Missions Blog for Churches

by Basil Grafas

I can, when everything lines up well, when I have had sleep and exercise, when things are in the groove, be a pretty good communicator. Conversations are a delight, whether they are with colleagues, foreign brothers or sisters, or my wife. They are effortless. They build me up and take me to wonderful places. Without trying to speak for you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you felt the same way.

Most of the time, however, I am not a great communicator. I even surprise myself at my ability to mishandle relationships, alienate old friends, confuse my workmates, and irritate family members. I would like to be William Shakespeare, but end up sounding like Conan the Barbarian.
Holly Weeks’ book, Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them, was predestined for me. As I digested the text, it struck me that every conversational misstep she mentioned is listed in my permanent criminal record. (Click here to continue reading this book review)

by Tim Keller

The two great new realities for world mission are globalization and urbanization. A 2002 article in The Economist said that in 1950, New York was the only world city with a population of over 10 million people. Today there are over 20 such cities, 12 of which have arrived in the last two decades, with many more to come. All of these new megacities are developing in what used to be called the Third World. Why?

In the 18th century, a combination of population growth and technology brought rural Europe to its “carrying capacity,” creating a surplus population, and in every family some left countryside and small towns to make a living elsewhere. As a result there were 150 years of urbanization in which the great cities of Europe swelled to be the largest in the world. Many experts now believe this is beginning to happen in Africa, Asia, and to a lesser extent in Latin America, where the cities are literally exploding with new immigrants from the villages and rural areas. If urban-rural population in the southern hemisphere stabilizes at 75 percent to 25 percent, as it did in Europe and North America, then over the next few decades we will see over half a billion people move into the cities of Africa and Asia alone—the equivalent of one new Bangkok (8 million people) being created every two months. (Click here to continue reading this article)

by Paul Cull

So you’re ready for the Great Missionary Adventure. You’ve got your visa and your airline tickets, had the immunization tablets and shots, bought lots of film for your camera, and made some contacts with mission bases in your target country. You’ve heard about some short-term trips that didn’t turn out quite as expected, but you’re sure that this will be different. After all, you have a genuine burden for the people you will be visiting, and have received definite confirmation that the Lord will use you and your team to reach the lost during this trip.

So, what remains in your preparation?

My answer to this question would be one word: “lots.” My experience with short-term teams and visitors has convinced me that we need to emphasise some basic points in order to increase the effectiveness of such teams and decrease the possibility of unpleasant things happening during or after the team’s visit. (Click here to continue reading this article)