Guidance from Overlooked Men and Women of the Bible

Category: Mission (Page 17 of 26)

An Encouragement on MLK Day

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.            – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is our holiday reserved to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., commonly referred to as MLK day. I made it a point several years ago to start reading about the life and work of Dr. King. On this day I can say that Martin Luther King is one of my leadership heroes. Rarely will you see a leader so given to his ideals and so committed to his methods. King’s commitment to nonviolence endured despite being spit upon, hit in the head with bricks and constantly threatened. Martin Luther King is an American hero and a wonderful example of a leader who put his Christian faith into practice.

I would encourage you to read more about Dr. King and a good place to start is with his autobiography, pictured here. If you’ve not read it before, I would suggest you add it to your booklist for the year. You’ll be impressed and encouraged and thankful for this man who has blessed our times.

 

This Change is Everything

img_0019You can see that on my desk is a copy of a new book on missions by my friend and co-worker, Shane Sebastian. This Change is Everything is the best new book to come out regarding missions since, well, my book that came out last year regarding missions!

There are two aspects to this book that make it important to anyone considering missions and to anyone working with young people who are considering missions. First, Shane helps us see how young people have been changing the world for centuries. Young people, mid-twenties and younger, have been making a kingdom impact since the days of the Old Testament. Why should it be any different today? We need to encourage people to see how much of a difference they can make in their youth.

In the second part of the book Shane deals with common barriers people face as they consider going to the world. These thoughts are spot-on, as Shane has been working with college students for twenty-five years and helping them work through these very issues. His wisdom comes from years of practical ministry. You will benefit from the hard lessons Shane has distilled for you.

Buy this book for yourself, or buy it to give away, but read it and and let’s help send a new generation to the world!

Join Us in the Mission!

beaver-creek-2016-dishmans-copy

In my role as the National Director of Innovation for Cru Global Missions, I love developing new and creative ways to give Jesus to the world. This past year saw the inaugural trip for Cru Medical to Cote d’Ivoire and the continued growth of Cru Study Abroad.  We have several other ideas for missions that will hopefully move from thoughts on paper to reality in the next year. The world is truly open to hearing about the hope found in Christ.

Dawn and I both value involving more people in missions, which is one reason why I wrote the book GO, Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth and continue to blog. It’s also why we led a group on the Camino de Santiago this fall. We want to involve many, many more people in this great adventure.

As the year ends, it’s a good time to give to the people and causes that are close to your heart. As you evaluate your contributions, would you consider giving to the work Dawn and I are doing around the world?

You may not know, but on staff with Cru we raise all the necessary funds to cover everything we receive, including salary, health care, retirement benefits and ministry expenses. As we look towards 2017 we see several needs that will require an increase in our funding, including increased opportunities to open new ministries internationally.

As you would guess, this takes financial resources. Any gift you give helps us pursue our goal of putting the gospel within arm’s reach of students everywhere.

If you are so led, you can make a contribution through this link to CRU.

Thank you for considering our work and have a most Merry Christmas!

Dave

Out of Africa

 

unnamed

The student leaders at the University of Botswana hosted our group of ministry leaders for a prayer walk of their campus on a sunny afternoon. And when I say sunny, I mean hot and sunny, with temps hovering just over 100 degrees. As we strolled in small groups and prayed for their fellow students, I found myself subtly guiding our group to the few patches of shade along our route. A few minutes later, I found myself praying, “Lord, don’t let me fall over from heat exhaustion in the middle of this campus!” The Botswana students certainly have a higher heat tolerance than this North American.

I was in Botswana for several days of meetings with Cru African student ministry leaders. Men and women attended from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Tanzania. Many of these are young leaders, in their 20’s or early 30’s and many are pioneering new ministries and attempting to reach new campuses. The conference covered aspects of leadership, coaching their staff and students and launching new campus ministries. Their goal is to get to hundreds of new campuses by 2020.

I spoke a couple of times, including a talk on Servant Leadership and a devotional talk on the spiritual realities we face as ministers. We also attended a student meeting one evening at the University of Botswana. Student meetings on different continents often look different, but it’s encouraging to see the common threads of a commitment to growing in faith and reaching friends with the gospel. And, trying to meet members of the opposite sex. This aspect never changes!

Please join me in praying for these young leaders in Africa. Pray for their success in launching new campus movements and pray that many of their peers will come to faith and influence their continent for Christ!

 

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 Dave Dishman

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑