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One Year Challenge

Monthly Archives: June 2016

Last Change to Register for First OYC Webinar

24 Friday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Uncategorized

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Just one more day to the first-ever One Year Challenge webinar! This event will be hosted by a brother and sister who took the One Year Challenge themselves.

Part 1: One Year Challenge Overview & FAQ A 20-minute session to learn more about what doing a One Year Challenge is like and how to apply, hosted on June 25, 2016 at 9:00-9:20 p.m., U.S. Eastern (New York City) time.

Part 2: OYC China Stick around if you’d like for a second 20-minute session showcasing our OYC China site. Find out what it’s like to be a Christian in China, and learn about how you can come and make an impact. This session is from 9:25-9:45 p.m., U.S. Eastern (New York City) time.

You can register here.

“Don’t Quit, We’re Praying!”

13 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Countries of the World, Posts

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An inspiring account from a missions historian:

Reading about the hardships missionaries endured in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) also moved him. “In 1907, all of them were ready to quit. But the homeland wrote to say: ‘Don’t quit—we’re praying!’

“A Congo missionary by the name of Allison fasted and prayed, and there was a sudden move of God. Hundreds of people came to Christ. (Today, the DRC church is one of the C&MA’s two largest national bodies.) That really spoke to my heart.”

Probably the most powerful take-away from the project Dave says, was the deeper respect he gained for Alliance founder A. B. Simpson. “Here was this brilliant, bright man of God, who, out of a lack of knowledge, made some big errors in sending those first teams.

“I thought, Wow. A lesser man after that first fiasco, or whatever you want to call it, would have just cashed in his chips and walked away from the table. But A.B. said, ‘OK, we’re going to do it better.’”

Europe Needs the Gospel, Too

12 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Countries of the World, Numbers

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The entire European continent needs to be re-evangelized and discipleship re-introduced to places that were once at the forefront of sending missionaries around the world:

A new study highlighting religious differences in England and Wales shows that there are now more “nones” or people of no religion in those two countries compared to Christians. A stunning 48.5 percent of people who took the British Social Attitudes survey reported that they had no religion whatsoever, compared to 43.8 percent of those who identified as Christian. “Christian” was identified as Anglican, Catholic or other Christian denominations.

The reason the numbers are so surprising is the percentage has nearly doubled in only four years. In the last survey, done in 2011, 25 percent identified as “nones.”

We can watch this happen from the comfort of our churches, or go into all the world making disciples. God has made it clear what we’re to choose.

The Long Obedience of Waiting

11 Saturday Jun 2016

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I spoke with someone this week who had decided to go on a One Year Challenge then got “held back” by family and ministry leaders who felt like the decision was rushed. They are still hoping to do a One Year Challenge one day, but in something of a waiting pattern.

Often holding people back is done for selfish reasons, but not always. Many times, the person being told to wait really does need more preparation time.

The problem comes when you just wait, without actively seeing the even mundane things of life as part of your preparation.

J.D. Greer has some great thoughts on this:

If that’s how God trained Paul, David, and Moses, the idea that you’re going to take two or three years, or maybe five or six years, for him to work on your character—you’re working jobs that don’t seem that glamorous, you’re spending a lot of time studying—that’s just how God does things.

In It to Win It

10 Friday Jun 2016

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Just because we’re not trying to win in worldly ways doesn’t mean we don’t care about winning. We’re in a battle for souls and a tie or a loss is a disaster.

Artie Davis:

Never focus on satisfying the crying mouths in the “nest” on Sunday, if you do you have lost the city. Never in scripture do I see the people of God called to conquer a group of people, but rather whole cities, regions and nations.

Read the whole thing.

Great Reads: An All-Consuming Passion for Jesus

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Books

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Not only is this a great read, you can download the e-version for free here.

It contains four messages delivered by John Piper at various Passion conferences over the past few years.

The 9 Gifts Third Culture Kids Bring to Missions

07 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Countries of the World, Posts

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Our family of churches, the International Churches of Christ, are rich in third culture kids coming into adulthood now. Our intense, international church planting emphasis in the 1990’s had its downside, but a wonderful upside was the opportunity for the children of many church leaders and mission team members to live in another culture.

Many of these guys–grown up now–are serving so effectively at One Year Challenge sites.

This article by Rachel Green has lots of interesting stuff about third culture kids and–if you are one–can help you identify the specific gifts God gave you to serve in the mission yourself:

Despite the challenges, TCKs have a huge potential to be cross-cultural leaders and bridge-builders in God’s global mission. In particular, TCKs have these nine gifts to bring to missions:

1. SEEING THE WORLD THROUGH MULTIPLE LENSES

“We have a special role, and we need to be on our knees praying, because we see things that the average person cannot see or does not see,” explained Meg, a TCK from the United States and the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Growing up in multiple cultures gives TCKs a unique ability to see situations, people, and the world through different lenses.

2. BEING RISK-TAKERS AND BEING OPEN TO TRY NEW THINGS

“We’re not as afraid to try new things,” explained one young woman from Brazil, the United States, and Senegal, who enjoys introducing mono-cultural students to different ethnic foods.

3. INFLUENCING OTHERS

“We’ve had to take risks so now we can invite others to take risks,” reflected Rachel (from Taiwan and the United States). TCKs can influence others in a special way.

4. WELCOMING OTHERS ON THE MARGINS

Perhaps from feeling like an outsider before, TCKs can uniquely reach people who are excluded for one reason or another. “As TCKs, we are drawn to people who feel like they don’t belong somewhere,” stated one participant, who got involved in ministry among Latinos on campus.

5. SEEING GOD UNIQUELY

TCKs may be more aware of how culture and church are intertwined. We need their voices in our faith communities today so we can how to be better witnesses cross-culturally.

6. INTERCEDING AND MOURNING

One Urbana participant who grew up in Korea, the United States, and Kenya reflected, “I think a person who is a TCK knows the world. And if they know the world, they can therefore mourn when the world is hurting. And when you mourn, you are able to pray well.”

7. MAKING PEACE AMONG CONFLICTING PEOPLE GROUPS

“A lot of times there is pain coming from stereotypes. We can represent a people group that has caused oppression and say we’re sorry on their behalf,” reflected one TCK from Costa Rica, Spain, and Jordan.

8. BEING WILLING TO GO

TCKs may be most open to living in another part of the world in response to God’s call to mission. Briza (from the United States and Saudi Arabia) experienced growing up overseas because of her parents’ international teaching job. This experience opened herself up to international teaching herself—but in a completely different part of the world. She currently lives in Kazakhstan, where she teaches sixth grade.

9. BUILDING CROSS-CULTURAL RELATIONSHIPS

TCKs have years of experience building cross-cultural relationships, a needed skill in missions. Whether it’s reaching international students on campus or an unreached people group abroad, TCKs can use their cross-cultural skills to advance God’s kingdom.

Read the whole thing.

 

Update from Fairbanks, Alaska

06 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Church Planting

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Disciples Today has the scoop:

The Great Land Christian Church – Fairbanks, just planted in September 2015, has been working hard to reach people and help them to get to know God in new and exciting ways. And God has certainly blessed our efforts.

Starting with a mission team of 14 people, the church has been steadily growing. God has added seven disciples in the first seven months, and more currently studying the Bible!

Read the whole report.

How God Messed Up Nicole Cliffe’s Happy Atheist Life

05 Sunday Jun 2016

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Nicole Cliffe’s conversion story isn’t quite consistent with our understanding of how this happens, but this article is so well written and her story so interesting we had to share it:

I spent the few days before our call feeling like an idiot, wondering what on earth I planned to ask her. Do you … like Jesus? What was Jesus’ deal? Why did he ice that fig tree?

Read her whole story.

Measuring Ministry Success: WWJD?

04 Saturday Jun 2016

Posted by OYC in Numbers

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Karl Vaters asks, “Would Jesus have responded to the question ‘how will we measure success?’ with anything less than a face-palm?”

Metrics aren’t wrong. Measuring our progress can be helpful. But can we all admit that the idea of using statistics to measure a church’s success came from us, not from Jesus? And that measuring our progress numerically has not been considered a vital ingredient in reaching the world for Jesus until really, really recently in church history?

How did the church grow for 1900 years without anyone asking that question or taking rigorous measurements?

As important as measuring our success is supposed to be, the church should thrive in the places and times when we have accurate measurements, and it should be dying in places and times when we don’t. But any accurate study of church history and current revivals shows that the opposite tends to be true.

Read the whole thing.

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