John Chau & Missions Martyrdom: What have we learned?

November 27, 2018September 25, 20247 Comments

Reading Time: 5 minutes

I confess I was finishing up my Christmas list in a perfect fashion for a busy mom in a little mountain town: online only on Black Friday, while my kids shouted around the house. But when I went to check my email account, it was a headline that caused my heart to fall: A 26-year-old missionary from Vancouver, Washington, John Allen Chau, killed by bow and arrow on India’s Andaman islands in the Bay of Bengal.

“I hollered, ‘My name is John, I love you and Jesus loves you’…You guys might think I’m crazy and all this, but I think it is worth it to declare Jesus to these people,” Chau wrote in his journal of his previous attempts, the UK Mirror and ABC News report. In one of his first attempts, one of the native children shot at Mr. Chau’s heart. The arrow skewered his waterproof Bible there instead.

Unreached People Group Focus: Han Chinese, Xiang people

November 19, 2018April 8, 20245 Comments

Reading Time: 4 minutes

It’s like a weird party trick. What’s the world’s largest ethnic group, 18% of the global population, and contains the second-largest unreached people group in the world?

The Han Chinese.

They’re about 92% of the Chinese population, and 95% of the population of Taiwan. read more

My Story: Just Another Post About Death

November 13, 2018April 30, 2024Leave a comment

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Since 2015, Samantha Johnson has been part of a team with Africa Inland Mission among the Digo people of coastal Kenya, which are about 0.1% Christian. Since arriving, she and the team have been studying language and culture, as well as establishing relationships within the community in hopes of being able to speak Jesus’ Good News to the soul-needs of the Digo. For Samantha, this often looks like house visits, spending time with mamas, drinking chai with the locals, holding their babies, and taking part in village life.

As a kid, I remember begging my mom not to make me go to funerals—even of great aunts and family friends. Death and dead bodies?

NOPE.

“I Should Have the Gift of Evangelism” and 5 Other Missions Myths Debunked

November 9, 2018March 4, 20194 Comments

Reading Time: 7 minutes

MYTH: Don’t go unless you plan to stay for life.

Maybe you were corn-fed on stories of missionaries who brought their coffins with them, or like Amy Carmichael, said goodbye to their families and homelands for life. Now, we’re pretty sure you’re familiar with FaceTime, Kayak, Marco Polo, and all sorts of amenities shrinking your distance around the world. Your folks and friends may well come to visit you, and your parents won’t be kissing grandbabies goodbye for life.

This ain’t your mama’s mission field.

#BestoftheBestFriday: Mind of a Hindu; Orphan Care; Modernizing Dictators; Social Justice & Evangelism

November 2, 2018November 5, 2018Leave a comment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Just in Time for Diwali: Understanding A Hindu Mind

Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, is November 6-10 (interested in praying during this festival? Click here for a free guide!). Indian neuroscientist Sai Anand communicates about God’s ingenius design of the human body, using it to share the Gospel. He’s written a fascinating article about his time as a Hindu, and how to share Jesus with the Hindustan population.

Are we really serving orphans well?

#BestoftheBestFriday: Prosperity Gospel in Africa; Animism 101; Diwali Prayer Guide; Medical Missions History

October 19, 2018June 4, 2024Leave a comment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

It’s that time again, y’all–where we corral good stuff from around the world that matters for your journey over there. But we’re not just spewing it out there: We want your dialogue. Check ’em out–and give us some thoughts.

the frightening effects of the Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria

If you’re headed to Africa, here’s a must-read. After my own [Janel’s] time in Africa, I was amazed at how the prosperity gospel was often furthering poverty and hindering the genuine growth of the Church. As Lindsay Steele reports, “As people have become desperate to rise out of poverty, many have looked to churches and seen their ticket to prosperity….This shift in focus is not only affecting believers and the Church, but it’s tainting opportunities for ministry to others, specifically to Muslims.” Read more here. read more

Unreached People Group Focus: Japanese

October 12, 2018April 30, 20246 Comments

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Color me surprised: Until this year, I had no idea Japan was the second-largest (only to Bangladesh) unreached people group in the world. It’s the largest unreached nation open to missionaries.

What keeps Japan from being reached?

Our God is indescribably capable of surmounting any obstacles. But what could be the presenting barriers? read more

#BestoftheBestFriday: Answering the Critics; Language Learning Infographic; Africa & China’s Unique Dynamics

August 17, 2018August 17, 20181 Comment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Is Missions a Joke? Answering the Critics

There are some well-aimed critiques being leveled at global work lately, which may make you question the validity of this work altogether. Amy Medina from A Life Overseas addresses some of the most painful and poignant criticism by authors/bloggers/podcasters like Corey Pigg, Emily Worrall, and Jamie Wright–the latter of whom writes, “I came off the mission field with a new mission which is to burn down missions.” This one is a must-read…and may explain a tiny bit of why Go. Serve. Love has recently released our self-assessments. Well done, Ms. Medina.

My Story: Prayer like Oxygen

August 14, 2018November 6, 20186 Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutes

I hadn’t been following Jesus that long when I wheeled my bags onto a West Africa-bound jetliner. For seven months, I lived with an unreached people group. Together with other global workers, we were teaming up to create an oral Bible.

Suddenly, I tumbled into a world where prayer no longer seemed like a “good” thing to do. It felt a little more like…oxygen.

#BestoftheBestFriday: Phases of Life Overseas; Wishing I Wasn’t a Racist; Time-release Culture Shock

July 6, 2018July 9, 2018Leave a comment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Forbidden Roots

Amy Medina writes compellingly of the seasons of overseas life. At the beginning,

the remnants of your old life stay with you for a long time. At first, keeping in touch with your friends back at home is a big priority. You get lots of packages in the mail. You grieve the loss of all that you left behind. But you are excited to be in this new place you dreamed about for so long, and that excitement keeps you going for a while. After the honeymoon wears off–which could happen in a week or a year–then it just takes grit. A lot of grit. As in, I’m going to grit my teeth and stay here even though I hate it.

Want to hear the happy ending? Guess you’ll have to click here.

Go. Serve. Love

Go there. Serve Him. Love them – a ministry of sheltering wings

Category: specific regions/people groups

#BestoftheBestFriday: Answering the Critics; Language Learning Infographic; Africa & China’s Unique Dynamics

Is Missions a Joke? Answering the Critics

My Story: Prayer like Oxygen

#BestoftheBestFriday: Phases of Life Overseas; Wishing I Wasn’t a Racist; Time-release Culture Shock

Forbidden Roots