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Sneak Peaks
There's a few exciting things coming up... **Feb. 27th The Reveal Cards launch (and I'm looking for a inviting you to be part of the team to help get the word out). In case you are not sure what The Reveal Cards are, they are a multi-purpose deck of 48 square picture cards to be used for evangelism and discipleship. They help you get into spiritual conversations and can also be used in small groups and discipleship times. They have been tested and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People love using pictures to share their thoughts about life. Learn more about it here. Join the launch team. It's super easy and I can give you a discount for helping! Just click this link and scroll down a little and click the red button(s) that say, Support with Facebook (or Twitter or Tumblr) and that's it. Then on Feb. 27th when The Reveal Cards launch it will automatically post about it for you. It will literally take you maybe one minute and would make an impact. What do you say? Can you pop on over? Shoot me an email afterward and I'll give you a discount code. **God's Attributes Mosaic. On the Missional Women site we have a couple free downloadable/printable ministry events called the Prayer Mosaic and Discipleship Mosaic. The prayer mosaic is 8 stations that are set up with different things to pray for at each station. It is requested to do again and again because of how powerful the time is of connecting with the Lord. The discipleship mosaic is similar that it has 8 tables, but rather than being primarily a time of praying and connecting with the Lord personally, it is a time of connecting with a small group of people. The groups stay together and move to the next table station after having a theme they discussed with interaction at each station. Each of the topics are foundational topics that make for a strong multiplying disciple. So the God's Attributes is in the works and will be available within the next couple months. It will be a combination of the Prayer Mosaic and Discipleship Mosaic. As in it will be a personal prayer experience yet with foundational truths that build people into stronger disciples. What's New? JOURNALS These journals are a tested and effective way to study the Bible in your time with the Lord. The journal uses helpful questions called the 7 P's; Paraphrase, Process, Pursue understanding, Principles, Praise, Personal application and Prayer. The Journals have all the questions listed for one chapter a day with space to fill in your own thoughts. They guide you through a personal quiet time with the Lord helping you to hear from Him and act on what you've read. Here's the brand new ones! Colossians, Genesis, Revelation & Acts Check them out. Resources Highlight Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for Satisfaction by my friend Asheritah Ciuciu, a writer and speaker who helps women find joy in Jesus in the midst of an overwhelming life. She and her husband, Flaviu, grew up in Romania but now raise their spunky children in northeast Ohio. She blogs at www.OneThingAlone.com. This book is for you if you feel stuck in a seemingly endless cycle of overeating, yo-yo dieting, and obsessive thoughts about food. Asheritah shares honestly about her own battles with food and reveals the path to freedom. You'll discover the joy of living free from food fixation so you can experience deeper satisfaction in Christ, gain a renewed sense of purpose, and yes, even enjoy good good (without regret). A healthier relationship with food through a stronger relationship with Christ-that's the goal of Full. Check it out. And it even has a companion journal. The Good News About Gender; A Bible Study for Young Adults by Hannah Rasmussen who grew up in Tanzania and Kenya as a missionary kid. She loves sharing her faith and advocating for justice and serves the Lord full time. She currently works as an editorial assistant on the Africa Study Bible and is pursuing her Masters in Nairobi. This Bible study digs into what God's Word says about our bodies, relationships, identities and calling to serve God in the world. It has fun stuff throughout like: Things to explore, clips to watch, things to discuss and pray, and a call to action. The Compass: A helpful website for disciplers (This is primarily intended when discipling college students but can be contextualized to all ministry spheres.) Verge Network This is a site that will keep you motivated and knowing how to move forward in living on mission for the glory of God. They have a ton of free, encouraging stuff like blog posts, , short films spoken words, ebooks, webinars and more. You'll just have to explore around a bit.
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Sometimes God Wants Us in the Most Humbling Place
This video is just a WOW. Such beautiful insight shared about Jesus being in a trough and what that means for us. Encouragement for Making Living on Mission a Habit I recently read this fascinating article about Alzheimer's and faith called Alzheimer's, the brain and the soul. Here's a quote: "What rhythms of faith I want to have in my life right now. What spiritual disciplines are regular enough for me that they will “stick” even when I am deep into forgetting?" Reading Plans If you are looking for a Bible reading plan for the new year the Missional Women app has one as well as Bible Gateway, that has many to choose from. Here they are: Bible reading plans. If you're looking for a reading list of Missional books or books I recommend, here they are. Bible Translation At the conference we are going to challenge the students to sponsor a verse to be translated into a language of an unreached people group through the Seed Company. So I thought I'd share with you too how you can sponsor a verse. And here's some good videos on why and how God's Word impacts peoples lives. Leap of Faith A Father's Faith, a Daughters Trust, a Magnificent God Roselines Story Strangest Places Why Bible Translation Sharing the Gospel Training This week I saw this top quality, free training by Pastor Greg Laurie: Tell Someone Online Training Course. I did the first lesson and it really looks great! So if you want to grow in your ability and desire to share the Gospel this next year, check it out. Kids Living Missionally Training Course I also just saw Ann Dunagan's 3-D Kids course for kids to help them become daring, doing, disciples. Plan to Live Out Your Calling in 2017 Also, if you're looking for a workbook to help you start off the new year with a plan to live out your purpose in light of your uniqueness for the glory of God. Check out Discover God's Calling. It will help you understand your uniqueness's and how to use them to live missionally and you'll be able to come up with a realistic plan for the year. Using Facebook Live to Share the Gospel with Unreached People Groups This last week I experimented using the Reveal Cards to share my testimony/the Gospel on Facebook Live and then boosted the post into countries that had unreached people groups. Here's the video. It's Not About Me November and Max Lucado wrote a super great book called Not About Me (which is one of my favorite books!) I thought I'd tell you that Faith Gateway is doing a free online advent Bible study with Max Lucado. Here's the info if you're interested. I haven't done it but it's Max Lucado so I'm pretty sure it will be awesome.
Randy Alcorn (another favorite author) shared a great post this week that I think all parents of young kids should read. (So if you don't have young kids, it's worth passing on to those you know that do.) It's called Parents; It's Time to Wake up About Porn, Sexting and Your Children. And one more thing! Melissa Bradley (who was a contributor for quite some time) posted the cutest video of her little girl on facebook and it went crazy with over 12 million views. Have you seen it? "Don't be a poot mouth." Bible Study Journals
The 7 P's is my absolute most favorite way to get into God's Word and spend time hearing from Him. About each week I am adding new books of the Bible, so check out the new ones. And if you haven't tried using these yet, you've got to try it! If you don't love it I'll give you your money back. :) The Connect Cards A tool for small groups to connect deeper with the Lord, each other and the Great Commission. The Thrive Discipleship Study Are you discipling/mentoring someone? Is your women's ministry starting a discipleship program? This is the perfect thing to help them get into God's Word together each week and will build a new or young believer into a strong multiplying disciple. And in case you are looking for some new good reading, here's my: Recommended Reading List Currently Reading List Oh and in case you need Bibles to give away are some other books, ChristianBook.com is having a 99% off a lot of stuff sale till the 17th. Check it out. And I just have to tell you about my sweet friend and past contributor made this incredible coloring through Ephesians book. Check out how awesome it is. Genius if you ask me. And... oh my... I hope you're hanging in there with me... Another incredible friend, Ann Dunagan wrote a kids book that is now my absolute favorite (and my kids)!! It's called, The Whole World Needs Jesus. It is so good that I have been trying to think of kids I can give it to in bulk. This week I came across some really wonderfully fascinating things. First a documentary about gardening. I am almost the furthest thing from a gardener and I still loved it. The guy is just such a shining example of God using someone's gifts to glorify Himself. It's called Back to Eden and you can watch it for free.
Along those same lines of people using their passions to glorify God, I got these videos to use with our science curriculum and they are wonderfully heart-awing. (I know that's not really a word, but it can be now right). Watching and hearing about creatures God made and the things I never knew about them puts me in awe of God. These videos are made for adults but my kids were totally engaged. It's called Creation Proclaims. I also found a bit of time to get out the new Missional Women Prayer Mosaic to you. Yay! If you've done a prayer mosaic before I bet you'll see some new stations in this one (since I made them up). And if you haven't enjoy! I love how these help you connect deeply with the Lord. It has everything you'd need to host your own and some fun pictures from the one we had at the conference. Check it out. Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits & Attitudes.
These are great little books that give illustrations to help explain concepts and truths of wisdom. Here's one of the habitude books and the description: The art of engaging communication- More robust than the other Habitudes, this new book is filled with sixteen communication principles and images, to be read, discussed and applied as a team. Each chapter contains discussion questions as well as personal application and practical suggestions for you to use to develop your communication. In the "Habitudes of an Effective Communicator" you will learn: How to captivate even young audiences with your message. How to walk listeners through the mental "seasons" of a presentation. How to feel poised from start to finish during your delivery. How to get your point across in a matter of minutes. How to engage people at the heart level and foster life-change. How to craft the stages of a message which will prepare listeners to act. How to motivate listeners to "own" your message. Other habitude books: The art of self-leadership The art of connecting with others. The art of leading others The art of changing a culture The art of navigating transitions America's Godly Heritage This is a DVD that blew my mind about our country and how it was founded. There is quote after quote from our founding fathers. This is a great resource, especially right now when it seems there is a huge need for Christians to engage in politics. Here's the description of the DVD. Discover the Founders' beliefs on the role of Biblical principles in government, education, and public affairs. Accompanied by color portraits and captivating scenes from America's history, this video provides an excellent overview of our Founders' design for America and prescribes step for restoring the values we have lost. David Barton is the founder of WallBuilders, an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious, and constitutional heritage. David is author of numerous best-selling works and a national award-winning historian who brings a fresh perspective to history. Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution. I am a little bias toward videos like this that talk about God's creation because I find it so fascinating. But these really are top notch in content and quality. The DVD's talk about different animals that expose how macro evolution is impossible. Here's the description of these videos. (3 volumes) Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution presents powerful evidence that proves that animal designs can only be attributed to a creator. They cannot possibly be explained by evolution. This program will inspire you to look more closely at the world around you. Incredible Creatures 3 enters the fascinating world of animals to reveal sophisticated and complex designs that shake the traditional foundations of evolutionary theory. For the past 20 years, Dr. Jobe Martin has been fascinating his students as he lectures on these remarkable animals that cannot be explained by traditional evolution. Here is a preview. (You can also rent them.) 5 Little known Factors that Enhance your Relationship with God. The resources below are related to the fourth element that helps us grow; Fellowship (I use the term fellowship interchangeably with Community).
Resources: How to have Real Community {Video}- Francis Chan talking about how to find and have real fellowship. Missional Fellowship- This article talks about the role of evangelism in fellowship. Essential Elements of Healthy Fellowship {Video}- This is a video where a couple other staff women and I discuss thoughts on fellowship. Three Simple Ways to Cultivate Community- This article shares helpful ideas to help grow in connecting with other believers. The Connect Cards- A Creative, Interactive Resource for Small Group Leaders The Connect Cards deck has four essential elements: Connect with Scripture (for the leader), Connect with God (prayer), Connect with Each Other (group interaction), and Connect with The Mission (ministry). There are eleven cards per section, with forty-four cards total. Each week during your small group Bible Study, chose one card from each section. (There are eleven cards per section) All four categories combined (depending on the size of your group) should last about 30-45 minutes to your group time. If you are short on time, you can do one or two cards a week to go through or you can choose to go through one section/card at a time. Tailor fit this creative deck to fit your group. Thrive Discipleship Bible Study {Community}- The Thrive Discipleship Bible study is what we recommend to go through with new believers. I've attached the week on fellowship/community. The Importance of Restoring Community- Another article on community. 5 Little known Factors that Enhance your Relationship with God. The resources below are related to the third element that helps us grow; Evangelism.
(There are affiliate links listed in these resources . If you appreciate the ministry of Missional Women, please consider supporting us through these links. Thanks!) Books: The Unexpected Adventure- This is one of my very favorite books. It is a bunch of stories of God showing off when people stepped out in faith. It is so incredibly visionary for sharing your faith. I just can't tell you enough how great this book is! I actually heard about it from a friend of mine when she was in seminary as it was required reading. Seriously, so good!! Hells Best Kept Secret- Ray Comfort points out a great need in our evangelism these days. He talks about how easy it is to share the Gospel without really talking about sin and instead offer a love, joy, peace Gospel. This book is excellent in helping see the need to talk about sin and how to use the 10 commandments in evangelism in a conversational way. 101 Evangelism Ideas- This is a book written by a friend of mine. My husband and I both have ideas in here. It is a great resource for how to use things in your every day life to share the Gospel. Resources: Soularium- This is a deck of picture cards with 5 questions to help you get into a spiritual discussion with people. People feel very listened to and cared for using this tool and it gives you a really great understanding of where someone is at spirutally. Then you can easily transition into sharing what you believe. Testimony worksheet {Free Printable}- Here is an article with tips on how to prepare your testimony in a way that makes it usable in many situations. Sharing your testimony is a time to brag on God and how He rescued you from hell, pretty big deal! Knowing God Personally Booklets- These are a helpful tool to share the Gospel. It helps keeps the conversation on track and allows for you to give to someone that they can look through after your conversation. Who is This Jesus Mini Magazine- This is a great resource for people who have little knowledge of Jesus. It can function as a gift you give someone or a Bible study you can go through with a non-believer. Perspective Cards- This is a resource to help get into a spiritual conversation and uncover what someone's worldview is. 12 Simple & Effective Women's Ministry Outreach Events- This is a list of ideas that can be used for women's ministries that will help provide a context to share the Gospel. 5 Ways to Pop the Christian Bubble- Sometimes it is so easy to become trapped in a Christian bubble and then realize we don't actually know anyone that isn't a Christian. This is a helpful article with ideas of how to actually find people to share the Gospel with. 5 Little known Factors that Enhance your Relationship with God. The resources below are related to the secondelement that helps us grow; Prayer.
(There are affiliate links listed in these resources . If you appreciate the ministry of Missional Women, please consider supporting us through these links. Thanks!) Books: Operation World; The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. This prayer handbook has: All the countries of the world featured, maps of each country, geographic information, people groups within country, economic information, political information, religious make-up of each country, daily prayer calendar, answers to prayer, and challenges for prayer. Window on the World; When we Pray God Works- This is the kids version for Operation World. "Window on the World is your ticket to travel around the world! Find out how God is changing the lives of families everywhere through prayer-from the frozen arctic to the hottest desert, on the highest mountains and in crowded cities. Window on the World brings alive the culture, history, and traditions of all sorts of different people. With ‘Fact Files’ and ‘Do You Know?’ features, each section brings you information, true stories, maps, and easy-to-use prayer points that take you into homes around the world. See how children live, what they like to do, what they eat and wear and what they hope and dream." Pray for the World- Christian leaders in every country were asked, "How should the body of Christ throughout the world be praying for your country?" Their responses provide the prayer points in this book, with specific ways your prayers can aid the global church. Each entry includes: challenges for prayer and specific on-the-ground reports of answers to prayer, population and people group statistic, charts and maps of demographic trends, updates on church growth, with a focus on evangelicals, and explanations of major currents in economics, politics and society.Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders- This book comes highly recommended by the President of our ministry Too Busy Not to Pray- Both my husband and I were encouraged by this book and the motivation it provides to pray. There's also a study guide with DVD. Resources: Prayer Mosaic- This free printable has everything you need to set up a really powerful prayer night. Top Ten Printable - Little printable card where you can write down the top ten people you'd like to come to Christ and tuck it somewhere you'd see it everyday to remind you to pray fo them. Weekly Prayer List free printable - Just print, laminate and write down specific people and things with a dry erase marker. The Connect Cards - A resource to accompany small groups. One of the elements that lasts 11 weeks is a bunch of great things to pray for together. 9 Powerful Scriptures to Post on your War Room Wall How to Turn your Car into a War Room 70 Verses to Pray Printable Prayer Ideas- I've mentioned these guys before, but there I is just so much good stuff. JoshuaProject.net is a super great site that defines where we are at reaching the world with the Gospel. They have super great tools like their prayer ideas tab as well as a ton of other great stuff. Verse of the Day Monthly prayer List |
Laura Krokos
Laura, the founder of Missional Women is married and has five kids. Laura and her husband have been missionaries to college students for 12 years serving with Master Plan Ministries and has authored 5 books. You can find her at the places below.
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February 2017
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