Please help to ignite the Great Re-Awakening in Europe

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Glad to help as I can. We're still looking for that reference we used in Turkey, but I do recall now there was a section on the country and its people in one of the earlier books I had mentioned, "Praying through the gateway cities". You are correct about Turkey's ethnic diversity and the book does dive into that. It is a unique country due to that Byzantine heritage and the many Christian peoples within it, and many have been quite eager to re-connect with their Christian heritage.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Not the reference we used initially but a link to a movement with particular focus on Christian missions in Turkey, supplied by one of my old mission associates I hadn't spoke to in about a decade. Turkey - Christian Aid Mission The focus as with our efforts is on indigenous missionaries who know the culture and people. Often including conversion of Turks working in Europe, who are able to bring the Gospel back to their home towns. To our surprise in many cases, there has been a great deal of openness to these efforts, in part due to awareness of the country's history.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Still not the original book I was thinking of from my own early missionary days but a valuable guide nonetheless, on ministries in Turkey and other important 10/40 Window countries, that popped up as I was searching through our updated directory of mission references:
Strategic Missionary Work: In the Pattern of Apostle Paul. This one is quite recent actually but it has a great perspective and focus, bringing Paul's techniques, organization and even his political leadership and insights into a modern context. A bonus is that Tarsus, Paul's own city, is in what's now Turkey and so the book has several references on this ancient city and its modern evangelical significance in the spread of the Gospel back into the Near East, carried above all by young and eager Turkish converts themselves. I believe some of its chapters are also online so worth getting a peek into it

 

[JoeySoley]

Thanks again, you guys have some excellent book and article recs. That Strategical missionary work book is full of good advice and perspective. It looks like recent published but still amazing we hadn't heard of it. I saw it just in a web preview at first but we're 100 per cent going to get ourselves a copy! We were back in Greece helping some of our mission partners and teams and could see the spirit of Paul in them, that drive and feistiness, feeling like every waking moment they had something special to spread and communicate.

 

[Pioneer3mm]

Strategic Missionary Work

I just started..reading the book.
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'Missionary Methods: St. Paul or Ours?'
- Ronald Allen
- Interesting/informative book
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Kindle ebook

 

[Inhocsigno]

It is indeed an excellent book, I confess to so far only having read less than a quarter of it. Yet it's so rich in information and useful ideas it's already helping to shape many of our current mission efforts.

 

[JoeySoley]

Same hear just starting it up. One of the other church-goers in my church also heard it's available on an e-book, maybe even audiotape. A lot of recent mission members are saying it's great, really has some specific things to help wherever doing the missions

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Yes it is in ebook form now too, I first heard about it part because a missionary family on way to France, in one of the churches in our main network in Texas, got ebook copies that they basically read on the plane trips between the US and Europe as they moved to get settled into the French town. It's very well written and really engaging for a non fiction work, reads like a story in many places and pulls you in, connecting you to the history of the missions since St. Paul and the practical ways of doing ministry using those lessons today, including in many 10/40 Window countries.

 

[Inhocsigno]

Just wanted to also mention another book that our mission teams have been finding very helpful, in same kind of style and theme similar to Strategic Missionary Work. This book is called, On Mission Together by Richard Noble. The area of focus is a bit different, the focus is more at the level of church organization and the efforts by churches themselves to help sponsor and support missions abroad. But there is also a lot of discussion on things from the perspective of the ministers working abroad, and how they connect with the churches and congregations at home. Several of our mission teams in Europe and other mission stations have found this very helpful.

 

[JoeySoley]

Thanks for the new book tip! I only saw some intro things on it so far, and the book jacket description but looks right up our alley. We def have been looking at things, to help improve our overall coordination across the mission. It's whole lot of moving parts like they say. And, I really like these books that get into the basics from the inside of the missions, how teams actually solve problems and coordinate with each other

 

[Inhocsigno]

Greetings Joey,
Yes that is indeed one of the best contributions of the book, that inside view with feel of "you are there". It really provides a birds eye view of what witnessing and evangelism actually feel like on a day to day basis, with an organization wide overview, something you rarely see even with the better missionary books.

 

[Inhocsigno]

One of my specialist publisher friends confirmed that On Mission Together is in fact, apparently available in many of the major Christian bookstores and has circulated into some of the smaller ones too. With as I understand, several translations either already available or in progress, which can be of great use for the teams in Europe that have recruited in locals.

 

[JoeySoley]

Wow thanks! A bit sheepish to admit, I hadn't even though of looking for the book in Christian bookstores, we've made it a habit to order online or find a copy in the library. But, it sounds like On the Mission Together is recent enough it might still be in circulation. There's a great Christian bookshop near our old hometown, sounds like it's worth making a phone-call next time in town to see if they might have what we're looking for. Great addition to our mission library and reading list.