Rob Myers with DOOR International says, “Many Deaf people have experienced a lot of misunderstanding and even a lot of oppression when it comes to the use of their own language. In certain countries and in certain contexts, Deaf people are told that their language is not a real language, that it’s monkey language, and that it’s not equivalent to written or spoken language.

“Some people have the notion that sign language can’t express everything that a spoken or written language can. Of course, none of that is true. Sign languages are rich, deep, complex languages. In fact, people could make the argument that sign languages are linguistically more complex than spoken or written languages.”

(Graphic courtesy of DOOR International)

Another misconception is that sign languages are simply a different medium of spoken or written language—for example, that Spanish Sign Language is Spanish in sign format.

“Back in the 1960s, linguists started to realize that, no, these languages have their own grammar, their own structure. They’re very, very distinct from the written languages around them,” Myers says.

By 2023, around a third of the countries of the world had recognized their country’s sign language as an official language. That number will continue to trend upward.

“Twenty percent of that recognition has happened just in the last five years,” Myers says.

This is a long-overdue change. Resources such as Bible translations and learning materials are scant in the around 375 sign languages known to exist. DOOR works to advance Bible translation, church planting, and evangelism by the Deaf for the Deaf. That has to be done in their heart languages, which are sign languages.

Pray for DOOR’s innovative translation work, and learn more about the facts, not fiction, of Deaf experience by visiting DOOR’s website.  Not sure where to start? Check out DOOR’s white paper here, which discusses myths as well as the best next steps for engaging with Deaf communities

You can also find DOOR International on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The header image is a representative photo depicting a Hearing person learning sign language in an online course. (Photo courtesy of SHVETS Production/Pexels)

Between 2.8-3 billion people in the world are still unreached, according to Scatter Global’s Jonathan Thiessen. This number is almost double what it was when many mission agencies were founded in the 1950s and 1960s.

In a sense, Christians have been losing ground when it comes to answering the Great Commission. In a recent study by Gordon Conwell, it’s estimated that 58,000 people a day are being added to the overall number of unreached people in the world. Additionally, only around one percent of the Christian population has gotten involved with reaching the unreached.

But what if there are more ways to do missions besides giving up a career, raising support, and moving overseas to focus primarily on full-time ministry?

A New Way

“Manpower Group releases an annual study called their Global Talent Crisis Survey… Every year for the past 12 years, they have been surveying countries around the world and they’re saying every year there’s been a jump of at least two percent of companies who are saying they cannot find the people that they need to staff their businesses,” Thiessen says.

(Photo courtesy of Operation Mobilization)

A talent crisis matters because Scatter Global is helping people turn their careers into passports for Christ. By taking a job in a strategic location, people can live out and share the Gospel through everyday life.

“We believe that this is God creating new avenues for people to go in, and actually for a larger segment of the Church to go into some of these areas — not just those who would be willing to leave their career to go off and do what we’ve called ‘normal ministry,’ but those who would see their profession, their educational background, [and] their expertise as a way to influence and impact many different industries in global cities around the world,” Thiessen explains.

Scatter Global is still relatively young. It began in 2016 as an Operation Mobilization initiative, but already, it’s making an impact in the world of missions.

In September, the organization was awarded the 2018 eXcelerate Award at the Missio Nexus conference for “innovation in training models and missionary preparation.” Scatter Global is returning to a tried-and-true method of sharing the Gospel.

Old Ways, New Days

“Throughout Church history, we’ve seen that many of the largest movements that have changed civilizations…were [when] merchants would take their businesses across Asia,” Thiessen says.

This model is producing stories of success in places across the Middle East and North Africa. For example, Thiessen describes how a black female nurse went into a male-dominated hospital where racism abounded. However, this nurse was determined to do her job for the glory of God regardless of the environment.

(Photo courtesy of Scatter Global)

People took notice of her work. The CEO asked her to train all the nurses, and soon after, she was also asked to train the doctors too. Over the next couple of years, while she was training, the hospital won an award for excellence. Thiessen says this hospital was the first in its region to win the international award

“She brought honor to the hospital, she brought honor to the CEO, and because of that, she was given a platform in that hospital where she was leading Bible studies with many of the women,” Thiessen says.

“[She] saw…a number of them come to faith and discipled those over a number of years. And so, as she did her work as unto the Lord, she lived out who God had uniquely created and shaped her to be. She saw transformation both socially, economically, but also spiritually within her context.”

Scatter Global is helping get people into places where the Gospel is desperately needed and, at times, inaccessible without meeting a Christian. By turning careers into an opportunity to enter a foreign country and live everyday life with people, Christians can live out a testimony for Christ, build relationships, and make an impact with the Gospel.

Get Involved With Scatter Global

Scatter Global is a collaboration of seven different mission agencies. It exists to come alongside people interested in living out what God has called them to in a global context.

“People can join Scatter Global. They create a profile which tells us a little bit about their professional background. It gives us some of the DNA of who they are, their expertise, [and] their years of experience, which allows us to then, in some cases, begin matching people up to actual job opportunities that we are coming across,” Thiessen says.

The organization helps in three main areas.

1. Finding jobs in specific locations globally.
2. Connecting individuals to a community as they prepare for a global context.
3. Guidance in the process.

Scatter Global is developing e-plans to help in these areas for each specific stage of the journey. Will you be a part of Scatter Global by joining, sharing, and praying?

“Our passion is really to see the churches embracing this and saying, ‘What would it look like for our people to be missional wherever they are — both here in their local context, but then also challenging them to consider doing that globally?’ So, we would just ask for prayers. We continue to interface with the Church that we would see more and more churches living this out here in a North American context,” Thiessen says.

Pray for Scatter Global as it builds connections for people globally and continuously strives to serve in the best ways possible. Ask God to give this organization guidance and wisdom.

Check out Scatter Global here!

Header photo courtesy of Operation Mobilization.

Todd Nettleton of the Voice of the Martyrs USA says leaders in Iran, European nations, and beyond are asking these questions:

“Where do we go from there? How do we keep these people out of our countries? If we let them back in, is there a way to rehabilitate them? To reprogram them and make them useful members of the wider society?

“As government leaders, that is something that is keeping people awake at night.”

While these are valid questions, Nettleton says Christians should approach the topic differently.

“As Christians, you know, we have the eternal assurance that Christ is going to win in the end. But it is a challenging time.”

Over the last few years, ISIS has been a major perpetrator of religious persecution, particularly against Christians. And yet, they are just one contributor to the rates of persecution against Christians that seem to grow and grow each year. Persecution can also come from the government, society, or other religious groups.

What is persecution?

Since persecution comes in so many shapes and sizes at varying degrees, it’s helpful to begin with the basics when we consider these trends.

“What is persecution? I think it is different in different places, it’s different for different people. The bottom line is, it’s when someone makes you pay a price for being a follower of Jesus Christ.

Persecution doesn’t only stem from governments, but also from extremist groups. (Photo and header photo courtesy of Voice of the Martyrs).

“The price that some people pay may be people laughing at them or people sort of shunning them in their workplace or in their school. Is that persecution? Yes. But it’s not the same as having someone put a gun to your head and saying, ‘Hey, are you a Muslim or a Christian? And by the way, if you don’t say Muslim, I’m going to kill you.’ That’s sort of a different level of persecution.”

In fact, he says that many times what we might call persecution here in the United States is better defined as discrimination. Typically, Christians do not face serious repercussions for their faith in countries with religious freedom like the United States.

The Voice of the Martyrs USA is deeply involved with supporting the Persecuted Church through a variety of struggles overseas. When someone mentions persecution, Nettleton says, “I think of people who are putting their lives on the line, people who are giving up their livelihood in order to share the Gospel, in order to be a lighthouse in their community.”

But just because we don’t face that kind of persecution doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be paying attention to it.

How can the global Church respond?

We can learn a lot from the Persecuted Church, including how to respond in situations where our faith may put us out of favor with someone else.

“I hope that the stories of our brothers and sisters who literally are putting their lives on the line inspires us in that moment to stand strongly for Christ and not to back down, but to boldly move forward and to continue to be a lighthouse and to share the Gospel and to pray for the people who the world would say are our enemies,” Nettleton says.

He brings the mind Matthew 5:11 which says, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (NIV)

This is an extremely difficult passage to process, especially if you haven’t faced extreme trials because of your faith. This is what makes the stories of the Persecuted Church so important to share.

“What I hope happens is we say ‘Wow, what would I do?’ and that forces us to wrestle in our spirit. It forces us to wrestle in the Scripture and wrestle in prayer, ‘What would I do?’ and get to the point that we understand the earth is not our home, America is not our home. Heaven is our home. We’re supposed to build our value system based on heaven and on eternity. And thinking about persecution, I think, helps put some things in perspective and helps us think about our real, eternal home.”

Furthermore, learning their stories can help you prepare for the unknowns in your future. Finally, keeping up to date with the struggles believers around the world are facing helps you know how to stand with them.

“There are going to be some places where you go and make disciples and it’s going to cost you something. And you might even be killed for going and making disciples in that context. And so, as the wider Body of Christ, we need to say, ‘If you go and are persecuted for making disciples, we will stand with you.’”

So when we hear “what if” stories or about the movement of groups like ISIS, Nettleton says he hopes that instead of dwelling on the unknown in fear, we will would be driven to pray.

“We need to think about our brothers and sisters in Northern Nigeria—our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world where it’s not just the possibility of an attack, it’s the probability of an attack.”

Voice of the Martyrs was founded to connect the Church in the west with Christians facing trials all over the world. Voice of the Martyrs helps to meet whatever needs the Persecuted Church has. This could be taking care of families financially while parents are imprisoned for their faith. It could mean providing an education for children who don’t really have opportunity because of their faith. It could be providing medication. If you’d like to support the work of the Voice of the Martyrs USA, click here.

For 70 years God has enabled InterVarsity to engage students and faculty with the Gospel. (Photo courtesy of InterVarsity)

USA (MNN) — World news isn’t very encouraging lately–at least the stuff that hits the headlines hasn’t been. Many people wonder what’s next. Is there any hope?

When you look at the generation just reaching adulthood now, what do you think? Before you look down on them and despair, consider these words from Greg Jao of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship about the changing mission field for campus ministries.

“On college university campuses, we’re beginning to watch the first group of students who belong to Generation Z,” he says.

Who is Generation Z, you ask?

Jao explains: “Generation Z is the population that grew up after 9/11. So the 9/11 reality of a world that’s filled with war and terrorism [and] collapsing economies has been the only reality they know.”

First of all, can you believe this week marks 13 years since 9/11? The students entering college now have no recollection of the event, yet they have only ever known the results of it.

Along with this, members of Generation Z are digital natives, Jao says. That means they have grown up in a world where they’ve always read from screens and always expect to.

Where does that leave campus ministries?

Jao says, “For InterVarsity, we’re asking all sorts of questions about how to engage this group of people.

“If this group of students, for example, didn’t grow up in an era of economic prosperity but have always been defined by the economic collapses…, what is the word of hope that we offer them? It’s not going to be the American Dream, and it’s not going to be just ‘find a good spouse and a good home and a good community and a good job.’ But they’re students who actually know that there’s real pain, real suffering, and real injustice in the world. And I believe that’s an entry point to the Gospel because the only solution to those issues is Jesus Christ working through the Church to transform our culture.”

It seems that this generation will not have the distraction of generations past of looking to a country for salvation and meaning. They know that isn’t enough.

The partnership between knowing the reality of pain in this world along with being immersed in a digital world creates a challenge for those trying to spread the Gospel. First of all, the attention span of Generation Z is incredibly low.

Jao says these digital students are used to jumping from link to link online, spending 15 minutes here and there instead of an hour in one location.

“We’re convinced they need to learn how to engage Scripture deeply,” Jao says. But spending 15 minutes in Scripture is not a deep venture. So, how do you teach them to study Scripture?

“This is a generation that communicates deeply through images, icons, and symbols rather than text messages,” Jao says.

Jao says InterVarsity is devoted to figuring out this new language so that they can effectively communicate the truth of the Gospel. They are considering how to evoke and provoke conversation through images and artwork.

This is different from the tactics many churches and organizations (and marketing campaigns) have been using to capture the attention of the previous generation.

“This is a generation that you cannot capture their attention merely by being gimmicky, by attempting to be trendy, or hoping for something to go viral. I think what will capture this generation’s attention is true community, where they encounter real people and real conversation,” Jao says.

There needs to be something more solid to provide the platform to share the Gospel.

“It’s a fascinating opportunity to engage this new generation,” Jao says. “It’s different from the one before, but what’s consistent is: everybody wants authentic relationship and everybody needs to hear the Gospel.”

Jao stresses that in 40-50 years, Generation Z will be in the leadership position. If there is a possibility for them to be shaped by Scripture and transformed by the Gospel, then maybe we should really think about what role we might play in that.

Jao explains that a group of people who communicate through images are essentially speaking a different language. Jao compares it to Bible translation. Instead of asking them to speak our language, he says we should meet them where they are: we should grow leaders who are fluent in their language and can communicate in order to share the truth about Jesus Christ. Then, perhaps, this generation can be taught how to develop a healthy attention span that lets them delve into Scripture.

Jao says even though this generation’s attention span is low, they actually have a high ability to focus when they are immersed in something. If they can spend hours playing a video game, they have the ability to spend hours in Scripture.

No matter what happens with this world, God is in control. “Even as generations change, what gives me incredible confidence is the Gospel continues to span generation after generation. What’s coming is no surprise to God,” Jao says

If you’re interested in supporting the work of InterVarsity, click here.

Please pray that God would equip InterVarsity to be an effective witness to His Gospel and character, and that they would be able to operate even under the tightening constraints of many campuses.

Since 1984, Buckner has been placing children into adoptive families has seen changes in adoption trends over the years, particularly in the last 4 decades.

Since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade in 1974, domestic infant adoptions have declined. There are more options available for single women who are pregnant today, says Carol Demuth, adoption supervisor for Buckner.

"Single parenthood is more acceptable," says Demuth. "There is less shame associated with getting pregnant as a single person. It's definitely changed the reasons why birth mothers place their children for adoption. Now, it's because they prefer their child to be raised in a two-parent home and they truly care for their child's future, not because they are ashamed."

As a result of this change in particular, Buckner has seen a dramatic drop in domestic adoptions. In 1996, Buckner assisted in 25 to 30 domestic infant adoptions annually. By 2011, that number had dwindled to five.

With domestic infant adoptions on the decline, more families are turning to alternative adoption options. One significant trend, Buckner reports, has been in the number of families adopting through foster care. In fact, from 1997 to 2000, there was a 65% increase in U.S. foster care adoptions.

More and more families are choosing this option for various reasons. For one thing, it's a much cheaper alternative to international adoption. Adoption through the foster care system is usually free after state reimbursements and tax credits are applied.

But finances are hardly the only reason for this trend. It's becoming increasingly acceptable for families with biological children to grow their families with adopted foster children, notes Buckner. Buckner has seen numerous single moms adopt this way, too. Even "empty nesters" who have the resources to start a family a second time are adopting.

Adopting this way is risky business. Foster care is intended to reunite children with birth parents, and families wishing to adopt can have their hearts broken. But families who do so are helping to meet a serious need. About 130,000 foster children are waiting nationwide for forever families.

Whatever the reasons for the trend, it is undoubtedly a good thing. A serious need is being met, and children who may never otherwise know the love of the Lord are being surrounded by godly and loving families. Pray that God would continue to call families and even individuals to this important field.