Cross cultural mission leaders – join us next Thursday for a leadership discussion on “Trends you need to know” in global & cross cultural missions, noon-1:30. The TCAMP network meets Jan. 12, Mar. 8 and May 10 in the first half of 2012. Read more below about each leadership topic.

Other Missions Resources

• Perspectives on the World Christian Movement – classes in Brooklyn Park (Grace Fellowship, Sunday evenings)) and Roseville (Grace Church Roseville, Tuesday evenings) begin next week. Read announcement here and contact Wayne Corrigan, Larry Peterson or Shari Koch to learn more. 
• Midwest Conference on Missionary Care -  consider sending people from your missions committee to the 2012 MC2 conference on February 24 & 25 hosted at New Hope Church in the Twin Cities. This year’s theme is “A Caregiver’s Guide to the Missionary Heart” and includes workshops by many experienced missions pastors, agency leaders and mission field workers. Learn more at www.mctwo.org.

TCAMP 2012

Beginning in January, TCAMP will meet at a new time every other month. The network will meet from noon-1:30 on the second Thursday of every other month (except in the summer).

These sessions are open to anyone engaged or interested in global and cross-cultural missions; church leaders, missionaries, lay leaders and other volunteers.

2012 TCAMP Meeting Dates
Noon – 1:30 (Track updates online at www.transformmn.org)

• January 12: Trends you need to know: changes and developments in cross-cultural missions. Hosted at Wooddale Church.
• March 8: Justice and Compassion in Evangelical Missions. (Hosted at North Heights Lutheran Church – Arden Hills).
• May 10
• September 13
• November 8

Thursday, January 12 Topic: 

“Trends You Need to Know: changes and developments in cross cultural missions”.

This will be a great session to learn more about several new and developing trends in cross cultural missions. We will have different speakers give quick, 15-minute descriptions of 5 different trends in missions, including the The 4-14 Window (children), Business As Mission, Missions to Diaspora Peoples, Reaching Global Cities, and Technology for Missions.

On January 12 we will meet at Wooddale Church Eden Prairie from noon-1:30.

Put these five dates on your calendar for 2012. The Twin Cities is privileged to have a strong, collaborative missions community and we hope this new schedule and format will enhance the movement. Few other US cities have this benefit, so come take advantage of this valuable resource.

Do you have questions?

Contact Carl Nelson at Transform Minnesota ( carl@transformmn.org) or write to TCAMP@transformmn.org.

You may also talk to one of the steering team members who are helping to create the 2012 schedule:

Mark Bendell, Pastor of Missions and Outreach at Westwood Community Church 

Carol Buchannan, Wooddale Worldwide 

Tim Hatt, Pastor of Kingdom Expansion at Hosanna! Lutheran Church 

Herb Janes, Director of Global Ministries New Hope Church

Kim Sollie, Missions Director at North Heights Lutheran Church 

Dan Woodbury, missions lay leader at the Mills Church, and staff at David C Cook Communications

ABOUT TCAMP

TCAMP has 2 goals:

1. Connect mission leaders to add momentum to the global missions movement.
2. Support the professional development of mission movements by sharing best practices and opportunities for learning.

TCAMP serves as a professional peer network for mission leaders from church staffs, mission committees, field workers and other ministry entities.

New Time: TCAMP meeting times will change slightly, beginning at noon and ending at 1:30. They will still be “brown bag” lunches (so bring your own meal) and the host sites (TBA) will provide beverages and desserts.

Wayne Corrigan, Perspectives co-coordinator invites you to attend the 15-week course beginning in January 2012.

• Grace Fellowship in Brooklyn Park, each Sunday, 5:30-8:30 pm, beginning January 8, 2012.
• Grace Church in Roseville, each Tuesday, 6:30-9:30 pm, beginning January 10, 2012

If you would like to learn more contact these people:

• Northwest Metro Brooklyn Park area:  Larry Petersen, petersen651@comcast.net    (612) 990-5498
• North Central Metro Roseville area:  Sheri Koch, sheriteresa@aol.com   (763) 786-9181
• Twin Cities Co-coordinator, Perspective: Wayne Corrigan wcorrigan@grace2you.org

For more information and to sign up for the spring classes this go to www.perspectives.org and click on “Classes”.  Pick the location that is most convenient for you and register on line.

Please think of Perspectives as a “TOOL” in your Discipleship Training program.

Begun in the 1974, Perspectives has led over 100,000 followers of Jesus from around the world to a greater realization of their Missionary God, and the Joy that comes from participating in His Kingdom work of “Discipling the Nations.”

Leith Anderson, NAE President and pastor of Wooddale Church in Minnesota led the delegation and thanked President Obama for meeting with the NAE, and thanked him for White House and State Department efforts in the case of Iranian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani who was sentenced to death for apostasy. The discussion covered a range of issues including religious freedom, protection of religious hiring rights, marriage, immigration reform and concern for the poor.

President Obama in the Roosevelt Room

George Wood, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God spoke specifically about their concern for religious minorities in countries like Iran and Egypt, and shared the fact that three of the four most recent Christian martyrs in Iran were Assemblies of God pastors and that he has since visited with the sons of two of those men. The President explained that it is an issue he frequently applies pressure on when he meets with foreign leaders.

The leaders also raised the issue of strengthening marriage. John Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Glennarden, MD expressed the NAE’s concern that the Justice Department has not sought to uphold the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The NAE’s position is that marriage, between one woman and one man, is the fundamental guarantee of societal survival and thriving.  It provides for the loving procreation and the nurture of the next generation.  Each child is offered both a father and a mother, in the security of a legally protected marriage.  Children raised by their married biological parents have far lower rates of poverty, abuse, and delinquency.

The other significant issue discussed was the NAE’s support for comprehensive immigration reform. The President acknowledged that a majority of Americans want to enact comprehensive immigration reform, and thanked the NAE for their support on this issue and for providing a Biblical and moral foundation for immigration reform. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church reaffirmed the NAE’s support for comprehensive immigration reform and encouraged the President to continue to make it a top priority.

Salvation Army National Commander William Roberts thanked the President for making the poor a priority in the recent debt reduction deal, and explained as followers of Christ, care and protection for the poor is a high priority for the NAE.

The meeting concluded with NAE President Leith Anderson praying for President Obama and he in return thanked the NAE for the engaging discussion and for graciously dialoguing about issues where there is disagreement.

Carl Nelson, President of Transform Minnesota afterwards commented that “it was encouraging to observe the President’s warm friendship with  his spiritual advisors like Joel Hunter, who is an NAE board member, and Joshua DuBois,” the director of his White House Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Initiatives.

Podcast of Carl H. Nelson speaking at Elim Church November 7.

Reflections on Cape Town 2010 – The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization.

“God is so much bigger than I can imagine; The Gospel is bigger than what we usually think of; Our global Christian family needs (but not like they used to need us).”

Cape Town 2010 & the Lausanne Movement

Table group members from Malaysia, England, Germany and India with Carl Nelson.

The Lausanne Movement is a global network of Christians, including almost every Protestant denomination, which collaborates to spread the whole Gospel of Jesus throughout the entire world.

It gets its name from its first gathering place in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1974 prominent Christian leaders and theologians like Billy Graham and John Stott – an Anglican Bishop – invited a representative group of church leaders and missionaries to meet in Lausanne to see if Christians could work together better and thereby make the Church stronger.

That first Congress in 1974 had far-reaching effects. It launched the missionary focus on Unreached People Groups – cultures that have no Christians at all, and it changed how we think about evangelism – telling people about Jesus – and compassion and justice – loving people like Jesus loves them. It brought both evangelism and compassion together and said they are both part of the Whole Gospel of Jesus and Christians are to be committed to both caring for people and telling them about Jesus.

Watch dozens of video of speakers and workshops at Cape Town 2010
conversation.lausanne.org

We would like to redesign our front lobby/reception area. We are looking for someone who has experience with interior design or construction that would be willing to volunteer some of their time to come and help us create a professional, welcoming entrance for the people we serve. We are looking for someone who can help us update color schemes, window treatments, furnishing, etc. 

 Above are pictures of what the lobby currently looks like. If interested, please contact Lindsay at Lindsay@transformmn.org.php5-25.dfw1-2.websitetestlink.com or by calling 612-866-0462.

Last week a group of 13 conservative evangelical leaders, representing a large segment of evangelicalism, from the Southern Baptists and Liberty University, to Presidents of the Evangelical Free Church, Christian Reformed, Nazarene and Vineyard denominations, and Bill Hybels, John Perkins, and Michael Gerson joined Leith Anderson, NAE President in calling on Congress to “lead our nation towards a bipartisan solution on immigration”.

These leaders published an ad in Roll Call, a newspaper widely read by politicians and staffers on Capital Hill, calling for an immigration solution that:

• Respects the God-given dignity of every person
• Protects the unity of the immediate family
• Respects the rule of law
• Guarantees secure national borders
• Ensures fairness to taxpayers
• Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents

Signers Included:

Leith Anderson President, National Association of Evangelicals
Jerry Dykstra Executive Director, Christian Reformed Church of North America
Michael Gerson Senior Fellow, Hastert Center, Wheaton College
Bill Hamel President, Evangelical Free Church of America
Joel Hunter Senior Pastor, Northland-A Church Distributed
Bill Hybels Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
Richard Land President, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission
Sammy Mah President and CEO, World Relief
John Perkins Chairman Emeritus, Christian Community Development Association
Samuel Rodriguez President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Mat Staver Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel and Dean, Liberty University School of Law
Berten Waggoner National Director, Vineyard USA
David WilsonGeneral Secretary, Church of the Nazarene

Major media outlets took notice and recognized the influence and ability of evangelicals to break the stalemate to urge both Republican and Democratic leaders towards a bipartisan solution.

• “New force for broad immigration reform: Conservative evangelicals” – CNN
• “Schumer tries to raise holy help on immigration overhaul” – Wall Street Journal
• “Immigration reform could revitalize GOP” – Arizona Republic
• “Pentecostals join call for ‘just’ immigration policy” – Charisma Online
• “Land, other conservative evangelicals urge comprehensive immigration fix” – Associated Baptist Press
• “Evangelicals’ full page ad in DC will call for immigration reform” – Yahoo! News
• “Evangelicals find new unity on immigration” – Christianity Today

In 2009 the NAE, which includes more than 40 denominations and 30 million evangelical Christians, adopted a resolution on immigration reform, outlining a Biblical framework for dealing with immigration in modern day America. Since then momentum has been building among evangelical denominations and leaders to push for reform.