Inspiring stories happen every day, but we don't hear so much about them on the news. So, where do you go to hear these stories and find out about what God is doing behind the scenes? Well, the Create Emerge team have a list of great missions news, magazine, podcast & blog sites to get you started.
Every year, thousands of teams set off on short term trips to share the gospel. Language and cultural barriers can make clear communication of the gospel incredibly difficult. What if we could equip them to witness in an engaging and culturally relevant way? Equip makes sure to provide outreach teams with the tools and information necessary for them to be as effective as possible for the time they are on the field.
If you are involved in frontier missions, or you're preparing to go on a short term missions trip, you'll be aware of the challenges that are involved. You may find yourself asking questions like "How do I communicate the Gospel when I don't speak the language of the people I'm trying to reach? What are the cultural differences that I should be aware of? What resources are availble to help me reach out to this specific people group?"
"...RTC currently employs 25 landmine victims who are viewed in Cambodian society as having got what they deserve through karma and most often end up begging on the street or making next to nothing in some sort of labour. Not long after beginning this project a few years ago, her staff began to ask about Jesus, and soon they were asking her about having a church. Now, most of her staff are coming back to their place of work on Sunday mornings for a church service, and deeper transformation is taking place..."
So you've heard the need and want to get out there and make a difference. Now you're thinking that it could be helpful to do a little preparation, learn some skills, and get some training. But where do you start?
"...our team has recently found out about Not For Sale, which is a campaign to fight the global slave trade and end human trafficking. Not for Sale is conducting a tour called Stop Paying for Slavery which is a multidimensional, multimedia, multi-day experience aiming to bring together education, law enforcement, faith communities, corporations, consumers and all justice seekers in the fight to end modern-day slavery..."
It seems that the emerging generation is becoming a lot more aware of social justice issues. That's a good thing - however It doesn't take much to feel overwhelmed by the transformation that needs to take place. So, what can we do to make a difference?
"...I've always loved to draw, paint and create things and it came pretty naturally for me. I continued to develop drawing skills throughout my childhood and teen years. It's quite sad to admit but probably 50% of the time I spent learning to draw was during Math, Science and English class. I had this idea that I was going to be an animator or a children's book illustrator someday and figured I didn't need to worry about subjects that weren't relevant to my future..."
If you have a desire to get into missions, but are a little overwhelmed by the options and aren't sure what your next step should be, we have some good news: the Create Emerge team have put in the hard yards, done a bunch of research, and put together a selection of missions opportunity sites to get you started.
"...I didn't just join this team because of the opportunity to make music. I joined because God, through this team, was opening my heart up to his love for me, and consequently for the world. I didn’t have a lot of passion for the Kingdom or a clear idea of what it was all about when I first joined, but through the relationships that were formed around a great purpose, I couldn’t help but eventually begin to get energized by the Perpetrator towards the purpose of bringing the Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven..."
You may have read in the blog article 'Being Frank' that the Create Emerge team recently spent three weeks in India filiming the story of Prem Sewa school and hostel. We have hopes of producing a full length Documentary, but for now we've put together a 16min preview called 'Being Frank - The Story of Prem Sewa Shikshan Sangh'. This video is currently being shown in churches throughout Canada by Prem Sewa Director Bapu as he travels from Quebec to British Columbia. Stay tuned for the completion of the full length documentary - Coming 2011- we hope :)
"...Create Emerge and Mennonite Brethren Mission and Service International (MBMSI) have partnered to create a short 12min documentary called 'East West' that focuses on the partnerships between believers from the East and the West as they join together with a powerful vision to see God's Kingdom advance in South Asia. 'East West' is going to be screened throughout Canada over the next few months as part of MBMSI's Celebrate Mission Nights..."
In this article we thought we’d take the opportunity to share some encouraging reports on how media is being used in innovative ways to share the good news of Jesus, in countries with limited evangelistic resources. Below is a report that was included in the latest Create International newsletter (August 2011) which shares testimonies from workers in Indonesia and Thailand about how evangelistic films are having a dramatic impact on the lives of those who watch them.
“Recently, we heard that our evangelistic film for the Sasak –‘Irun’s Dream’(1995) continues to bear fruit 16 years later! Workers are now actively distributing it via mobile phones.
‘In one village there was a man who has been having dreams about Jesus, and after watching the film, he decided that he would make a decision to follow Jesus! We want to encourage you guys—keep making the films! We are using them, and they are having an effect. People are listening and they like to watch them.’
—Missionary in Indonesia
Our most recent evangelistic film, ’When Storms Come’ (2011) for the Northern Thai, has been widely endorsed.
‘This film is a great example of how a gospel presentation could be done so naturally and specifically for a culture.’
‘Everyone has been impressed with the quality of the production, acting, settings—all very accurate and truly Northern Thai. The Gospel is clearly and simply stated, and the story is very powerful. New believers especially understood the meaning, and thought it was a beautiful expression of thankfulness to God. Buddhists have openly cried as they were touched by several dramatic scenes of ‘power encounters.’ …
—Field workers and churches in Thailand”
It’s encouraging to hear how God is using resources like these to effectively communicate the His story cross-culturally. If you’re interested in reading other testimonies or finding other resources that are available, check out Create Internationals Evangelistic Videosonline.
If you are involved in missions, or you’re preparing to go on a short term missions trip, you’ll be aware of the challenges that are involved. You may find yourself asking questions like: “How do I communicate the Gospel when I don’t speak the language of the people I’m trying to reach? What are the cultural differences that I should be aware of? What resources are available to help me reach out to this specific people group?”
These missions resource and networking sites are a good place to look for some answers. Check out our Get Resourced page and take advantage of the resources that are already out there.
Every year, thousands of teams set off on short term trips to share the gospel. Language and cultural barriers can make clear communication incredibly difficult. What if we could equip them to share in an engaging and culturally relevant way? Equip provides outreach teams with the tools and information necessary to be as effective as possible.
Eliza testifies: “On our recent outreach to Jakarta, we spent one day with a family in a slum. We showed them the “More than Dreams” video of a young Muslim lady who had a vision of Isa Al Masih (Jesus) and became a believer. Two of the ladies decided to give their lives to Christ.”
Last century, pioneers began to equip teams with tracts and a hand powered cassette tape player. Today, teams can fill their iPods, laptops and mobile phones with audio and visual material. Our Equip training package helps people to embrace these new technologies in order to reach people with the love of Jesus in their heart language.
Engage is a multimedia package designed to inform, motivate, and encourage a new generation to engage in the world of missions. It contains inspiring missions videos, an informative stats and facts slideshow, comprehensive teaching notes, a booklet which contains the stories behind the stories, and handy hints on how to use these mobilisation resources effectively.
Disc 1
Engage – Voices Full Presentation
A 50 minute video presentation that will take you on a ‘big picture’ journey presenting the needs and challenges in the world today, and show how we’re doing as the church in meeting those needs. Hear encouraging stories of what God is doing in the places we usually only hear bad news about, and meet some inspiring people who have said the 100% ‘yes’ to Jesus; impacting the planet one day at a time.
Disc 2
Engage – Voices Short Presentations
For a shorter time slot, use one of the three 20 minute video presentations that also represent the ‘big picture’ of missions, but feature only one missions story each. Another alternative is to use one of the Engage – Bonus Videos as a stand alone.
Engage – Slideshow Presentations & Teaching Notes
This is a supplementary tool for teaching the stats and facts of world missions in a classroom or meeting setting. Choose between the shorter or longer version depending on your time constraints. The longer version can be used as background information for the presenter, or can be taught one section at a time over the course of several classroom meetings. See ‘How to use the Engage Package’.
Get Engaged PDF – Additional Research Material
A list of websites that lead to more information in the following areas: missions news and media; global awareness and action; missions mobilisation resources and networks; missions opportunities and training. This is not an exhaustive list, but it does represent a wide variety of ministries and organizations to look into.
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