Missions Blog for Churches

Here’s a recent blurb from MTW national partner, David Robertson, in Scotland. It includes a new online presence for the ministry there with a weekly vodcast:

Website. Solas Centre for Public Christianity can now be found on the web at www.solas-cpc.co.uk. Keep up-to-date with all Solas training events and David Robertson’s new vodcast entitled “Fleabytes.” Fleabytes is a weekly short video clip that will challenge the atheistic / agnostic views of society and encourage Christians to think through reasons for faith in God. We hope that the website, vodcasts and training events would be used for God’s glory in the evangelism of unbelievers and discipleship of his people.

Here is the second installment of our trip to Haiti. To see the first clip and some background info, click here.

Mission to the World and Reformation Hope International are partnering together with a Presbyterian Church in Le Plaine, Haiti to rebuild. This is part two of the story.

If you want to discover how you can serve God with the business experience He’s given you, the Missions in Business Weekend is just for you.

Who Should Attend:

• Business owners
• Business executives
• Retired businesspeople
• Entrepreneurs
• Spouses (special program)
• Young businesspeople who desire to be mentored

Missions in Business Weekend
August 19-22
The Cove
Billy Graham Conference Center
Asheville, NC

Click here for more information and to download a registration form.

I recently traveled to Haiti to see some of what God is doing there. We participated in the first worship service in the first church to be rebuilt since the earthquake. MTW is partnering with Reformation Hope, International and The Presbyterian Church in Haiti to bring the Gospel in word and deed to the people of Haiti. Here is the first installment of our trip:

MTW is featuring the work in Thailand at General Assembly this year. If you’re planning to be in Nashville, come by the MTW booth and pickup your Thailand gift to discover more about what God is doing in this part of Asia.

Here is a video put together by Team Thailand that tells a bit of the story:

Napada Thailand from MTW~Thailand on Vimeo.

Yesterday, Mission to the World (MTW) coordinator, Dr. Paul Kooistra, issued a letter of update and appeal for the long term needs in Haiti. I’ll paste his letter below.

I’m convicted by how quickly this situation fades from my mind. And I get pretty regular doses of it too, not to mention having edited (and am currently working on another) a few video projects. You’d think if anyone could remain mindful and prayerful of the needs in Haiti it would be someone like me. But I don’t. My kids help a lot. They remind me when we pray, all the things I’ve forgotten. And they remind me to pray for Haiti.

Dear Friends,

The crisis in Haiti has now become chronic. There are other big stories to cover, and media attention has dropped away. But orphans still roam the streets, many people are left with disabilities, and much of the population is living under shelters made with sheets and tablecloths. At the same time, life is about to become far more grim with the onset of the rainy season. Few of those who are affected have tents or shelter. The situation is made worse because of the lack of sanitation, which leads inevitably to disease and even greater suffering. Beyond the immediate, much building is needed—homes, schools, hospitals, and basic infrastructure.

The face of suffering is wearying, isn’t it? It is easier than we think to become accustomed to perpetual despair and need.

At MTW, we are preparing for long-term ministry among the Haitian people. While we can’t meet the needs of a nation, we can bring medical care and longer-term assistance to individuals with disabling injuries. We can establish care for orphans through our StreetChild Ministry. We can send short-term teams to help with construction. We believe new churches can be established and existing churches can grow. And we bring with us the greatest treasure of all—the gospel.

We are also hearing reliable reports that there has been an unprecedented surge of spiritual interest among the Haitian people. When the president of Haiti called for three days of fasting and prayer, the nation came to a stop. Most people gathered in their churches—or in the streets—in worship and prayer. Those scenes call to mind the words of Christ from John 4:35 in which He said, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are white unto harvest.” There are many hard places in the world to carry the gospel, but in Haiti hearts are open. The fields are white. We have an unprecedented opportunity to proclaim the gospel in word and deed.

We are asking members of PCA churches to commit to giving toward Haiti recovery for one year. Attached to this message are a brochure and a commitment form that you can print and use if your congregation would like to participate. You’ll see that commitments of any size are welcome, as are one-time gifts. It could be a good project for groups or for families.

Thank you for considering the involvement of your church in this effort. We believe that we, together, have an unprecedented opportunity to serve the people of Haiti and grow the kingdom of God.

In Christ,
Dr. Paul Kooistra

PS: We are also posting the attached brochure and commitment form on our website (www.mtw.org/haiti). There you will also find regular updates and a prayer guide for Haiti. Your prayers are even more important than your gifts.

The church planting team in Nagoya, Japan, challenged by growth and the need for more space, has recently been presented with an opportunity to purchase an ideally located building in the center of the city where they are working. Michael Oh is the MTW team leader for this effort, and has a heart for Christ and for Japan that I truly find envious (in the best sense of the word). Michael is a gifted communicator and preacher, which is evidenced by his speaking gigs over the past year (Desiring God’s Pastors’ Conf, Urbana, etc…). Here is a little more info and a video that will let you see the work and current opportunity before them. Please pray for the MTW Nagoya Team.

The following is an excerpt from a recent email I received from GTD. There are a number of events that you, in the church, can take advantage of, including their Church Planting Basics which is taking place as I type this. The next Church Planting Basics takes place in December, but since it’s in Asia instead of Lawrenceville, that may not be convenient for you. So bookmark their website (www.gtdtraining.org) for future dates. The next Train the Trainer workshop is November 10-13 and it is in Lawrenceville, GA. Contact GTD at gtd@mtw.org for more information.

Global Training and Development (GTD), the training arm of Mission to the World, is committed to providing resources and assistance to equip you for a thriving ministry. As missionaries with years of cross-cultural ministry experience, we desire to stand beside you as you seek to advance God’s kingdom around the world.

One ministry area that we want to help facilitate is that of mentoring. To that end, we are redesigning the MTW mentoring program to make it intentionally field-driven and expand its reach beyond the orientation of new missionaries. The enhanced program will provide training, encouragement, and resources for mentoring both new and experienced missionaries, as well as national leaders. In short, our desire is to help make mentoring a natural part of how we engage in ministry. The following resources have been designed to help accomplish this:

The Mentoring Newsletter is designed to equip you with the best tools, strategies, and resources to help you be as effective as possible in your mentoring relationships. This electronic newsletter will include articles written to help you sharpen your skills. An archive of these articles, as well as additional resources, will be maintained on our web site: www.gtdtraining.org/resources. To subscribe, email peter.beck@mtw.org.

During the 2009 PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) General Assembly, MTW focused participants’ attention on India through their annual giveaway. The gift consisted of a coffee mug containing India tea (Darjeeling) and a bookmark with specific prayer requests about some of the needs in India. The mug directed recipients to visit the MTW website to view the following video, which tells more about the work of the Gospel there.

The following is part of a report from MTW’s Coordinator, Dr. Paul Kooistra. In it he describes the need for both US missionaries and partnerships with national leaders. MTW has seen a real growth in the number of national partners. This is truly exciting to think about, and I look forward to seeing more PCA members go to equip even more national partners. Indeed, theological training and ministry equipping are some of the strongest offerings the PCA has to the Church beyond our borders.

I am often asked why MTW does not work with nationals. The answer to the question is that we do work with nationals. In fact, we work with a lot of nationals. The number of our national partners now exceeds the number of long-term missionaries.

Some who ask this question are actually asking why we don’t work exclusively with nationals. To many it seems much more efficient and more economical.

As I have indicated above, MTW does not in any way diminish the importance of working with nationals. From the beginning of the Church, nationals have played a vital leadership role. Paul, during his first missionary journey, appointed local leaders in Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Throughout church history the translation of the Bible into the vernacular was of primary importance.

On the other hand, we see that one church reached out to another church and to the masses held captive in the darkness of their own sin. It is not possible to reach out only with money. If we don’t give ourselves, we have missed the very essence of the gospel. The incarnation of God argues for an incarnational response.

We actually have some places in the world where nationals ask us to come, wanting no monetary help, but only the encouragement and connectivity with the Church in the United States. They recognize that their church is richer spiritually for its interaction with our Church.

What is now needed is for our Church to realize that we are richer for our interaction with other churches around the world. Paul reminds us that the body of Christ is made up of many parts. Usually, we only interpret this truth in relationship to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We need to see that this also relates to the different parts of the Church around the world. We need each other, and that is one reason we respond to the Great Commission.

Pray for MTW and our missionaries as we deal with the weak dollar and the financial crisis within the U.S. We will be monitoring the budget very closely. I pray we will be able to deal with this matter by being very careful.   -   Paul Kooistra