28 Dec Using Online Games to Teach Kids about Missions

Jessica Hollopeter (right), Global Ministries staff working with One Mission Society

Whether you are a parent, Sunday school teacher or Vacation Bible School leader, you’ve probably tried at some point to get your kids interested in missions. But let’s face it: kid-friendly resources can be hard to find. Now, however, One Mission Society (with its World Headquarters in Greenwood, Ind.) has a fantastic website devoted entirely to getting kids involved in missions!

The Global Access Mission Explorer (GAME) website takes kids on an interactive scavenger hunt through five countries (with more added every quarter), teaching them local customs and introducing them to missionaries and nationals working to share the Gospel in their country. Along the way, kids also learn how to pray for missionaries and help them in fun and creative ways.

Kids aren’t the only ones who will love the website, though. There are also great resources for parents and teachers! The Missions to the Max series takes kids around the world, presenting missionary stories, games, cultural facts, and recipes from more than 20 countries. Homeschool families have also found the website to be a great resource for teaching kids about mission projects they can do at home.

The goal behind the website is simple – get kids of all ages involved in missions, whether through learning, going, giving, or praying. New materials are added weekly, with content especially designed to get kids excited about serving God. It is truly your one-stop resource for all of your mission needs!

27 Dec Pray for the North Korean Church

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

With the recent death of Kim Jong-Il, many are asking what lies ahead for North Korea. Dr. Carl Moeller of Open Doors comments:

“Today marks a significant day in North Korean history. Though this brutal dictator, who was responsible for so many atrocities, has died, the future is still unknown. Some speculate that his son Kim Jong-Un will be just as cruel to all dissenters. Others suggest that he may be more lenient. We simply do not know the future of North Korea, but God does.

“This is why it is vital that Christians around the world pray for North Korea during this transitional time. Pray especially for the brave Christians inside North Korea. They are fearful that they might face even more suffering. There are an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 Christians being held in North Korean prison camps where they face even more horrific treatment than other prisoners. People are starving to death. The people of North Korea are living a nightmare that never ends.”

Remember the suffering church around the world and particularly the church in North Korea. A number of mission organizations have personnel from neighboring countries living and sharing the gospel within North Korea. Pray for them as well.

20 Dec How Your Thank Offering Gifts are Being Used

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Here are some ways your Thank Offering gifts have already been used in the last few months.

Resourcing Workers

In India, we provided 30 church planters and pastors with Old Testament and New Testament Bible commentaries in the Telugu language. Most of these pastors have no Bible helps whatsoever.

Leadership Development

In India, we provided the same group of 30 church planters and pastors with a three-day training event that featured, an overview of 1 John and five characteristics of effective leaders.

In the Philippines, we provided $8000 to hold a leadership development event with 65 pastors and lay participants from our Philippine UB churches. During this time, we worked on their national documents, presented the history of the United Brethren denomination, taught the five characteristics of effective leaders, and gave a number of other practical messages related to evangelism and church planting.

Business as Mission

We provided $10,000 toward the support of a Business as Mission training team headed to Sierra Leone in January 2012. The team of eight will present a five-day workshop with two separate groups–first in Bo, then in Freetown. The participants will consist of church planters, pastors, and lay members seeking to develop alternative means by which to support ministry.

Additional Administrative Support

We hired Frank Y as an additional associate director, overseeing personnel and working to advance our Business as Mission efforts. Funding is being used to assist in his salary and travel budget.

Strengthening the Work of International Partners

Funds were used this past year to bring Behnan (last name withheld) from Turkey to the US National Conference in July 201. He offered a workshop at the conference and spoke in some of our churches. Behnan coaches Turkish church planters and workers throughout Turkey, which is less than 1% Evangelical.

19 Dec Death of Jenaya Bonner’s Grandfather

Jenaya Bonner, part of the Global Ministries staff in Macau, is on her way back to the States. Her grandfather passed away on Sunday afternoon, December 18, 2011. She had hoped to arrive before her grandfather’s passing. Please remember Jenaya and her grandmother, who has been quite weak as well. The funeral will take place Friday, December 23, in Huntington, Ind.

You can contact Jenaya at:

6187 N. Mayne Rd.
Roanoke, Ind. 46783
Email: jbonner@ubglobal.org

15 Dec More Persons Needed for Jamaica Work Trips

In January and February, 3 work teams will travel to Jamaica to work on completing the dorm at Malvern Camp. We need more people, especially for the second and third weeks.

Week 1: January 28 – February 4. Eight persons are currently signed up.
Week 2: February 4-11. Just four persons have signed up.
Week 3: February 11-18. Only three persons have signed up.

The cost of the trip is $500 plus airfare, but if someone commits to a second or third week it would be $500 for the initial week and then $150 per week after.

Needed by Global Ministries before you sign up are the following:

• a valid passport.
• completed application form.
• info needed for booking flights (name as it appears on passport, passport number, date of birth, date of issue and expiration of passport).

If you are interested in going to Jamaica one of these weeks, please contact Donna Hollopeter in Global Ministries.

15 Dec Child Sponsorship in Haiti

Through our child sponsorship program with CH Global in Haiti, we are able to offer Saturday Children’s Programming for both our sponsored children and those living in the community. Approximately 6500 meals were provided to children through these programs in 2011 at an average cost of 55 cents per meal. In fact the program has been so successful that our Delmas 33 United Brethren church in Port Au Prince increased the frequency from once to four times per month. This has resulted in the children benefiting from consistent programming and the provision of nutritious meals.

In addition to the nutritional program, positive interaction is demonstrated through games, and spiritual development is addressed through Bible stories and scripture memorization. Children are influenced consistently, and are finding faith in Christ along with their families.

Plans for 2012 include implementing a Saturday program at the Croix des Bouquet UB church. The church/school is completed and serves well for stability, thus increasing the success of this program.

14 Dec Mission-Net 2011: in Europe, for Europe, by Europe

Arek and Donna Delik (right) are UB endorsed missionaries in Poland serving with Operation Mobilization in church planting and other ministries. The Deliks are excited about Mission-Net 2011, a large missions conference for European young people being held in Germany December 28 – January 2.

Operation Mobilization, one of several hundred mission organizations and Christian networks supporting this conference, hopes to send 50 Poles for conference. Donna Delik reported in early December that 25 Poles had already registered for the conference, and they hope to send a full busload of 50 Poles.

Mission-Net is held every two years “in Europe, for Europe, and by Europe.” The 2011 conference is the second Mission-Net.

13 Dec News and Thanks from the Deliks in Poland

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Arek and Donna Delik (right) are UB endorsed missionaries in Poland, doing church planting and other ministries with Operation Mobilization. The Deliks received $10,000 from our Easter/Self Denial Offering toward the completion of the Youth Drug/Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre in Kutno. Donna wrote:

Thank you very much for the UB donation for the building project again. We are so overwhelmed by the great support we receive from the churches in the States and Canada. It’s not just about finance, but the many other ways like sending us team and individual churches sending us cards, etc. Please thank everyone on our behalf!

The following information, written by Donna, came from their December 2011 newsletter.

These days, besides teaching English, I have been working with my computer most of the time, doing a lot of financial work for the church, building project, OM, and Mission-Net 2011. I am not sure if it is too much computer work or because of the shorter days and longer hours of darkness, but I feel very sleepy all the time. I have decided to do something a little bit different for a few days: I joined Arek to do some handy work in the building, painting 100 planks for our new gates. It shouldn’t be hard, I suppose, yet it took us almost 2 hours to prepare the place for the work in the very first day.

Even though this winter is mild compared to last year, the temperature drops to sub-zero in the mornings, which isn’t very suitable to paint the planks, not to mention that it is a bit too cold to work outdoors. However, the cold didn’t diminish our determination, and we “created” a little warm workshop inside the building to get the work done. Even though it was hard work and my feet stayed cold all the time, it was a nice break from the routine, and frankly, we quite enjoyed doing something different together. After that, we rewarded ourselves with a nice meal.

09 Dec “Made in China” Week in Poland

Donna Delik (right), UB Endorsed Missionary Poland

In October a team of 8 persons from the UB churches of Hong Kong Conference traveled to Poland to work with Arek and Donna Delik, UB endorsed missionaries serving with Operation Mobilization. Donna is originally from Hong Kong. Donna wrote the following about the visit.

Chinese calligraphy, erhu music, Kung-Fu tea and Taoism: what brought them all together? These were some of the elements of our colorful Chinese week “Made in China” in October. Our dear brothers and sisters from Hong Kong travelled thousands of miles to Poland to share the gospel through Chinese culture with people they had never met.

The small team of 8 people demonstrated the kind of servanthood Jesus Christ taught us. We were very encouraged by their self-denial and serving attitude. Everyone was willing to step up to help the others without being asked. They didn’t speak a single Polish word, but their sincerity and warm-hearted personality broke the language barrier.

We met with teenagers in schools, who were enchanted by the vivid talk on the structure and development of Chinese language. Writing Chinese calligraphy proved to be challenging yet fascinating. We also held various meetings for the public in the community center. Pastor Carol Chan’s talk comparing “Truth” in Taoism and Christianity, presented the gospel very clearly to the audience. We believe that the seed was sown and pray that God will make it grow.

We enjoyed working with them, sharing meals at home together and drinking coffee in the local café. Fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ is a wonderful thing. We were truly blessed and encouraged by the team.

09 Dec $10,000 From Self Denial Offerings Goes to Mexico

Bishop Denis and Reina Casco

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

Global Ministries continues to disperse funds raised as part of our Easter/Self Denial Offerings. Among our recipients have been the United Brethren churches of Mexico Conference. Bishop Denis Casco sends the following message:

“The news of the $10,000 allocated for Mexico is a great blessing as we are involved in various church planting projects. The following is a list of projects that will be helped with these funds.

• Completion of construction at the Adonai Church in the State of Michoacan.
• The new construction in Queretaro in one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
• Training pastors and leaders (two per year).
• Various Vacation Bible Schools, which have been a tremendous source of growth among our churches.

“God has provided in miraculous ways in Mexico, as there is little money from the churches to support special projects like these. But there are always very good friends like you who support us. I am extremely grateful for this, and hope God continues to bless the work in Mexico.”