And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
- Matthew 28:18-20
What's new this week
In every issue, we highlight a people group who needs our prayers, and we share details on how you can pray for them! Visit our prayer page to learn more about fascinating people groups around the world, download information, and pray for the lost.
new for you
"Asking God for men" - a missionary moment"
A report from the field in Uganda:
One initiative we’ve started to help the churches continue to grow is what we call evangelism seminars. We visit each of our church plants, invite the few believers we know there, and teach them how to share their personal testimonies and, ultimately, their faith. We then immediately send them out to practice in their communities. So far, we’ve done this in two church plants—Kailele and Narogos—and we hope to do it in all the others, continuing until it becomes normal church practice, as it should be.
4 ways busy pastors can engage in missions
While most pastors would agree they want their church to engage in missions, it’s easy for missions to become an afterthought or goal for after things are taken care of here. But if we truly believe God has called the church to send missionaries, how can a busy pastor practically arrange their time and schedule to help the church engage in missions? This article on the TEAM website by Anna Price gets into the details with some practical examples and encouragements as to how you can encourage your church into the PURPOSE of missions.
"Everyone was embarrassed" - a missionary moment"
Cultural misunderstandings were a difficulty in my time among a people group with strong cultural taboos and intense control over the lives of women and girls. When the other Christian healthcare workers and I wanted to talk to the young women about menstrual hygiene, we asked a local lady to gather them and organize the session. Unfortunately, this caused the men of the community to be very suspicious about what we might be telling them! We should have gone through the head man, who could have heard our plans and given permission.
"My sister told me I was wasting my life" - a missionary moment"
I am a trained nurse, but my heart continued to ache for the unreached after going on short-term missions trips in my younger years. After three years of nursing, I felt it was time to go into missionary work. I joined Global Link Afrika in Uganda and began raising support. It was quite a challenge since I was used to making a salary!
My family did not agree with my decision and kept wondering whether I had lost my senses.
"I am tired" - a missionary moment"
Report from the field in South Sudan:
We have a story of a lady from a neighboring village. A week ago *Miriam walked into our compound. She got a seat for herself and sat outside our house. This is not normal in their culture. My wife and I went to greet her. Just after the greetings, she said “I am tired with the sinful life that I have been living, I need your help.”
Global interactive peoples map from Joshua Project
Joshua Project has produced an incredible interactive map which shows all the people groups of the world. View the world from a birds-eye view, or click on the map to see details about countries, peoples, languages and more. You can use this map as a resource to pray, to gather information for your small group or church, or just as an interesting exercise in learning about the world. Joshua Project is a great resource for all of us, one worth using and interacting with.
"One wild black dog" - a missionary moment"
Bayon Famonure shared about God’s provision for the fledgling CAPRO team living in a hostile Muslim area:
“The people planned something we did not know. One day, one wild black dog strayed into our house and stayed. We did not know its origin. We gave him the name, Ginger. The dog stayed long with us. It made the people fear to come near the house; it would chase them off. It was as if the dog could read peoples’ minds. The dog didn’t bite anyone but it protected us. If we were going to the office, even at 2 am in the morning, the dog would escort us and come back.
"Men are the guardians of cultural heritage" - a missionary moment"
There has been an unspoken norm in Samburu that ‘’the gospel is for women and children,” hence little influence at home due to cultural dominance. Men are the guardians of cultural heritage and the stewards of their families’ survival. Their role is to preserve traditions and practices that bond their community to culture. Understanding their influence, we realized that intentional conversations addressing men’s fears of faith and cultural abandonment are crucial for the gospel to flourish, trickling down to women and children.
"One journey changed everything" - a missionary moment"
Growing up as a new believer, I used to disdain the biblical characters who gave excuses when the Lord called them to any task. Why would anyone dodge the honour of being called by the Lord? Many years later, I clearly heard the Lord calling me into ministry and I also gave excuses!
At that time, I was enjoying my young married life and living my dreams. When the call came, my initial and strong response was a resounding NO.
"Their intention was to kill" - a missionary moment"
Working among a Muslim tribal community, we found ourselves in the middle of dangerous tribal clashes. In that part of the world, people groups stay away from each other in their different villages, so mixing them for activities like community health outreaches can cause fights. This means we have to have different engagements for each village. We were caught in the crossfire of tribal conflicts during one outreach, where one group picked a fight, claiming that one of the health service providers was from another people group which they despised. Their intention was to kill that person when they arrived to do the health service engagement, but luckily the Red Cross people got wind of it and the car they were traveling in did not stop to let that person out near the people who intended to kill her!
"Our epic fail" - a missionary moment"
Our short-term mission team of 12 people in Liberia was gifted with artistic abilities in music, drama and choreography. We were invited to a church one day and one of us prepared us to minister the song “I will never be the same again.” Our voices harmonized so beautifully and we sang so well, it became one of my highlights for the trip.
Two years later I was part of a smaller mission team of six people to The Gambia. Because of my experience with the previous team, I impressed upon my teammates to make us sing “I will never be the same again” at a church we’d been invited to.
"Three days later the man died" - a missionary moment"
“It was under a tree, on a Saturday, and I came with the book of Jonah translated in the language. We read it to different audiences. I read how Jonah had run away, not willing to go to Nineveh and how God caught up with him leading to his eventual obedience to God’s call. As I was reading, a man said, ‘Is this man reading my language or is he reading it from memory?’ He came close, peeped, drew back and sat down."