Working to Expand Mission in Chile

By Jennifer Taylor Jim and Cheryl Green launched Conosur Christian Ministries in 1996 to oversee their work in Chile and planted a new church””Iglesia Cristiana Ciudad Satélite””during their eight years as missionaries there. Now the nonprofit ministry, based in Palmdale, California, where the Greens currently live, plans to build a Christian K-12 school to expand its mission. “The church began with a vision for reaching the emerging middle class in Chile, with an emphasis on future leaders who can influence a society becoming more secular,” says Jim. This focus on education was part of the Greens” work from the early

Within Our Reach

By Greg Pruett For the great majority of the world, if we and our partners continue at the current rate, all the remaining Bible translation projects will begin during the next 20 years. The Land Cruiser was bouncing to a halt when the sound wave poured into the vehicle. We thought we had arrived unannounced to speak with one of the few churches among the Kono people of West Africa. But this struggling flock had already heard of Pioneer Bible Translators” interest in their language, and somehow they knew we were coming. They rolled out the red carpet for us. Generator-powered

The Jonathan Project

By Graydon Jessup The objective of The Jonathan Project is to plant multiplying churches among the least-reached people groups on the planet. These are people who live under oppressive regimes, in inaccessible locations, and in areas where Christianity and Christians are the “infidel.” Nearly 2 billion people fall into this “least-reached” category. They have never heard the name of Jesus. They don”t have the faintest concept what a church is about. This 10-year-old ministry was designed by missionaries on the field in East Asia. The original goal was to plant a church a year, but the magnitude of the task soon

Standing with Jesus in Urban Chaos

By Ash Barker On the morning of May 19, all hell broke loose across Bangkok. While more than 1,000 people were injured and over 50 died in the two months leading up to this day, May 19 was the most violent, bloody climax imaginable. Not far from our slum house””just a few-minutes walk away””a mob was using grenades, M-16s, and machetes to fight the army and loot convenience stores, luxury shopping malls, and banks. By midday, the crazed mob was inching ever closer to our slum. I looked up from the Klong Toey Community Centre and saw plumes of smoke

A New Way to Train Workers

By Ron Holland As demographics and strategies for the mission of God change and shift, we find that old methods and ideas need to be rethought. The globalization and urbanization of the world”s populations present major challenges and opportunities in the church”s efforts to participate in the mission of God. Meanwhile, Christians today are realizing anew that God wants the church to be an instrument of social justice in the world. This sends us back to the drawing board in most of our endeavors. LivingStone International University (LIU), a joint project of Christian churches and churches of Christ, in Mbale,

Let”s Get Busy!

By Doug Priest When I was in college, my grandparents moved from their small farm into the Senior Estates in nearby Woodburn, Oregon. You had to be 55 or older to live in Senior Estates. Back then, I thought 55 was getting along in years. Time flies, and I could have moved into those same Senior Estates some years ago. And I, like a growing corps of involved “seniors,” am fully involved in missions ministry. When we reflect on what”s happening in missions today, we can see how and why their number should increase. Several missions trends have implications for Christians

These Seniors Served Overseas

By Doug Priest A few years ago men from Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton, California, made a two-week trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to work with Joni and Nangsar Morse at their rural training center called Eden Center. People from near and far go there for periodic training and to work on its rice farm. A dormitory was needed where people could stay when they came to Thailand from Burma, Tibet, and China, so the Men on a Mission group, as they were called, worked with the Morses to determine the materials needed for such a project. The items were

The World at Our Doorstep

By Greg Swinney I sat expectantly in the worship service as the song leader read loud and clear, “May the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4). My friend seated next to me must have noticed the puzzled look on my face. “How can the nations be glad, Rich?” I asked. “How can they be glad if we don”t tell them?” I felt deep regret over my negligence in reaching out to those of other nations. They are searching for truth and grace, but I”ve been preoccupied and distracted. I have good excuses. At least I thought I

The 10/40 Window Is Open to You

By Greg Swinney Mission agencies continue to direct our focus at sharing the gospel in the 10/40 window. This geographical region sandwiched between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees north latitude stretches from Africa to the Philippines and represents the majority of the unreached people groups of the world. More than 65 percent of international students come from nations within the 10/40 window. Prayers for unreached people groups are being answered. The 10/40 window is no longer 8,000 miles away; in some cases it is minutes from your home. Though you may not be able to speak a foreign language,

Celebrities Step Up for Haitian Mission

By Jennifer Taylor In 2001, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission created its first “Miriam Center,” a home and therapy center for dozens of Haitian children with disabilities and special needs. In recent years, NWHCM partnered with other organizations, including AHomeInHaiti.org, to plan a second center to serve 100 more children. Two months ago the organizations raised $700,000 for the cause in 10 days. “We had been moving forward with plans for a second center when Shaun King, lead pastor at Courageous Church in Atlanta, visited us and just fell in love with the special needs ministry,” says Cameron Mayhill, director of

Container Transformed into Command Center

By Jennifer Taylor In our June 27 issue, we shared news about the KORE Foundation and its work providing resources and vocational training as sustainable alternatives to poverty for the chronically poor in other countries. One of the ministry”s “kore” projects is recycling metal shipping containers entering the Jacksonville, Florida, ports and stocking them with supplies so recipients can begin welding, sewing, or farming businesses. Later this year, KORE will send a stocked crate to the Christian Missionary Fellowship work in Kenya. But before the container makes the voyage, it”s helping another ministry here in the States””and it”s been housing

The Influence of Just One

By Mike Kilgallin and Clay Perkins One servant in God”s hands can truly make a difference. Consider the story of G.H. “Dean” Cachiaras, a teenage immigrant from Greece who ended up polishing shoes. One day as he polished the shoes of a doctor casually reading a newspaper, the man discovered the boy was from Greece. The doctor lowered the newspaper and spoke to him in his native language, “Young man, what do you plan to do with your life?” The doctor encouraged G.H. to attend his alma mater, Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee. The boy enrolled, began studying the

This is Everybody”s Job (an Interview with Bob Russell)

By Dean Collins Since Bob Russell”s retirement from Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2006 he has encouraged ministry in the local church in a variety of ways. This year, he partnered with our Christian college presidents in the Just One Challenge. Shortly after the North American Christian Convention in July, I talked with Bob about his passion for recruiting the next generation of kingdom workers. DEAN COLLINS: What role should local churches play in recruiting kingdom workers, both to our colleges and to the harvest field? BOB RUSSELL: One of my regrets, when I look back, is that

The Just One Challenge

        By Kevin Ingram and Matt Proctor Bob Russell believes the Restoration Movement has a problem. The retired senior minister of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, sees a declining number of students interested in ministry. “As I talk with our Bible college presidents, I”m seeing a real drop in students who want to preach the gospel,” says Bob Russell. Why? “Various factors may contribute,” he answers. “The secularization of society, the postmodern mind-set that denigrates anything authoritative, the declining number of teens in Christian service camps, and the passive involvement of ministers in the lives of teens.”

Just One Sunday (a Special Emphasis on Nov. 14)

Imagine what could happen if every church in North America began to pray for the Lord to raise up preachers, missionaries, and other harvest workers! New kingdom leaders would be recruited, mission fields would be reached, churches would be planted, God”s Word would be preached, souls would be saved, wounded hearts would be healed, and God would be praised. So join with churches across the nation November 14, the Sunday before the National Missionary Convention, to be a part of the Just One Challenge. Make Matthew 9:38 a special prayer emphasis in your worship service that day. Visit www.justonechallenge.org for

An Incarnational Approach to Mission?

By Ash Barker Some of the most exciting and innovative Christian workers today describe their approach to mission as incarnational. But the term has been used in such diverse and contradictory ways that it is in danger of becoming clichéd, losing any real meaning. This means some will dismiss the incarnational idea before they even consider its important call to sustained faithfulness and relevance in mission. The Same as . . . ? Some people think that because Anji and I moved our family into Klong Toey slum in Bangkok, Thailand, that we are therefore incarnational“”believing we have somehow become

Extending Help, Hope to a Guatemalan Valley

By Jennifer Taylor School “˜Project” Most people in the Ulpan Valley of Guatemala live in poverty. Many can”t read. Surprisingly, a small team of engineers from middle Tennessee is changing the situation. Engineering professors and students from Lipscomb University (Nashville, Tennessee) have volunteered on short-term mission trips to Central America since 2004. They help with disaster relief or by building bridges and water towers. But short-term missions have limited value, according to Kerry Patterson, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Lipscomb, in a recent Tennessean article. “You are there for a week or 10 days, and then you are gone,”

Interview with Al Dimaano

Al Dimaano By Brad Dupray As a young man, Al Dimaano was influenced by American missionaries in his Philippine homeland. Al moved to the United States to teach in the Los Angeles Unified School District and became involved in a local Christian church in Southern California. Seeking camaraderie with other Filipino Christians in the U.S., Al founded the Filipino and American Christian Convention (FACC) in 1982. Since that time the biannual convention has met in locations throughout the United States and Canada. This year, for the first time, the FACC is meeting in conjunction with the North American Christian Convention.

Loving Sinners Outside Church-as-We”˜ve-Known-It

By Mark A. Taylor In this, our second week of “Eats with Sinners” features, we”re reminded again that we may not always be comfortable getting close to folks untouched by the gospel. When we venture outside the predictability of safe relationships inside the church, we”ll probably bump into people whose lives are messy, whose choices have been bad, and whose language or appearance or habits make us ill at ease. That”s what happened when Rick Bundschuh took seriously the mandate from a church that hired him as youth minister. “Reach unreached teenagers,” they said. But they didn”t count on “unreached”

Interview with Arron Chambers

Arron Chambers By Brad Dupray Arron Chambers is a pastor, husband, father, writer, triathlete, and he loves to eat . . . with sinners. Arron”s latest book, Eats with Sinners: Reaching Hungry People Like Jesus Did, examines Jesus” approach to creating conversations with people over a meal and how to apply that approach today. Each chapter of Eats with Sinners deals with a character trait of Jesus that made eating with sinners an effective means of sharing his message. Arron is lead minister of Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado, and a contributing editor to Christian Standard. Arron maintains the

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