The Mission Link

Just 9 days until Internet Evangelism Day on April 27, 2008.

We cannot not do a better job describing IED than the people at If Jesus Had A Website, so we encourage you to read this post.

When I lived in NYC, a local magazine had a feature that highlighted local folks and their individual fashion style. The set of questions included “how many pairs of shoes do you own?” I was never selected for an interview, but I always had the answer to that question ready, just in case anybody ever asked . . .

Megan Ribbens, who along with her husband Mike serves with CRWM in Nigeria, sent along a BBC article about people in that country who are “rubbish scavengers”, attempting to find useful things to sell among the piles of garbage.  One photo in particular really struck me . . . here’s a quote:

This is Abdullahi. The 15-year-old has brought a haul of rubbish to sell.

He hopes to make between 40 and 50 Naira ($0.42) for half a day’s scavenging.

In his haul is a single flip-flop.

Decent sandals are cleaned up and re-sold. Shoes that are beyond repair are shredded up and bought by upholsterers for stuffing leather footrests bought by visitors to the Kano tannery nearby.

I was struck by this (convicted?), and it just reminded me again of how working for an international agency has changed my perspective . . . and how far I still need to go.

So . . . how many pairs of shoes do YOU own? 

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!

I read a very interesting article with this title in Collide magazine. It talks briefly about a couple of major films that came out: Blood Diamond (Dec 2006) and Amazing Grace (Feb 2007).  The article, from Collide Magazine’s inauguaral issue Sep/Oct 2007 written by Stephen Presley, indicates that these films are part of a growing trend in social justice issues being presented in films.  These hollywood releases have shown us the diamond trade, slave trade, and the sex trade with each film crying out for justice.  The author ponders: ”one wonders if Hollywood has discovered its conscience.”

Furthermore, the article indicates that the cry doesn’t end when the credits appear, on the contrary.  Many production companies partner with non-profit organizations to act on their outcry.  The article points the reader to the Blood Diamond and Amazing Grace websites so we can see for ourselves.

Collide Magazine’s tagline is “where media and the church converge.”  We are the church, and we can and should join those already acting on their outrage at these injustices.  The article offers a few suggestions (for churches, but I think they apply to individuals too):

• Be aware of new releases that speak to issues of social justice
• Host a screening of a film at your church (or home, or group, or wherever!)
• Partner with organizations that are currently involved in the specific issue addressed by a film (hey, that might be us!)
• Look around your own community at how you can build bridges to the ‘poor and needy’
• Offer mission trips that are aimed at a particular need (hey, we do that!)
• Host a Bible study on an issue that a movie addresses

Continuing our “series” on things we learned at the Internet Ministry Conference 2007, I am sharing a few points to ponder about the effectiveness of internet ministry.  Why do internet ministry at all, can you really reach people through the net?
Gospel Communications has an article addressing this very question, I encourage you to take a look at it.  But the summary is:

… it lets us communicate with people in a new and powerful way. 
… it lets us reach the lost in every corner of the world. 
… it’s a tool God’s given to us to put to use in His service.

Our challenge - how are WE using the internet to advance God’s Kingdom?

I have some ideas, but I wonder, will it turn the way we do things upsidedown? Post a comment or contact me to discuss!  Jessica

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

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?

We at the Grand Rapids office of Christian Reformed World Missions are in the midst of a remodeling project that will require all of us to be relocated to a makeshift set of workspaces in the cafeteria for three to four months. In the meantime, we are frantically cleaning out our spaces, as well as the random closets and files we’re each responsible for.

I’ll have more to say, and some pictures of the process, soon, but for now, here are a few of the fun things we’ve found:

1) a stuffed penguin (not a plush stuffed penguin–a TAXIDERMIED stuffed penguin. I tell my boss frequently that the penguin is “staring at me!” but she won’t take it down. seriously, wouldn’t you be afraid of this?)

2) several cassette players (a few that look like this and had everybody saying, “I had this exact cassette player when I was a kid!”)

3) more books than we know what to do with, including, “Management trends of the 80’s” and other fun titles

4) Binders, binders, binders

5) a Kodak “Disc” camera, circa 1984

We are praying that we will give each other much grace in the tense, chaotic weeks and months to come. We are reminded quite frequently to “keep smiling!”,  and we are trying to do so . . .

Have you done any spring cleaning lately?  

I’m quite embarrassed to admit that my desk looked like this
BEFORE we started “the move” . . .
                                                                                                              Lorraine Woodward