Crossing Cultures International believes that the best way to reach a particular people group is by equipping national leaders who already understand the language, culture, and challenges of their nations and communities. By equipping local leaders, the culture remains unaltered, as sound biblical knowledge is imparted through a discipleship relationship.
A week after Tim’s memorial service, I’m still reveling in the afterglow of its poignant beauty. And I’m also reflecting on the effects of the amazing era ushered in by Tim’s ministry. His work inspired so many New Yorkers to come to faith and so many others to renew and strengthen their faith. I was one of them.
The world and its geo-political sensitivities are far different from the last century. While industries, businesses, and politicians have to contend with phenomenal changes, it appears that Western churches and missions are unwilling to adapt to the complex new realities.
Perhaps you’ve heard the news. Fires torching hundreds of properties. Entire households burned to the ground. Every personal belonging lost. Thousands of lives destroyed. The devastation has been unprecedented, and it will take years to rebuild that which can be rebuilt. But the personal tragedies and lives lost may never heal.
The reality is, with motherhood often comes loneliness and exhaustion. I work with a lot of moms through WinShape Camps, and many of them feel that way, especially when they’re in the thick of challenging seasons with their children. Polls suggest that nearly all — between 80-90% — of new moms experience either periodic or permanent feelings of isolation. Some mothers only feel this way for a short while; others feel it for a very long time.
The flights are booked. The bags are packed. Last-minute preparations have been made. With a desire to serve others, it’s that time of year when Christians across the country are going on summer short-term mission trips. But more and more of us are pausing ahead of these trips to ask one important question: How effective are short-term mission trips, really?
Love is the final measure of our faith. It’s the closest we can come to the heart of God. It’s the best way we can communicate the Logos—the Lord Jesus Christ—to the world around us. That’s the greatest trademark secret of all. We are known by our love.
For many who follow Jesus in the 10/40 Window (the western rim of North Africa to Japan, China to Indonesia), persecution is a reality of life, and 95 percent of the population is unevangelized.
I once had the privilege of chatting with a thoughtful and creative young African American man. He was raised in a Christian home, but a friend exposed him to arguments that denounced Christianity as the means by which slavers of old and modern racists justified policies that hurt African Americans. The young man came to view Christianity as the inherently racist “white man’s religion.” He eventually gave up his belief in God altogether.
Collectively we can do better. Nearly every week, we read a new tragic headline and story of unaccompanied children and youth from Central America meeting some horrific end while attempting to immigrate to the US. In the previous few months alone, there have been reports of mass abductions, a deadly fire at a Mexican migrant detention center, heat stroke deaths in abandoned cargo boxes and videos of tiny children being left at the border wall by smugglers called “Coyotes.”
