Gateway to the Nations: The Strategic Value of International Churches in a Globalized Urban World By Michael Crane and Scott Carter Introduction Behnam Farhadi, and his sons Atash and Erfan, were fleeing from a Central Asian nation in political and economic distress became refugees were in Sofia, Bulgaria.[1] All three of them became followers of […]
I would like to tell you a true story that took place in a country of West Africa formerly called Upper Volta, today known as Burkina Faso. This story happened at the end of the 1950’s. They story is told as follows: A French missionary who lived there, would preach the Gospel every day in […]
In Building Social Business, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank presents a “new kind of capitalism that serves humanity’s most pressing needs.”[1] Our current global financial crisis is not the only crisis at hand, says Yunus, but one of a series of crises: food, energy, environmental, healthcare, social, economic and poverty. Yunus […]
In their collaborative work, Street Signs: A New Direction in Urban Ministry, authors Ray Bakke and Jon Sharpe share their personal migration story from rural roots to urban ministry.[1] Filled with lessons learned, theological reflections, and practical helps, Street Signs points towards a new way or ministering in, to and with the city. The book […]
Known for his prophetic writing in The Next Christendom, acclaimed historian Philip Jenkins proves that understanding the past is vital to knowing the present and foreseeing the future. In The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—and How It Died, Jenkins uncovers that […]
Pope Francis, the current pope of the Catholic Church, has frequently made the news since his appointment in March 2013 because of his humble character and particular concern for the poor. In his Apostolic Exhoratation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), the pope encourages and inspires clergy and all believers to be more missional […]
No Summer Bummer “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light.” (Matt 11:28-30, […]
“International migration is rapidly changing the demographic distribution globally,” states Sadiri Joy Tira of the Global Diaspora Network (GDN). “Migrant pundits estimate that there are now over 200 million international migrants, and over 700 million internally displaced people or close to 1 billion scattered peoples.” The question is, “What practical response does the Church have […]
“You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream…” C. S. Lewis Through a series of circumstances too strange to fully understand yet, God has brought me right into the middle of a global phenomenon that may never have happened quite like this before. It is a reality in which […]
Corrie De Boer, the well-known Filipina urban theologian and practitioner, describes author Patrick Hobbs as “a compassionate urban pastor who grapples with justice issues and the complexity of the political, social, economic, and environmental and missiological challenges of the megacity.”[1] In his book Dawn Reapers, Hobbs unpacks the complexity of ministry among the urban poor […]