecution of Christians worldwide
FRONT LINES - Our battlefields
To get your copy of the complete text, send email to
hub@xc.org with only
the following line in the text of the message:
get brigada advance.9704
WINDOWATCHMAN II IS READY FOR YOUR READING!
CIN announced this past
week that the long-awaited WindoWatchman II is ready for order! According
to CIN, "This book contains exciting reports from prayer journeyers who
participated in the Praying Through the Window II initiative in October of
1995. This work provides great insight as to prayer points for the nations
of the 10/40 Window. In its 432 pages it includes praise reports, country
history, pictures, and a full-color pull-out map which indicates the 100
Gateway Cities, at the back of the book. Get your copy of WindoWatchman II
for $14.99 plus Shipping and Handling ($4.50 in U.S.), along with a
complimentary copy of WindoWatchman I from the 1993 prayer initiative.
Please make note that after April 30th, 1997 the WindoWatchman II will be
offered for $14.99 and the WindoWatchman I for $10.00 plus Shipping and
Handling." CIN says that to purchase, you may send a check to the Christian
Information Network at 11025 State Hwy 83, Colorado Springs, CO 80921 All
orders must be pre-paid by check or credit card. In the USA, call
toll-free to 1-888-PRAY-104. Worldwide, fax them at (719)548-9000. Email
73422.3471@compuserve.com.
HEADED TO SOUTH AFRICA FOR GCOWE'97? CHECK OUT THIS TRAVEL AGENT!
AD2000 & Beyond leadership advised us this past week of a special deal
they've worked out with a travel agent in Canada . . .
schaubeck@baxter.net. According to Debbie Wood, you can perhaps save
hundreds by using her since she's selling South African Airways flights at
wholesale costs directly to GCOWE participants. Check her out!
PHONE HOME... VIA THE SKY
Remember the satphone we mentioned last
week? MAF has agreed to discount it for those purchasing during the
remainder of April. Just tell them you heard about it on Brigada Today.
One user wrote... "What a blessing it has been during the past month to
have the capability of communicating with our missionaries. Without it we
would not have known the situation ... during some very tense times. But
with the phones we were able to activate our prayer chain across the
country within minutes after getting a call. On several occasions the
phone call came as a very dangerous situation was arising and the call was
to the point - "The city is being bombed - I'm frightened. I need your
prayers." To order a Planet I satphone, write
Paul Lay
Planet1@maf.org
or phone: (909)794-1151
or fax: (909)794-3016.
CHURCH PLANTER RESOURCES Brigada STYLE...
Thanks to Wayne Penner for
compiling the church planting resources throughout the month of March! His
5-page catalogue is a virtual storehouse of potential for your ministry or
church-planting conference! Get it by sending email to
hub@xc.org with
only one line in the text of the message:
get brigada church-planting-resources
WORK THE WEB WITHOUT THE WEB
MAFxc technology guru Bob Sutterfield
shared a tip with us this past week . . . somehow allowing you to access
the web without even having the web! If all you have is email capability
and you need a special page downloaded, this approach could be "just what
the doctor ordered" for you! To learn more, send email to
hub@xc.org with
only the words
get brigada access-via-email
in the text of the message.
Thanks Bob!
WORLDCHRISTIAN NEWS OFFERS STEAL OF A DEAL TO BRIGADA PARTICIPANTS
Thanks to Paul and the gang at WorldChristian News! They're offering
Brigada participants a special deal on their new booklets and posters about
the Hindu world. Instead of $3 for single booklet orders, and $2 for the
two-color illustrated poster on the Hindu world, Brigada readers can now
purchase these items at U.S. $1 for the booklet, and U.S. $1 for the
poster. [First Class / Airmail postage & handling (same cost for either or
both items): $1.50 (within the USA), $2.50 (within the Americas), $3.50
(rest of the world).] Paul qualified... "Sorry, no bulk-orders accepted for
this special offer (only single copies per address). For bulk orders (and
additional information) browse
http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html
or send us your address and request a flyer." Please mention "Special Brigada
Offer," and send your paid order (payable to WorldChristian News) to:
30 Days Hindu Focus
PO Box 26479
Colorado Springs, CO 80936, USA
RESEARCHER NEEDS AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADS
Remember Jim Sutherland
sutherlandj@utc.campus.mci.net? He's the guy researching African
American cross-cultural missionaries. His questionnaire is done and he's
making one last stab at gathering participants for the study. He wrote
this week, "My method is to give a questionnaire to African American
missionaries who are serving those who are NOT African American, in this
country or abroad, who have been on the field at least one year, currently
or in the past. I'd appreciate the names and addresses of such
missionaries, or whatever information your readers might have, including
mission names. Also I'd appreciate suggestions for contacting others on
the Internet with whom I might network regarding this problem. Thanks
again. Sincerely, Jim Sutherland." Please contact Jim directly at the
address above. Jim is apparently doing his work at Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School, Deerfield, Il., under Dr. Crawford Loritts, of Campus
Crusade. Sounds very interesting. He'll make a summary report available to
us as he closes out his research.
O-HI-O - GET YOUR PRAYER CALENDARS IN JAPANESE OR AFRIKAANS NOW!
Yup. Now you can get Praying Through the Window III calendars in Japanese
by writing
japmin@ibm.net. Share them with your Japanese cell groups,
ministries, churches, etc. They also make great conversation pieces for the
coffee table. (Everyone will be convinced you're so "cross-cultural"!
) You can also get the Afrikaans version by writing
nupsa@global.co.za.
Thanks Brenda!
GREAT IDEA FORMING UP FOR REACHING MUSLIMS
Here's a guy in Ukraine
who is eager to reach Muslims. Truth is . . . the mission church where
he's been doing leadership training has already sent two missionary
families to a Muslim group nearby! Great success story in and of itself.
Anyway... he's been hearing stories of Muslims who are willing to watch
videos . . . even though they have some . . . shall we say... Christian
leaning. So-o-o-o-o-o-o-o . . . he's curious as to what type of videos
exist that specifically address themes like The life of Muhammad, The
development of the Qur'an, Comparisons between the Qur'an and the Bible,
Major points of conflict between Islam and Christianity... (like Are
Christians Polygamists?, What Christians mean by saying that Jesus being
the Son of God?, Is the Bible reliable?, Did Jesus really die on the
Cross?), Testimonies by Muslim converts to Christianity [as he wrote,
"(obviously - slightly more biased on this one
"]. So . . .what can we
send him??? Chris is at
ma. So . . . Chris . . .
if you hear from anyone, we'll count on a summary listing (with sources)
here, okay? Thanks! Great idea, by the way.
GLOBAL GLIMPSE BEHIND THE BAMBOO CURTAIN
Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese
leader who recently died at the age of 92, was "an instrument of revival",
according to Chinese house-church leaders. They say "he was God's
unwilling instrument to help bring revival to China. He gave us the
freedom to evangelize by not using the devices to punish us when we did
exactly that." A house-church leader in Guangdong said "Deng replaced
Maoist ideology with a materialistic philosophy: get rich quick. This
started many people on a spiritual quest, asking if they are only there to
buy a larger television or a better fridge." Although house churches
continue to grow rapidly in China, some of the most visible house-church
leaders have reportedly been recently imprisoned again.
(Source: Compass
Direct, PO Box 27250, Santa Ana 92799, USA. Fax 714-531-2681, e-mail
compassdr@Compuserve.com, via DAWN Friday Fax)
Global Glimpse is garnered
greatly by good guy John Hanna, Caleb Project
Littleton, CO.
USE YOUR BCC LINE!
Geoff "from down under" (Australia) reminded us
this week that we could reduce Internet bandwidth 10 or 20% immediately
just by using the "BCC:" box (instead of the "CC:" line) for that long list
of addresses to which we're copying some message. In each case, that would
cut down the length of the message significantly! Great idea Geoff!
HUNGARY HUNGRY FOR DISCIPLES
Got an appetite to train disciples to
be disciplers of other disciples? (Now that's a mouthful!
) So does
Brad, a church planter in Hungary who is looking for resources: (books,
tapes, studies, etc.). Chris Bushnell
ChrisBushnell@XC.org is willing to
compile the resource list. Send in your vote... and the answers will be
made available here in a couple of weeks! I can't think of a more
important question - if our goal is to create multiplying church movements!
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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!
4 of April 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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