The Mission Link

Our annual poster contest is on now!  Some things to note:

• The contest is open to children of basically all ages
• The deadline is mid April
• Some winning entries will become bulletin covers
• Winning entries will receive a prize
• All entries will receive a participation gift

Get your pencils sharpened today! For more info visit our website.

Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
         how good God is. 
Blessed are you who run to him.    Psalm 34:8

Want to taste and see how God is working around the world this summer?  Apply for SMP 2008 by February 15.  You could learn, serve, and grow alongside your sisters and brothers in Christ in places like Mali and Guatemala (and elsewhere!). 

Jordan (above), who tasted and saw God’s goodness in Eastern Europe last summer, wrote this about his experience:

It is with great joy that I write to you to tell you of the power that is at work in God’s Kingdom, a power that surpasses our understanding. We went out as a small group of 4 to proclaim the gospel to both young and old in Ukraine, Romania and Hungary. Sent out with the power of the Holy Spirit, uplifted by the prayers and support of our families and friends we proclaimed God’s love, mercy and saving grace to more than a hundred teenagers in six different one-week camps. This message was also heard by countless others whom we didn’t even realize were listening. It is a message that continues to spread and one day will be resound around the globe. I feel privileged that God chose me to take part in this summer ministry and witness his power in amazing ways.

Do you want to witness God’s power this summer?  Apply today!

After September 11th, 2001, many people began to talk about “the new normal.” The idea was that things were never going to be the same as they had been, and “normal” was certainly not going to mean what it once had.

 In the past two and a half months, we at 2850 have been trying to adjust to a “new normal” as we lived together in a makeshift “camp” that was once the building’s cafeteria. Now, though, we are heading back to our “new” old location. The boxes are coming off the truck, the dust is settling (and being vacuumed up!) and we are back in our “new normal”–the cubicles (with only a few offices) that will now be our home for a while.

I realized how difficult it had been to adjust to the “new normal” when I felt an unnatural level of affection for this cubicle I now call home . . . and more so when I realized that that the things on my “to-do” list were actually getting accomplished.

 We have faced many challenges in the past few months, and yet we were so blessed in that time . . . with the grace we offered to each other, with the minimum amount of sickness that went around, despite our “cozy” arrangements, and with the wonderful “nearly new” accommodations that we are now enjoying.

[View the slideshow! When viewing, click on the letter "I" for captions.]

 We give thanks for the hard work of Duc and his team of faithful employees who put up with our “um, this still needs to go on the truck” and the “have you seen this box?!” We are so grateful for the many ways that God carried us through this time, and we look forward to the prospect of being able to continue on in the work God has called us to of supporting those who serve God “to the ends of the earth.”

I believe my Grand Rapids colleagues are moving this week, possibly some stuff done already!  Wow.
And with Thanksgiving coming what timing to have yet another thing to be thankful for! 

Happy US Thanksgiving All!
Jessica (and the Canadians)

Our Director of Donor Relations, Lois Craven, received a very strange phone call this morning. Apparently, someone has sent out a new (and rather creative, we think!) variation on the typical Nigerian scam e-mail . . . apparently, people have received an e-mail stating that Chris Roos, a CRWM missionary, has a dog that is extremely ill and needs financial help to get the dog out of Nigeria to get medical care.

 We don’t have all of the details yet, but PLEASE do NOT send money to anybody without checking with CRWM first. We offer a secure online donation method, but this e-mail did NOT originate from our offices. In fact, Chris doesn’t even HAVE a dog!

If you receive this e-mail, please forward it to us so that we can look into this further.

This is a dog in distress. She is NOT in Nigeria and does NOT belong to Chris Roos.

I’ve been following an interesting conversation begun by Dave Gifford,  a CRWM missionary in Mexico. (and fellow ex-Roman Catholic!)

 We work in places all over the world where there are widely divergent views on “believer’s” versus infant baptism. (would it be fair to call that “covenant” baptism?) With that in mind, Dave explains why he is now an advocate for infant baptism. He has really thought a great deal about the topic, and I encourage you all to join in the conversation.

This has been a topic of discussion within our denomination as a whole, and I’m sure that we will continue to wrestle with this issue.

Thanks, Dave, for allowing us to take another look at this issue!

–Lorraine Woodward

I think it was in 1947 that the CRC first made a distinction between “home” missions and “world” missions. Some denominations, including our older “sibling”, don’t distinguish between “home” and “world”.

So what do you think? is the distinction an important one? Would it be worth it for us to begin a discussion on how things might change as we look ahead to the next 150 years?

 Read this article and then share your thoughts with us. We’d like to hear from you!

Lorraine and I had the privilege of attending the Internet Ministry Conference 2007.  We had a good time, meeting new people, learning things about evangelism, ‘marketing,’ and even some technical stuff for me!  We also enjoyed spending time with each other. 
Some trends to watch for, and items of interest are:

• Youth today are “digital natives” where our generation and older are “digital immigrants.” As described in Rex Miller’s book The Millenium Matrix.
• Open Source CMS (Content Management Systems) - WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and MODx.
• How to “hook” online users.
• Guiding website visitors to the next step(s) in their spiritual journey.
• JavaScript (told you there were tech ones for me!)
• Email Etiquette (not the content, but the delivery - spam and the perception of spam).
• Communicating without words.
• Hits, Pageviews and Other “Lies.”
• Getting started on the net with (very) minimal budget.
• Rethinking Internet Evangelism - who is your audience?
• Fostering leadership that values people/relationships - a site with a “community” perspective.
• Web tools to grow your ministry.
• Extreme Makeover - Website Edition (although they didn’t specifically look at crwm.org or crcna.org - I was able to learn a few things that can take our sites to the next level!)

We are looking forward to sharing more with you down the road, but if anything above really strikes your fancy, get in touch with Lorraine or Jessica.

Jessica Côté, CRWM Canada
Lorraine Woodward, CRWM USA

Those of us who are not working at home are getting settled into our temporary location in the (former) cafeteria of the denominational building here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We’ll have some pictures of our new digs soon, but in the meantime, here are a few scenes from the weeks preceding the move . . .

Our hallways are normally quite colorful, with flags from many different nations, as well as decorative items given to us by our partners throughout the world. This group of incoming students from Calvin Seminary didn’t get to see all of that, however, as we had packed up just about everything by this time. Hopefully they’ll be back to visit after our remodel!

Gord Buys, our Logistics Manager, used to have walls . . .

but, as a former missionary pilot to Nigeria, he is very familiar with upheaval, and he seemed to adjust quite well to his new surroundings! 

(more…)

Barbarita Lee found this list online, and we thought it was good enough to share . . .

who, ME?! a missionary?

A tongue-in-cheek look at some sure-fire ways
to avoid becoming a missionary

1. Ignore Jesus’ request in John 4:35 that we take a long hard look at the fields. Seeing the needs of people can be depressing and very unsettling. It could lead to genuine missionary concern.
   (John 4:35 “Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” For other Bible passages on missions, click here)
2. Focus your energies on socially legitimate targets. Go after a bigger salary. Focus on getting a job promotion, a bigger home, a more luxurious car, or future financial security. Along the way, run up some big credit card debts. [ ready feet . . . ]
3. Get married to somebody who thinks the “Great Commission” is what your employer gives you after you make a big sale. After marriage, embrace the socially accepted norms of settling down, establishing a respectable career trajectory and raising a picture-perfect family.
4. Stay away from missionaries. Their testimonies can be disturbing. The situations they describe will distract you from embracing whole-heartedly the materialistic lifestyle of your home country.
5. If you happen to think about missions, restrict your attention to countries where it’s impossible to openly do missionary work. Think only about North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China and other closed countries. Forget the vast areas of our globe open to missionaries. Never, never listen to talk about creative access countries.
6. Think how bad a missionary you would be based on your own past failures. It is unreasonable to expect you will ever be any better. Don’t even think about Moses , David, Jonah, Peter or Mark, all of whom overcame failures. [ more on Jonah ]
7. Always imagine missionaries as talented, super-spiritual people who stand on lofty pedestals. Maintaining this image of missionaries will heighten your own sense of inadequacy. Convincing yourself that God does not use ordinary people as missionaries will smother any guilt you may feel about refusing to even listen for a call from God. [ type of missionaries needed ]
8. Agree with the people who tell you that you are indispensable where you are. Listen when they tell you that your local church or home country can’t do without you. [ Apple pickers parable ]
9. Worry incessantly about money. [ simple lifestyle ]
10. If you still feel you must go, go out right away without any preparation or training. You’ll soon be home again and no one can ever blame you for not trying!

Inspired by Stewart Dinnen’s list in How are you doing? (Bromley: STL Books, 1984)

So what’s holding YOU back? How can we help?