Brigada Today
13 of February, 1998
Now with 6789 participants!
News and Notes about Brigada, Your Gateway to Missions Networking!
On the WorldWide Web, browse http://www.brigada.org or http://www.eGroups.com/list/brigada-today
Brigada Today is "the missionary helper newsletter!"
Compiled by Doug Lucas <DLucas@teamexpansion.org>, Louisville, KY
[Pass this issue to a friend! To subscribe, see instructions at end.]
In this issue....
AD2000 & BEYOND WANTS YOU!
The AD2000 & Beyond Movement is in the process
of conducting a survey to update the status of work among Joshua Project 2000
peoples. The last survey (1996) brought in 25,000 pieces of information from
over 800 agencies in at least 80 countries. This data is used globally for
mobilization, networking and avoidance of duplication. The current survey
will assess the status of church planting efforts as well as the existence of
indigenous churches among Joshua Project 2000 peoples. The survey will be
sent automatically to those who received the initial mailing. If you or someone you
know did not receive the earlier survey, but would like to respond now, please
send your name, agency and mailing address to the AD2000 and Beyond Movement info@ad2000.org. For more information regarding the motivation for
completing the survey, use and distribution of the collected data, and security
guidelines used when sharing data; just email info@ad2000.org with a
message that says, "JP2000 Survey Information."
SCUBA ANYONE?
Interested in helping get literature into certain
restricted access countries? If so, Frontline Evangelism would like to know!
For example, they're presently looking for individuals with sailing or scuba
experience and equipment. Apparently this will be the "purpose" of the
short-term trip ... with a Christian perspective, if you know what I mean. If
you're interested, contact dbg@ix.netcom.com.
HEADED TO THE WORLD CUP? START PLANNING NOW!
If you're headed to the
World Cup in France this summer, now's the time to start planning! Write mwozniak@rbc.org for a press release regarding outreach tracts/videos that
RBC ministry will be making available in both Spanish and English. You'll
get a kick out of the possibilities!
PRAYER WAVE FOR IRAN
Here's a group in the UK that would like to create a
"wave" of prayer around the globe (a la the kind of "waves" you see at
football stadiums and Promise Keeper rallies) for Iran. Cool idea. Write RapAdvance@aol.com for more information or if you're willing to pray May
29-30 for a group in Iran. Put "The Wave" in the subject line. 
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ARE KNOCKING.... WILL YOU ANSWER?
Over 550,000
international students currently study in American Universities. If you're
reading from some other country, some international students are probably
studying at a university near you. As for the USA, every year, 120,000 new
students come in and nearly 90,000 return home. These students are the
brightest and the best, the top 2-3% from their countries. They will go home
to become future leaders in some aspect of their country's society and
socio-economic matrix. There is no question about whether these students will
make a difference. The question is, will that difference be for Christ. The World At Your Door is a very practical guide to the vision and the how-to's
of getting individuals and churches involved in outreach to international
students. It addresses the strategic and urgent nature of the window of
opportunity that God has given the church in America to touch people who will
be change agents when they return home. If you're in the USA, call
1-800-ISI-TEAM. Overseas, use Net-2-phone, or write BNorsworthy@ISIonline.org for more information. Put "The World" in the
subject line.
GLOBAL GLIMPSE FROM CAIRO
More than 4,500 people gathered for a
three-day, standing-room-only rally at a church in downtown Cairo and 97 made first-time decisions for Christ. The rally was sponsored by Trans World Radio
for people who listen to Arabic language gospel radio broadcasts. Also,
evangelist Luis Palau will preach four evangelistic meetings March 12-15 in
Cairo, at Kasr el-Dobara Evangelical Church. The messages will be videotaped
and hand-carried to hundreds of churches throughout Egypt for showings the
next day.
(Source: January 1998 Advance newsletter http://www.brigada.org/advance/adv9801.html>.
Global Glimpse is compiled each week by John Hanna, Caleb Project, Littleton, CO.
30 DAYS HINDU PRAYER FOCUS SET FOR MAY-JUNE
The dates for the second
annual "30 Days Hindu Prayer Focus" are May 17 to June 15 (contrary to some
news that was unfortunately publicized prematurely, and that placed the dates
mid March to mid April). Be so kind publicize these dates. Prayer guide
booklets are currently being written and will go to print in late March. In England: South Asia Concern, email: 100126.3641@compuserve.com, In Germany: ABM.VFA@t-online.de. Everywhere else:
WorldChristian News
PO Box 26479
Colorado Springs, CO 80936
USA
Tel: 1 (719) 442-6409; Email: wcn@xc.org,
http://www.ywam.org/prayer/hindu.html
"WHO'S ON FIRST?" (MAFxc CONFERENCE COMMAND REVISION)
So, what's the
name of the command you use to get a list of the members of your conference? Wrong. Who? Wrong again. Confused? Right! Let's start over. Since Feb.,
1995, when the Brigada family of email conferences came into being, we've
always been able to send a command to <hub@xc.org> to get a complete list of
everybody in a particular conference. This past week, MAFxc finally had to
give in and disable the generic "who" command (Exception: the owner of the
conference can still do a "who"). This is a good news/bad news story. The bad
news is that it'll be tougher to network. We won't be able to send a quick
"who" to the hub and get an email address list of everyone in our working
group. The good news is that security is much tighter and for most of us,
the good news probably outweighs the bad news. Now those who were wishing to start
or join certain private conferences can do so without fearing that someone
will get grab our email address. And now it'll be impossible for "spammers"
(Internet advertisers and bulk mailers) to harvest email addresses from each
conference. So if you know of someone who jumped out of the Brigada network
because of security fears, please pass along the word that things are now a
lot tighter. And if you know of someone who might benefit from one of Brigada's
conferences, please feel free to invite them aboard! Finally, thanks to
Jonathan and all the folks at MAFxc for doing their best to maintain a tight
ship. Brigada is only one set of conferences on the MAFxc hub (the largest, by
the way) -- there are hundreds of other conferences and networks. Those MAFxc
folk stay pretty busy out there in Redlands, CA. Would you join me today in
bowing for a moment to give thanks for their commitment to excellence?
TRY THIS SHIPPER
Next time you need to ship overseas, try Richard at
RMJ Services (Resurrected Messiah Jesus), rmjservices@juno.com. Apparently, he
has shipped missionaries, non-profit and relief organizations for over 25
years. He does international truck, air and ocean shipping. FAX:
313-941-8127. Let us know what you think!
NEED A VIDEO FOR YOUR PROJECT?
Dan & Judy Anderson have a deal for you!
Her Visionary International Video reportedly provides "quality low priced
promotional productions for mission agencies, institutions and their missionaries." They're headed to Costa Rica the end of February and staying
there for a month, then to Italy the end of April through mid May. Check out
their web page at: http://www.chrysalis.org/anderson or write for
special prices on your project VisionVid@aol.com. If you'd like to talk to a reference, see Don at 100622.613@compuserve.com.
SEMINAR ON CHINA
A wide range of local churches and ministries are
sponsoring a regional seminar on unreached people-groups in China, March 6 &
7. The purpose is to promote awareness and mobilize evangelistic adoption of
unreached minorities in China. The focus will be on both a survey of the
unreached peoples and their needs, practical specific steps toward reaching
them, and referrals to possible ministry partners in specific areas. Registration is $5 for Friday
evening and $5 for Saturday. For more details, contact Seminar Coordinator Matt Gurvich, mgurvich@livenet.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR "GREAT PASSIONS?"
Honestly, I think I got the idea from
the Navigators. As soon as I heard it I knew it was a keeper. The question was
actually quite simple. If I were asked, 'What would be your five great
passions?', how would I answer? This past week, I wrote each of our Team
Expansion staff people (115 in some 20 countries) to recommend that Team
Expansion begin espousing Five Great Passions everywhere we go in the programs
we present, in the newsletters we write, and the letters we send. How
effective will we be at communicating them? Only time will tell. But I suppose it's
even more important that we begin living them! So . . . your list might be
different . . . but here are the five that we proposed (with great
gratitude to the Navigators!): - God -- We have a passion for God. He's central to everything we love and
do. He's the reason we're in business. He's the focus of our highest dreams and
our deepest desires. He's the purpose for which we labor, the central idea for
which we live. We love Him, we live for Him, and yes, if need be, we'd even die for Him.
- Worship -- "Missions exists because worship doesn't." John Piper has made it
popular (Let the Nations be Glad!), but the Bible's been saying it all along:
The most urgent task isn't evangelism after all! The noblest activity on earth
is to give honor to the one not limited to the earth . . . to praise Him who is
above all things. We exist to worship Him. Our lives, our jobs, our very hearts
and souls are oriented toward His whispers. Like moss growing on the North side
of the tree, we lean into His wind so that in turn, we can sail in the
direction of His future. We worship because . . . we were created to do so.
- Holiness -- In gratitude for all He's done for us, dare we offer anything
less than our very lives, our souls, and our heart's admiration? He's asked us
to live holy and pure lives, reeking of integrity and honor. We don't live
straight lives because we're scared not to. We live each day with integrity
because we're incredibly overwhelmed by how much He's been willing to look past
our failures when we've stumbled! We're basically just a bunch of broken
people, cracked pots, and ruptured vessels. And to that bunch of assorted junk,
He has brought love, compassion, mercy and hope. Yikes. Keep us holy, Lord.
- Prayer -- Can you believe we have a pipeline to the throne room? I can't. He
owned us, bought us, then brought us to His presence through prayer. We can
walk the world, traveling the trails of continents near and far. In one mere
hour, we can lift up the names and faces of the hearts we treasure. We're
committed to spending time with Him... communing with Him... building a
relationship with Him. And that only happens when we know Him in prayer.
- People -- We don't go abroad because of our love for people, but rather,
because of our love for God. People change, God doesn't. People reject us, but
God never does. At the same time, our hearts break because there are so many
who don't know Him as savior, Lord, friend, and guide. And the tears we shed
for the unreached people around us . . . the ones with which we're trying to
share His hope . . . aren't our primary motivation for being involved in His
work. We're involved in His work because we love Him... but we're also swept up
in the impact His love could have on the people with which we share this
planet. So... when we look around us, we no longer see people from an earthly
perspective. We see souls... that can live eternally once they're set free from
the chains of this bothersome tendency to sin. And since He has left us with
marching orders, we follow them without hesitation . . . to make disciples of
all nations. We choose to work together in teams because He sent them
two-by-two and also because we take great pleasure in serving together with
like-minded teammates. But even if we were the only family left on the planet
next to a tribe of people who didn't know Him, we'd still go to them, because
we love Him. And there's a corollary to our passion for people. It gives way to
a love for language. Granted, it can drive us crazy to learn it . . . but watch
our determination and endurance. Watch us never give up . . . until we live,
breath, and even dream in the language of the people we've come to reach with
His promise. We learn their culture, commit His words to a culturally
appropriate medium and packaging... but the message is timeless... His love never changes.
So those are our Five Great Passions . . . God, Worship, Holiness, Prayer, and
People (with language and culture being a corollary to the last Passion). If
those passions strike a resonating chord with you, we hope you'll join us in
our quest to serve the great God of all gods. If you need to renew your
commitment to one of those passions, please join us in doing so today. And may
God bless you in your quest!
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PLEASE DON'T SUBSCRIBE US TO YOUR LIST -- It's always better to ask before manually force-adding anyone to your list-serve or mailing list. Recently, tons of well-meaning people have been subscribing Doug to their lists. Since he often travels overseas, he doesn't join many of those, for obvious reasons (like being charged big-time for overseas access). So as a general rule, please don't bulk-mail us! See the note above if you'd like to submit items for Brigada Today. Thanks for understanding. Bottom line: We will never create Brigada Today items from bulk mail. Bulk mail gets deleted immediately -- sorry. Nothing personal. We suggest you apply the same standard to everyone. Ask first!
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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
Brigada Website: Bob Mayhew, WebServant@brigada.org- Brigada Customer Service Manager: help@brigada.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!
