Write your own blog post to share your ministry experience with others.
As our attention turns to World Hunger Sunday, we invite our U.S. churches to consider starting a Growing Project with Growing Hope Globally!
This Giving Tuesday, Americans and Canadians have the chance to have their gifts matched to help refugees.
Five community gardens projects in Kent and Muskegon counties received funding and training grants of $1250 this month to grow their projects and increase their benefit to local community members.
Missionary newsletters have been around since Paul. Are they still relevant today?
If summer mission trips are so life changing for the young people, what do those they are going to “serve” get out of it? Might we be using the community for our own transformation?
One thing that has struck me after working for more than a decade to connect churches in the U.S. with churches that World Renew works with overseas is the similarity between them.
Mary Dykstra (Global Volunteer Coordinator for World Renew) and I (Wendy) were interviewed for the Transformational Networks blog by Bethany Beachum (Nehemiah Center). Below is an excerpt from that interview. I invite your questions on the topic of global volunteers and partnership.
The following is excerpted from a newsletter by Tom Post. It's fun to see the connections between CRC churches and ministry overseas!
In the world of missions, disaster response, and community development, there are a lot of organizations. A LOT. World Renew works in partnership with a lot of them.
10. Getting Involved in Global MissionsThis post definitely has staying power! Written in 2009, it provides a comprehensive list of ways to get involved in missions, overseas and in North America. You'll also find links to helpful resources.
When churches contact me wondering how they can increase their involvement in missions, my first response is always, "What are your church's unique giftings?" The following are excellent documents to pull together for your missions or outreach committee to review at the beginning of any planning process.
Detachment, even distrust, describes younger generations’ attitudes about institutions, and it becomes evident in the offering plate. Donors want to know ‘how my money is being spent.’ Has your missions committee given any thought to this issue? How do you decide which missionaries to support?
World Renew believes that God calls Christians everywhere to love their neighbors and to care for those in need. As many North Americans have discovered, when they respond to this call they are as blessed as those they serve. By working through local churches to equip Christians like Yan, they experience the blessing of serving others.
With the start of a new school year, your mission committee might be looking for some new and interesting ways to promote missions within your congregation. In addition to the excellent missions education resources available from Resonate Global Mission, you may want to check out the following websites.
So something I have been thinking about recently related to the sustainability of the way I live and simplicity is that it is hard to say no to free stuff.
I’ve noticed a disturbing trend online and in the church in general; it’s the controversial issues that get all the attention. I know this isn’t new. I grew up in the 90s, and even though I was in grade school I remember hearing about our church potentially leaving the denomination over the women in office issue.
New church starts are crafting their culture. One of the most significant roles any new congregation will address is the formation of their DNA. For missional churches, the essence of their culture will be incarnational.
Through a survey of a random sampling of Christian Reformed pastors, the following were identified as the most important resources and services that CRC congregations most need in order to engage in international missions more effectively.
When you pastor a congregation of only 26 people, six new members is a pretty big cause for celebration.
An excerpt from the Sea to Sea devotional about riding through Shiprock — a good reminder to all of us to shine in the darkness!
What might our Lord most desire Christians from the West to learn from believers in Nigeria? Here is a sampling of their responses.
“We help Christians and Muslims; what matters is the need, not the background of the person,” explained Pastor Jihad.
Much of my work involves helping churches discover their unique gifts and talents that they can contribute to the work of World Renew. How much easier is it to relate to churches in developing countries when you DON'T have all the financial resources or answers?
Owning the task does not mean that missionaries are abandoned — quite the opposite. When a missions team works with their missionaries to discover a common purpose, the partnership and commitment to the task deepen. To use a sports metaphor, the church shifts from merely cheering on the sidelines to being a part of the global team.