The Portal

Watch this video about Uncertainty…

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7339642080224082879[/googlevideo]

“Go and make disciples of all the nations.” So begins the Great Commission. But are we obeying Christ’s call?

The Perspectives class is a great way to enter the Great Commission. It begins at the Hudson Community Chapel on January 12^th and meets Mondays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Or take the class on Tuesday evenings, beginning January 13^th at Grace Christian Missionary Alliance Church in Middleburg Heights.

All our new ministries are so exciting: the Discovery Groups, the International Student Ministry, Crossroads, and the Western Ohio Enterprise demonstrate how many in our fellowship are pursuing the Great Commission.

But are we taking the gospels to “all the nations” by participating in God’s work around the globe?

[callout]Meet missionaries serving in the Middle East or in cannibal tribes or the slums of India[/callout]

What Will You Discover?

If you want God to rock your world, take Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. The fifteen-week course offers a challenging look at the theology, history, and methods of missions. It’s appropriately titled, as any alumni will agree: the class transforms your view of God, the gospel, the world, and your part in God’s plan.

Meet missionaries serving in the Middle East or in cannibal tribes or the slums of India. What stories they tell, and the pictures and insights! This is a typical night at Perspectives class.  It means developing deep convictions and new understandings you never held before.

“It was really eye-opening to see how much of the world doesn’t have access to the gospel and what missionaries are doing that we have no idea about,” Diana Michalek said. She also loved learning about the many indigenous movements such as the underground church in China. Her favorite memories of the class include a video about how a tribe in Papua New Guinea came to Christ and hearing Don Richardson (author of The Peace Child­) speak.

It’s so easy to get bogged down in our own culture’s version of Christianity, but it isn’t an Americanized belief,” said Jackie Leon. “Learning about missions broadened my understanding of the way the Lord works around the world.” This was important to Jackie because a secular friend told her Christianity was a Western religion, but the Perspectives class helped her understand that, “God doesn’t want every church to be like the Western church.”

Practical Learning

“We’re learning about things we can do here,” Diana said.

Ryan Leon agreed: “It really helped to learn about the history of missions, what worked and didn’t work in different fields.”

Be forewarned: Perspectives will change you. Diana, Jackie, and Ryan have taken new steps to financially support missions work, write to missionaries, teach others about missions, reach out to international students, and learn more through reading. The Gibsons, missionaries to Taiwan, took the course as freshman in college and asked, “If we’re able to go, why not go?” It’s a scary question, but the Gibsons are so glad they asked it.

“I recommend every Christian take Perspectives,” Jackie said.

Check out perspectives.org for more information and to register soon!

Video Describing the Course

[googlevideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7015285992431636337[/googlevideo]

When classes are finished, we will have a Body Meeting Christmas Celebration Gala. There are several exciting and inter-connected efforts in-motion which we must explain beyond the few leaders and workers currently involved. As fast as we can, we’re posting it in the NeoZine, as podcasts and YouTube videos:

The Columbus Love Ethics Seminar now has its own Web space which also provides (new and improved) material for NeoXenos ministries.

Christian Persecution 101: view it at the bottom of the page or as a full-page Powerpoint presentation of Keith’s teaching at the recent Word/CBS worker’s meeting. (You can also see the full teaching as a 30-minute Google Video)

A new version underway...

Revolutionary Christianity: related to persecution is the biblical mandate for Christians to impact the culture. Unfortunately, Christianity is meek and growing meeker – is it happening with us? Watch out for these provocative studies and insights.

Future High School and College ministries – Xenos reaches “church outsiders” with the Gospel message; but how can we reach more “Millenials” alienated from Christianity? Related to this, a growing bias against Christianity in public policies (especially in education) provide wonderful opportunities to spread the Gospel, we think. These policies violate constitutional freedoms specifically for Christians, and federal judges are overturning them fast, but they keep growing. These are welcome trends, and we want to jump on them and understand how to work with them.

Uncommon Sense – a booklet similar to “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine. Keith and Kalie Brooks are collaborating to write a simple, readable, small booklet for the MySpace generation. It is a series of pictures contrasting the Kosmos and God’s Kingdom. The reader is invited to pursue a hopeful future. The booklet is tied to Persecution 101, Revolutionary Christianity, and our school strategies.

Meetings without boundaries – the New Testament church was highly mobile, and we are studying this further. This Fall we stepped into some “meeting fluidity”, and we are now studying how the early church managed this. Our interest is to plant and plant without getting stretched too thin in the process.

Additional Background

For about six months we’ve been generating some articles which provide some background to these new initiatives:

• The Protestant Reformation Series at the NeoZine surveys current church movements from a historical and biblical perspective. It explains the need to break away from Institutionalized Christianity. Noteworthy articles include:
  • The Fears in Legalism – the rise of Christian legalism and the differences between Old and New Covenants in the Bible.
  • The Dawn of Covenant Theology and Heartless Institutions – help Christian workers explain the problem of church history, which is a popular objection today.
  • The Fear Factor – is a bridge to these new ministry efforts, especially the “sending” strategy underway.
• “I had a dream…” is an anecdotal (humorous) background for these “sending strategy”. (A followup is due shortly.)

Please pray for us!

We need help!

• We need help researching, organizing, sharpening and publishing useful tools for our growing ministry!
• We need to catch up with our finances, because money is quickly becoming a limiting factor in this effort!