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.”
What's new this week
Dr. Femi Adeleye gave an inspirational talk at the Lausanne Congress last year on the Holy Spirit's role in missions. Wow, you don''t want to miss it! Follow the link straight to their website to watch, and then explore the other keynote talks - they are all there for you to see.
"A missionary's journey - he opened my eyes"
Today I am a full-time missionary with CAPRO missions agency (Calvary Ministries). This African missions agency provided me with a two-year opportunity to be trained for missions cross-culturally and gain some field experience. The Great Commission is for all disciples, and the task of world evangelization is for the whole church. However, God will set apart some amongst us into the position of representing the mandate of the Kingdom, where the Church is not.
Recent African Migration (Diaspora) & Christianity
From Mission Frontiers magazine, an article by Bulus Galadima, PhD. The migration of people is as old as humanity. When I was growing up in Africa, my people told their stories in relation to the ethnic groups around us. From childhood, we were told the stories of where our people came from and what ethnic groups our relatives were. This movement of people is called diaspora in Christian literature.
"A missionary's journey - considering the call" - Part 1 of 4
God spoke to me while I was in high school about giving my life to the Great Commission, his eternal cause, and he continued to prepare my heart through the Missions and Discipleship Training that I received from Operation Mobilization after high school. The more I prayed, the more inspired I became to go.
The state of Bible Translation 2024 - a graphic
A graphic from Missiographics:
Today there are more than 3,000 language groups with little or no access to Scripture, and about 2,000 of those don’t have a single verse of Scripture in the language they best understand. Many of these language groups include followers of Christ, and even established churches. But with their only access to Scripture being in another language, the deep truths of God’s Word are difficult, if not impossible, to access.
But there is hope! Unprecedented advances in technology, innovation and collaboration among the global church are accelerating the pace of Bible translation like never before.
“Onde é que eu poderia ir?” - um momento missionário
A missionary story in Portuguese:
Achei muito estranho, em Madagascar, quando encontrei mangas por um preço muito baixo com um vendedor de rua, mas ele se recusou a me vender as dez que tinha. O que eu faria com o resto do meu dia? ele perguntou.
"A missionary's journey - a miracle of release" - Part 3 of 4
I had to leave the mission field to go back to South Africa because of COVID shutdowns. In that season, I continued to experience a series of miracles on my way to the CAPRO School of Missions. My mother was diagnosed with COVID-19 right before I was about to leave. At the time, I didn’t have money to go to the school, and God supernaturally provided for me through a church that God spoke to about me. My mom was sick and I was wondering if I should go or not, because she was literally in ICU.
"God sent his angels to repair it" - a missionary moment
Nigerian missionaries went to the Idaatcha people in Benin: “The Chief requested to see the visiting missionaries. The major problem in the village was lack of water. The borehole in the village had not functioned for some time. They met the Chief and prayed for him that God will keep him in tune with His plan for the land and that the evil powers in the land be destroyed.
We are raising our disabled son on the mission field
Joseph was born during our first year on the field in Mozambique. Though we were unaware of any problems at the time of his birth, God graciously allowed us to know at six weeks of age that he was missing part of his brain. The doctor could not predict how this would influence him, his health, or his development.
“Maiti zilikuwa zimelala kando ya barabara” – nyakati za wamishenari
A missionary story in Swahili: Hadithi ya Mmishenari ya ukombozi wa Mungu kutoka kwa magaidi. Wakati Daudi katika Zaburi 23 alisema kwamba “hata nijapopita kati ya bonde la uvuli wa mauti, sitaogopa mabaya, kwa kuwa Wewe u pamoja nami”, ilikuwa dhahiri zaidi kwetu kama familia wakati tukisafiri. Safari ilianza vizuri, tukiondoka eneo letu la huduma hadi mahali papya. Siku ya pili ya safari yetu, tulikosea njia.
"A missionary's journey - I felt weak" - Part 2 of 4
The idea was that I would go to Mozambique to learn about cross-cultural missions and church planting amongst the unreached. However, I could only spend one month with the CAPRO missionaries before COVID hit the Southern Region. The lockdown in South Africa had begun. This cut my stay short and forced me to go back home.
I had planned to go do ‘great and mighty things’, however God planned to use this time to expose me to what he is doing amongst the nations, and further deepen the conviction about my calling into missions.
"Full of worries, complaints and doubt" - a missionary moment
In the second year of our life in the mission field, the financial challenge and lack was always one thing that made us question God’s call for us.
I remember one time when it became so heavy. There were unmet needs and many more anticipated. At that time my wife and I decided to go to a quiet, lonely place to just talk and maybe pray.
Is mental health a liability? - from Christianity Today
When you’re an overseas missionary, a season of deep depression, panic attacks, or chronic anxiety can seem to put your ministry in jeopardy, keeping you from the work you are being called and paid to do.
Yet missions workers are extra susceptible to such conditions. They experience culture shock. They witness trauma and fear persecution. And they often live in places where access to mental health professions is difficult to impossible.