Monthly Archives: September 2012

by | September 30, 2012 · 6:54 am

Streams under an Oak…Musings

What are the main issues for mission today? During the meetings of the Mission Commission Global Leadership Council several trends impacting the Church and its mission were detected and discussed. Out of a larger number, four of them were chosen as particularly crucial and strategic for the MC and needing urgent response from the Evangelical mission movements:

1. The messiness in mission will continue to increase

This trend is the product of a whole lot of factors including: individualism, a multiplicity of definitions; structures and methods; accessibility of information; generational and cultural divides; and brokenness.

2. Continuous power shifts

Power will continue to shift in our complex, globalised, interconnected, interdependent world, following the control of finances, skills, information flows and as economies grow and decline in different parts of the world. This will create neo-colonialism and a new kind of control in different parts of the world.

3. Religious persecution will intensify and diversify

There is a need to establish a grass root effort to network those who have suffered persecution/are suffering persecution to speak to the global church how to prepare to follow Christ faithfully and missionally in the midst of suffering and how to care of those who at present are suffering.

4. Global resources will continue to decline.

Consequence: world mission and our churches will be impacted all over the world in a variety of ways, along with all other social/human structures.

For each of these trends there are significant consequences for mission movements and the MC is planning specific action points for reflection and production of materials related to these themes.

The question in my mind is, what are the specific challenges that you face in your life and ministry and how these mega trends affect your particular situation? Our desire as MC is to continue highlighting relevant issues that may be important for us all. The latest production of the MC, the book Sorrow & Blood – Christian Mission in Context of Suffering, Persecution and Martyrdom, is certainly one good example that we take these trends seriously.

Welcome with your thoughts and suggestions!

Bertil Ekstrom

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Aside

ETHNE’12 A global gathering of UPG-focused leaders will be in Seoul, South Korea

 27th – 30th November 2012 … Seoul, South Korea

Dear Leaders,

ETHNE is a global movement that serves to keep the eyes of The Church focused on the Forgotten Fourth of the world (almost 28%) who have little or no access to The Gospel (unreached or least reached peoples). The majority of these peoples have never even met a follower of Jesus. As a global movement, we stand on the shoulders of many efforts that have gone before us (e.g. AD2000, Great Commission Roundtable) as well as complementing current global movements such as the World Evangelical Alliance and Lausanne. Following successful meetings in Bali, Indonesia, in March 2006 hosted by SEALINK (the South East Asia UPG network) and in Bogota, Colombia in November 2009 hosted by COMIBAM,

THE NEXT ETHNE GATHERING WILL BE HOSTED BY THE KOREAN WORLD MISSION ASSOCIATION AND HELD IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA FROM THE 27th -30TH OF NOVEMBER 2012.

As we anticipate this next “family gathering” of people and ministries focused on least-reached peoples, WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US to:

(i) ASSESS & CELEBRATE what GOD is doing in the Nations, through reports from each

region of the world on what is happening among the least-reached.

(ii) ACCELERATE effective ministry to those who are still unreached. Various Strategy Groups will focus on issues such as Prayer for the Unreached, Holistic Gospel Movements (church-planting movements leading to community transformation), Member-care for workers, Crisis Response (connecting short-term relief to long-term church-planting movements), Ethno-Arts (using non-print media to communicate Christ), and Youth Missions Movement (raising the next generation of UPG workers and leaders). More than anything, ETHNE’12 is about coming together to seek GOD, acknowledging our need for one another in the Body of Christ…. SO THAT THIS GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM WILL BE

PREACHED AMONG ALL PEOPLES. Our goal is to build relationships between leaders, ministries and churches involved in UPG ministry and regional networks, so that the wealth of ideas, information, personnel, finances, resources and most importantly, vision and relationships can flow more effectively for His glory in reaching the least reached.

Will you prayerfully consider joining us in Seoul, South Korea? We are inviting you because we believe your presence will contribute to a fruitful gathering in ETHNE’12.

The meeting starts on the 27th of November at 6pm with dinner and ends on the 30th of November (night) with the final plenary. (IMPORTANT: Due to a strict limitation of places and quota given for each region, we request all delegates to be present for the entire duration of the meeting, arriving by the early afternoon of the 27th of November and departing the 1st of December.)

Attendance is By Invitation Only. Kindly do not forward this Invitation to anyone. If you feel someone you know needs to be invited, especially a younger leader you know, please inform your Regional Leader or send an email to ethne12@ethne.net. (For ETHNE to continue to be a vital, sustainable movement, we need the involvement of younger men and women.) Registration Forms will be sent in due course, but if you wish to register your interest to attend ETHNE’12, kindly send an email to ethne12@ethne.net or inform the Regional Leader who sent you this invitation. We are still finalizing the costs for ETHNE’12, but for your budgeting purpose, we suggest you use a figure of US$500 for the in-country costs (transport to/from airport, conference materials, accommodation on twin-share and meals).

As we finalise plans for our time together in Seoul, we request your prayers for us.

Until all have had a chance to hear and experience the Good News!

Paul Han, Executive Director Korean World Mission Association

Henry Lee, Director Frontiers, Korea

S. Kent Parks, President, Mission to Unreached Peoples & Co-Facilitator, Ethne

On Behalf of the ETHNE’12 Steering Committee

http://www.ethne.net

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by | September 29, 2012 · 7:12 am
by | September 25, 2012 · 7:14 am

THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT 2 ANNOUNCES THE 21 DAYS FOR GLOBAL HARVET

The SVM2 Alliance announces the upcoming “21 Days for Global Harvest” prayer campaign to pursue God for spiritual awakening and global harvest. This campaign will take place from September 30 – October 20, 2012 with the theme “Let My People Go!”based on Exodus 8. Small groups of young adults from student ministries related to campus ministry organizations, Christian colleges/ Bible schools and local churches will participate from many nations.

Very few prayer campaigns exist connecting the emerging generation of believers together with one purpose. “21 Days for Global Harvest” targets this age group with a united prayer emphasis for awakening across the student generation and becoming ignited with passion for global harvest.

It is important to have as many student ministries from as many nations involved in this prayer campaign. It is our hope to see 1,000 prayer groups praying for 387 unengaged, unreached people groups during the 21 days.

For more information –
http://21daysofprayer.net/get-involved/stakeholder-networks/

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by | September 11, 2012 · 6:55 am

Stephen Mugabe is with the Lord

Brother Aiah Foday-Khabenje, General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) wrote the following:

“It is with much regret and sadness that I break the sad news of the passing of Stephen Mugabi. I was with Stephen last weekend when we heard of him taken ill and in a critical condition. I returned to the office in Nairobi Monday and in the evening got a call from Kampala that Stephen had passed.

Stephen until his death was the head of the AEA Relief and Development Commission based in Kampala. In this role he forged numerous global and international partnerships with Christian relief and development agencies. Stephen was perhaps the most dedicated and committed individual to the mission of AEA. In nearly twenty seven years of continuous service to AEA he served in various roles including, Social Work Assistant, Finance officer, Ethics and Society and latterly and for most of his tenure head of Relief and Development Commission. Stephen was very supportive and dependable whenever AEA needed any assistance.

Stephen was 54, survived by his wife Sarah and four boys, Caesar, David, Jonathan and Daniel. The funeral service and burial will take place in Kampala at the Kampala Pentecostal Church at 10am and burial at 2pm in Kariki his home town and on the outskirts of Kampala.

We thank God for Stephen’s life and service to humanity and are comforted in the belief and assurance that he has preceded us to have his rest in the Lord; the glorious destiny we all await, even if our desire is have this delayed. However, that time, place and circumstances are in the purview of the Lord, in whom we live, move and have our being. All praise and glory to Jesus our Lord, the author and finisher of our faith.”

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