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Brigada Today
29 Feb 2008
In this issue...
- MISSIONAL INTL CHURCH NETWORK
- LOOKING FOR A WEBCAM?
- MOBILE DEVICES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
- CAN YOU RECOMMEND A SOURCE FOR DAVID?
- FLIGHTPLAN CD EXPLORES MISSION AVIATION
- LOOKING FOR A WAY TO DO WEB-CONFERENCING?
- HELP NEW TENTMAKERS WITH THEIR JOB SEARCH
- SMALL GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE NEWS YOU CAN USE
- FUND RAISING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS
- WE SALUTE THESE NEW PARTNERS
- MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE A POSSIBILITY
- THE BACKPAGE: REDISCOVERING AN UNREACHED PERSON FROM 1984
- CLOSING STUFF
- MISSIONAL INTL CHURCH NETWORK -- Pastors and leaders from international churches will meet for MICN in exotic Phnom Pen, Cambodia April 21-25 for the group's fifth int'l conference. Veteran IC Pastor Mark Kotchapaw from Jakarta International Christian Fellowship will speak on Missional Leadership in the International Church. Workshops, case studies and lots of networking time make this a great opportunity to refresh and recharge. Further details and registration information can be found at
http://micn.org
- LOOKING FOR A WEBCAM? -- The one that's getting rave reviews is the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000. It's a *2* megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lense. It tilts on a great little stand, comes with good software, and is still small enough to be portable, too. Find it at your favorite computer store or order it from Amazon.com for $75-$100 or so.
- MOBILE DEVICES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD -- Mobile usage tipped passed the 3.3 billion point in November 07, with many of these users in the non-Western world. Internet Evangelism Day has a webpage about the potential of using mobile devices for evangelism and discipleship. One point they make is that radio ministries to the non-western world can draw on their big reservoir of previously-broadcast material, and where programme content is not date-sensitive, offer it as MP3 downloads, so that it can be shared virally, both through the Web, and also on to mobile phones which have MP3 capability.
http://ied.gospelcom.net/mobile-outreach.php#developing
(Thanks Tony!)
- CAN YOU RECOMMEND A SOURCE FOR DAVID? -- Brigada participant, David, is looking for a book in print (one or two) that would do a good job addressing these six topics in a missions context?:
*** Learn the biblical basis of world-wide evangelism, including the nature of God, the nature of man, and the biblical requirements of evangelism.
*** Grasp various principles of cross-cultural evangelism, including methods, principles, and practice from various cultures and countries.
*** Become familiar with the advantages of having a Bible in your mother tongue and what is necessary to reach that goal.
*** Beware of the opposition of Satan and how to have victory. This includes counterfeit religions and philosophies, persecution, and discouragement and opposition personally.
*** Grasp the character and practices necessary for success, including spiritual discipline, biblical study, walking in the Spirit, and prayer.
*** Determine to have an effective multiplying ministry with training of nationals and outline of the principles of a "people movement."
If you can help with a book or two that might address one or all these topics, please leave a note at
http://brigada.org/brigade/?p=66
by clicking on "Comment" below the item.
- FLIGHTPLAN CD EXPLORES MISSION AVIATION -- Global Mapping International (GMI) has released a CD-ROM entitled "FlightPlan: Exploring the Present and Future of Mission Aviation," the culmination of a four-year research process. The CD includes research reports, an extensive document library, and web and organization directories. The study aims to spark new ways of thinking about, talking about, and planning for the future of mission aviation. The FlightPlan CD-ROM is available to those involved in mission aviation at
http://www.gmi.org/flightplan
Contact project director Jim McGee for more information at flightplan
(at)gmi(dot)org [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . then reassemble the address onto one line.]
- LOOKING FOR A WAY TO DO WEB-CONFERENCING? -- Try OoVoo.com. We've recently put it to use at Team Expansion and up to 6 users can see each other in a six-way web conference for zero smackers -- yup, absolutely free. You can also use Skype or Sightspeed for one-on-one conversations.
http://www.oovoo.com
http://www.skype.com
http://www.sightspeed.com
- HELP NEW TENTMAKERS WITH THEIR JOB SEARCH -- Looking for an international job takes some hard work and creativity. If you are a current or former tentmaker, would you please take 30 seconds to tell us how you found your job. Your replies will help new tentmakers with their job search. Visit the GLOBAL Opportunities website at
http://www.globalopps.org
and click on POLL.
- SMALL GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE NEWS YOU CAN USE -- Overseas teams of two units or more can get overseas group health insurance. Overall the benefits of group health coverage and sometimes even the rates are better than individual plans. Visit
http://www.gninsurance.com/group_home.asp
to get information about group health coverage. There you will find a library of "Tips for Understanding International Group Health Insurance," "Steps to Group Insurance," "Advantages of Group Insurance" etc. Good Neighbor Insurance makes a contribution to Brigada for all who enroll in insurance plans via GNI. For more information contact jeff
(at)gninsurance(dot)com or call 480/813-9100. [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . then reassemble the address onto one line.] Toll free in USA: 866/636-9100.
- FUND RAISING FOR CHURCH PLANTERS -- Bill Dillon, President of People Raising takes the guess work out of raising funds for church planters. He will be doing a pre-conference intensive for the 2008 National New Church Conference in Orlando, FL April 21-22, 2008. Tap into his more than 35 years of experience and raise needed fund for your church planting ministry. This is a must for anyone who has to raise ministry funds. To register and get more information go to
http://www.peopleraising.com/conf_bas_apr2008.cfm
or e-mail Bill(at)
PeopleRaising(dot)com [As a means of preventing spam for our contributors, in the preceding email address(es), please replace (at) with @ and (dot) with . then reassemble the address onto one line.]
- WE SALUTE THESE NEW PARTNERS -- Thanks to COSIM, who, via Partners Int'l, sent $100 to help keep Brigada going strong throughout 2008! And hats off to the individual from Newtown, PA, who sent $35, along with the missions pastor from Allentown, PA, who sent $50. Thanks, too, to Insurance Services of America (ISA) who sent $33.20 for int'l travelers Stephen, Lucy, Annami, Geraldn, David an Deidre. We appreciate you!!!
- MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE A POSSIBILITY -- Can it really be true that Brigada has lasted since January 25th, 1995, in a day and age that Internet ezines come and go? Help build continuity for tomorrow by inspiring and encouraging Brigada forward. Ask your church to pitch in $250 or even $100 toward Brigada for the 2008 calendar year. One Brigada reader suggested that perhaps each reader in the so-called "West" could give a $15/year scholarship on behalf of readers in the so-called "Majority World." Want to make a difference? Just click on the "Sponsor/Donate" page. If you want to use a credit card (and not PayPal), then when it asks for your PayPal account, just erase the user name and password, then, at the bottom of the page, where it says "Use any major credit card", just click there and fill it out like a normal form at any other payment web form. On the other hand, if you want to use PayPal, just fill in the info for your account. Or if you prefer, just send an old-fashioned check payable to Team Expansion to: Team Expansion (Brigada secretary), 11327 Jefferson Trace Blvd., Louisville, KY 40291. (Team Expansion is a 501(c)3 incorporation so for USA citizens, your checks made out to Team Expansion are tax-deductible.) As always, be sure to let us know if you'd like us to promote any particular service or ministry, or if you'd prefer your gift be anonymous. And thank you in advance for helping.
- THE BACKPAGE: REDISCOVERING AN UNREACHED PERSON FROM 1984 -- When is a picture worth a trip to Mecca? When you're that girl with the unforgettable green eyes, staring out at the world from the cover of the June, 1985 cover of _National Geographic_. Photographer Steve McCurry captured her fiery-eyed image back in 1984, but then lost track of her. I guess one might say that she became sort of 'unreached' (in more ways than one). When he heard that her refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan, was about to close, he decided to try one more time. Through a rare chain of events, he found her again, 17 years later. Her name was Sharbat Gula. As a way of saying thanks, McCurry sponsored education for her 3 children, as well as fulfilling her lifelong dream of making a pilgrimage to Mecca. The photographer had rediscovered his subject.
As I thought about this story, I considered the fact that we, too, are in the business of face-matching. Except, instead of trying to rediscover someone's past, we're usually focused the other way, in an effort to help folks like Sharbat come face to face with their future. And instead of helping them with a pilgrimage to Mecca, our colleagues and we are trying to hook them up with a trip to an eternal hope... one that will provide everlasting fulfillment.
In McCurry's case, Sharbat Gula didn't necessarily want to be found. In fact, she didn't even know she was lost. Such is the case of most of the 2.72 billion people living among 6,873 unreached people groups living in the world today. Truth is, most of them would consider it an intrusion if they knew why we were seeking them. But seek them we must. It's a mandate that originates not only with their lostness, but with the creator of their eyes and the originator of their souls - God Himself. Even if they don't want to be "found", the maker of all those fiery eyes wants to see them snatched from an eternal fire with much more fierce heat.
Want to learn more about Sharbat Gula? Check out the NPR interview recap at:
http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/mar/girl/
Want to learn more about unreached peoples? Browse to:
http://www.joshuaproject.net
And please -- don't give up until you "find" the people group for which you're searching.
- CLOSING STUFF -- SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION -- Important! Please don't just hit "reply". Subscriptions are automated. First, you need to determine the mailing source of your individual copy of Brigada Today. We're now sending them from 2 sources. To find out, just look at the "From:" address of your last edition. The domain will tell the tale. Here's how to do it:
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COPYRIGHT -- This issue of _Brigada Today_ is Copyrighted 2008. However, permission is granted to freely redistribute these materials, including those available on the Brigada website, provided that such redistribution is to those who will help the Good News of Jesus Christ to reach the unreached.* To copy or reproduce _Brigada Today_ for any other reason is illegal and is not permitted. * When you quote or paraphrase material from Brigada, please include this phrase: "For a free subscription to Brigada's weekly missions publication, write brigada-today-subscribe@googlegroups.com and/or visit Brigada on the web at www.brigada.org."
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