April 19, 2024

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Evangelism

YouTube Evangelism
Evangelism, Gospel

YouTube Evangelism

God calls all of us to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Tim 4:5). As Gary Ridley points out in another blog post, this work is not just with non-believers. Nevertheless, those of us who are called to serve as cross-cultural workers look for opportunities to share the Gospel with those who have never heard this good news. Typically, we expect that we will do so through sharing the Gospel in one-on-one conversations with our friends and acquaintances. Sometimes, we have opportunities to present the good news in public events through sermons or testimonies. A few of us might use Gospel tracts or other printed literature. But rarely if ever did we envision that YouTube could be our best platform for evangelism. Digital missions As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have become much more interested in “digital missions” – how to do mission work through… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Book Reviews, Contextualization, Evangelism

Stott on The Christian Life: a book review

John Stott’s messages at the Urbana Mission Conferences greatly influenced a number of missionaries of my generation. So, when Stott on the Christian Life: Between Two Worlds by Tim Chester came out this past summer, I decided to review the book. It is #16 in the Crossway’s series, Theologians on the Christian Life. See my post a few years ago on this series, and why it is a valuable resource. Why should missionaries read this particular book? I will focus on some key themes that make this book (and John Stott’s writings) an important read for missionaries. Shaped evangelicalism Throughout the book, Chester emphasizes how Stott’s life and ministry has shaped evangelicalism. The author writes in the Introduction: . . . the more I have explored his theology in its historical context, the more I have realized that it has been Stott, perhaps more than anyone else, who has influenced… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Telling a Better Story – a book review
Book Reviews, Evangelism, Storying, Worldview

Telling a Better Story – a book review

What does telling stories have to do with apologetics? My interest was sparked when I saw this new book on apologetics focusing on telling stories earlier this summer. Apologetics has traditionally been oriented to philosophy and logic. Yet most people understand life through stories they seek to practice. Expressing the reason for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:15) is best communicated through stories. People relate to stories better than to formal syllogisms. Josh Chatraw’s new book, Telling a Better Story: How to Talk About God in a Skeptical Age (Zondervan, 2020) reimages apologetics for today’s context. The book is divided into three parts: Part 1 – A Better Story About Apologetics; Part 2 – Offering a Better Story; Part 3 – Objections to the Story. He writes the following about apologetics:       Once viewed as a tool to win debates, apologetics is now becoming more focused on… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
CQ Communication & Decision-making Cultural Value Orientations
Multicultural Teams, Cultural learning, Cross-Cultural Living, Assessment Tools, Evangelism

CQ Communication & Decision-making Cultural Value Orientations

Introduction: In this second blog post discussing the ten cultural value orientations of Cultural Intelligence (CQ), I will focus on the values related to communication and decision-making. It is important for the cross-cultural worker to understand these different values in order to avoid misunderstanding and offense. In order to help you, I offer an example in each value orientation pair. I’m sure you can come up with examples from your ministry context. Again, I’ve included a discussion question after each summary of the three identity related cultural value orientations. Please share your comments. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts. Low-Context/Direct and High-Context/Indirect: Communication styles differ in important ways between low-context and high-context cultures. In low-context settings, the relationship between people is a small factor in many conversations. For instance, the length of the line at a checkout counter is more important than the relationship one has with the cashier when… Read the whole post
Gary Ridley2 mins read
Disruption will be followed by sowing
Hardship, Evangelism

Disruption will be followed by sowing

What is God doing? When we face a major disruption to our lives and ministries, we often ask ourselves what God might be intending to do through this disruption. I am sure that many of you have been asking yourselves that question over the past few weeks. We have seen the COVID-19 virus spread throughout the world, infecting hundreds of thousands and severely disrupting our day-to-day lives. After a few weeks of dealing with travel bans, we are now seeing country after country implementing lock-downs, closing schools, and telling churches that they can no longer meet in person. What is God doing through all this? How is this an answer to our prayer, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven”? A parable from farming A few days ago, I was reading a short parable in chapter 28 of the book of Isaiah. When a farmer… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
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