Includes both announcements and summary reports. (I had to guess on some of the dates--feel free to send corrections!)

29 Dec 97 STUDENT MISSION ADVANCE: Announcement
"Mission Advance 98, Dec. 29/97 - Jan. 2/98 at Three Hills Alberta, CANADA. The theme is "Awakening our Generation. . . to a purpose worth living for and a cause worth dying for". MA98 is a student missions conference organized by students, for students. It's sponsored by Student Mission Advance, a national mobilization organization in Canada made up of students and recent graduates dedicated to engaging their generation in intelligent and sacrificial involvement in world evangelization." For MA98 info: ph.#: (403) 205-3911 email: sma@netway.ab.ca Web registration: www.netaccess.on.ca/fingertip Submitted by: Matthew Gibbins <gibbins@alpha.netaccess.on.ca>

13 Nov 97 GATEWAY MISSIONSFEST 1997 Announcement
Mobiliers Unite! The Gateway MissionsFest is a regional missions conference held in St. Louis, Missouri November 13-15. Our focus is cross cultural missions both here and abroad with workshops include everything from involvement at the local church level through Adopt A People to the historical involvement of African-Americans in missions. For registration and exhibitor information contact Judy Lindow or Ken Shirkey at <ks4gateway@aol.com> or call 314-863-5503

09 Oct 97 ENVISION'97 Announcement
Envision '97 is a production of the National Missionary Convention, the 50th annual such convention. It is sponsored by direct-support missionaries of independent Christian Churches. Throughout the 1990's the convention has emphasized the urgent need of unreached people groups all over the world, with many of these groups being adopted for prayer and targeted for evangelism by individuals and local churches.

This year's meeting is at the Tulsa, Oklahoma Convention Center, Oct. 9-12. The theme is "From Every Tongue, Tribe and Nation." Speakers include Don Richardson along with almost 200 other missionaries and mission-minded church and Bible College leaders from all over the world. The three objectives of Envision '97 are 1. to mobilize churches for world evangelism, 2. serve as a catalyst to encourage people to become missionaries, and 3. to support those who are already missionaries.

Approximately 2,500 are expected to attend at least one session including 600 college students and 400 teens. Nearby hotels still have rooms and some exhibit space is still open. Two 8 page publications, one 6 page publication, and one 36 page publication are available by calling 1-800-972-1137, e-mailing WBirney11@aol.com (that's the number eleven), faxing 316-668-5220 or writing NMC, Box 11, Copeland, KS 67837. There is also some information on the world wide web at envision2000.org. Source: Walter Birney <WBirney11@aol.com>

24 Sep 97 ARKANSAS MISSIONSFEST 97 Announcement
This unique missions festival for the Body of Christ in the Arkansas state area will be held in Springdale, Arkansas during the last weekend of September 1997. The majority of the festival will be held in the new Harvey and Bernice Jones Center for Children and Families located at the intersection of Hwy 265 and Emma St. in Springdale. E-mail: AMVN@aol.com (Arkansas Mission Vision Network)

The theme of the festival is: Praying Through The Window III - The Unreached Peoples. The focus of the festival is two-fold:
- To help believers, churches and ministries in the Arkansas area to rally together and grow in their vision toward God's world.
- To equip believers, churches and ministries in the Arkansas area to join millions of believers world wide in praying during the month of October for the unreached ethnic groups in the 10/40 Window.

[SCHEDULE]
Wed. - Sept. 24
- Pastors Gathering (Lunch Provided)
- Missions Speakers/Focus In Various Churches (Evening)

Thursday - Sept. 25
- Mobilization Track Part I & Missions Agency Exhibition (Mobilization Track: Equipping to help missions leaders mobilize individuals, groups, local churches, and para-church ministries for healthy active missions involvement.)

Friday - Sept. 26
- Mobilization Track Part II
- Missions Agency & Ministries Exhibition
- Praying Through The Window Rally & Concert With Scott Wesley Brown (During the prayer, worship, and concert rally, as many as 2,000 participants will be led in praying for the unreached peoples in the 10/40 window. Each participant will be given the tools available to help their local church & ministry pray during the month of October.)

Saturday - Sept. 27
- Day Of Discovery Track (Perspectives On The World Christian Movement In 1 Day)
- Various Tracks (eg - International Student Ministries Track, Hispanic Ministries Track, Tibetan Vision Track, India Vision Track, Chinese Ministries Track, Mobilization Track Part III, etc.)
- Missions Agency & Ministries Exhibition

16 Sep 97 AIMS MISSIONSFEST Advertisement
(AIMS & CBN in Virginia) AIMS (Association of International Missions Services) and CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) present their tenth annual missions conference, to be held this year, Sept. 16-19, at the Founders Inn in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the CBN campus. Morning general session speakers, including AIMS president Dr. Howard Foltz and key ministers and pastors, will be followed by specific afternoon workshops. Workshops covering Strategic Alliances such as Africa, Buddhist Peoples, China, the former Soviet Union (CIS), Cuba, International Students, Music & Missions, and Home Schoolers, will feature unreached peoples and church-planting information, alliance-building, and "idea exchanges" with experienced workshop speakers. CBN's RevivalFest each evening will feature national speakers such as Pat Robertson, Oral Roberts, Bishop T.D. Jakes, and Carlton Pearson. The cost of the Missions Conference has been reduced to just $25 and RevivalFest is free!!!

As an example of one of the workshops, the CIS Alliance will include: Ron VanderGriend from Bible League on "Vocational Training for Nationals in Church Planting"; Ralph Mann with an attorney addressing "Political, Spiritual, and Economic Obstacles for the CIS" and how to work with them; Gertrude Storsjo from Swedish Slavic Mission addressing "The Unreached Peoples of the CIS"; and Dr. George Meyers of Calvary International leading an Idea Exchange between churches and mission agencies dealing with working together as well as specific ideas on ministry in the former Soviet Union (CIS).

For more information on MissionsFest, contact Pat Foltz with AIMS at (757)579-5850 by phone or (757)579-5851 by fax or email aims@cbn.org. --Submitted by : Stuart Ross <stuaros@regent.edu>

24 Jul 97 CONFERENCE: ACMC Mobilization Consultation 1997 Announcement
ACMC will be hosting a Mobilizer's Consultation on Thursday, July 24 from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Participants are invited from denominational mission boards, independent mission agencies, Perspectives coordinators, mission pastors, ACMC, AIMS reps and other mobilizing entities. The following general schedule is being proposed...~Larry Walker <102003.317@Compuserve.com>.

MORNING SESSION: Worship- Introductions, History of Mission Mobilizers-Steve Hoke, CRM & Dave Dougherty, OMF, Small Groups--What are critical trends affecting Mission Mobilization?, Report on Jim Engel's research project on missions involvement of smaller churches-Ellen Livingood, TEAM
AFTERNOON SESSION: Two Emerging Paradigms of Mission Mobilization- Dave Dougherty, OMF & Larry Walker, ACMC, Workshops-Making Missions User Friendly For Second Career Boomers-Nelson Malwitz, Finishers Project, (Other workshops to be determined by the group)
EVENING SESSIONS: Worship and Prayer, Reports from Workshops, Mobilization Popcorn Session (30 second presentations of mobilization ideas)

22 Jul 97: CANE CREEK YOUTH MISSIONS RETREAT 1997 Announcement
The leadership of the Church at Cane Creek, Tennessee have taken a strong interest in merging the conservative family movement with frontier missions. This summer they are holding a missions camp for teens and young adults who have a serious interest in missions, July 22-25. Missionary speakers include Rebekah Joy Pearl (PNG), T.J. Slayman (Laos), Milton Martin (Mexico), Shad Williams (Evangelist), Michael Pearl (Bible), and Steve Schnell (Translation). Camper tuition is $75 for age 12 and up--Includes food and lodging (dorms for singles, cabins for families). Contact: CAMP, 1000 Pearl Rd., Pleasantville, TN 37147

27 May 97: STUDENT CONFERENCE ON ISLAM 1997 Announcement
May 27-31 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA), will help students understand how to share their faith with Muslims. For information, contact gmi@luthersem.edu or telephone 612-641-3487. FWD Through the NETWORKING section from the May edition of ADVANCE <advance-newsletter@xc.org>

25 Apr 97 ACQUIRE THE FIRE (Teen Mania) '97
..On April 25 & 26, 1997...Teen Mania Ministries are expecting 15,000 (fifteen thousand!) youth to come from all over Colorado and Wyoming to the Denver Coliseum! Should be interesting...I've been to Acquire the Fire for the last 3 years. It is FANTASTIC! You wouldn't be sorry if you mobilized everyone you know to go to it! [There is also a] very nice ATF Pre-Convention Youth Leaders Banquet on Friday, Feb. 28th, 1997 at Adam's Mark Hotel in Denver. Call 1-800-299-8336, ext. 6039, ask for Junior, to register! From: G.P.

Denver isn't the only city! The same conference is scheduled for the following cities in 1997: Baltimore May 9-10, Des Moines Feb. 14-15, Lansing Apr 18-19, Muncie Mar. 14-15, Nashville Apr. 11-12, New Orleans Apr. 4-5, Norfolk May 2-3, Phoenix Feb. 21-22, Rock Hill Mar. 7-8, Sacramento Feb28-Mar1, Tampa Mar. 21-22, Tulsa Feb 7-8. Call 1-800-329-FIRE for more information.

12 Feb 97 HEARTLAND MISSIONSFEST '97 Report
From: NateWilson@XC.org (Caleb Project Regional Mobilization Director) When I arrived in Tulsa well past midnight, I discovered that my clothes were in St. Louis... I also discovered that I was a day early in arriving for the missionsfest, but in the providence of God, I was in good time for a mission mobilizers summit that I had forgotten about before the Fest.

I "summited" through the next morning with staff of Caleb Project, AIMS, and ACMC on the strengths and weaknesses of our three organizations. We learned a lot about each other, and had a great time praying for God's blessing on each other. We spent the next afternoon on how Caleb Project, ACMC, and AIMS can partner together more intensively. Two things that came out of this meeting were a realization that Caleb Project seems to have a forte' at the wide end of the mobilization funnel (introducing general Christian audiences to mission); ACMC does well as a next step in giving churches a handle on missions--although once a church is mobilized they tend to lose their interest in ACMC; and AIMS could be a good "next step" with their focus on "Alliances" that would give a mobilized church ownership of a particular mission project on the field. We decided to try to spend some time at each other's headquarters, learning more about each other and approaching the leadership of our organizations about this concept of more intensive partnership. Another thing that came out of this meeting was a plan to partner with AIMS in their School of Mobilization to provide trainers and participants from several organizations.

Heartland MissionsFest was a tremendous time for me of networking with other mobilizers. We had non-stop traffic at our booth and I got to meet so many great contacts!

It was hard to tell how many people were there, because the first two days didn't really have a plenary session (I missed the last day). John McVay said he thought there would probably be about 2000 attendees. (By the way, I was impressed at how McVay, despite the myriads of details he had to cover as director of the MissionsFest, was able to stroll round the booths chatting with people the whole time!) The closest to a plenary session they got was a chapel service at Oral Roberts University. Patrick Johnstone was the speaker, and I was amazed at the student's response to him. I've been told not to talk to Gen X'ers about commitments, but Johnstone focused on the fact that without a commitment of lots of time and suffering, we couldn't make progress in reaching the unreached of the world. To my surprise, the students cheered and clapped!

The workshops were awesome. Here are summaries of the three I attended: *Bob & Kathryn Carlton--using video in mobilization. Samples of about a dozen videos from several different organizations were shown--All tremendous, high-quality pieces that could easily be used in a mission conference or Sunday School or other presentation. Then Bob and Kathryn shared a challenge to make your own video, sharing from their professional experience some of the steps involved in that process.

*Neil Pirolo--missionary care. He focused on Paul's strong affirmation of Senders in Romans 10:13-15 "How can they preach unless they are sent?" and Jesus' own affirmation that the one who is sent is not greater than the one who sent him (John13:16) and proceeded to look at the different phases of a missionary's ministry and the different types of support they needed at each phase.

*JoAnna Rochester--blacks in missions. I was blown away at the history of African Americans in missions she presented. Here is a black woman who has a real handle on what's going on in missions today who is trying to reconnect her people to their missionary heritage! I'll try to publish some notes from her later.

03 Feb 97 TA ETHNE '97 Report
The Ta Ethne conference in Los Angeles was totally different from the Heartland MissionsFest held on the same weekend. I walked into a small amphitheater with no chairs that was charged with 150 Asian-American students (well, actually it was 20% Causasian) singing at the top of their voices with the best college praise band I'd ever heard.

Wade and his crew did an awesome job in putting together this conference--I wish we could have advertised it better and gotten more people to come! The four plenary speakers were all tremendous communicators: Rick Love, director of Frontiers USA, on the biblical basis for mission and spiritual breakthroughs in the Muslim world. Erwin McManus, pastor of Church on Brady, on communicating the Gospel to the lost. Gwynn Lewis, director of Sowers International, on Romans 1:14-16 "I am obligated; I am eager; I am not ashamed." David Gibbons, founder of the Katalyst Asian American leadership center, on intimacy with Christ. We also had the privilege of seeing the first presentation given by the just-arrived crew of the Logos II ship!

The day was filled with dancing in worship with the band ("No Shame!" was their motto), Responding in prayer as we lounged on the terraced steps of the amphitheater, listening to gripping messages from the speakers, and attending workshops. (Workshops included information on short-terms, socratic evangelism, Tentmaking, International Student Ministry, and Pioneer Church planting.) I was a little disappointed at the closure of such a high-powered conference that the call to commitment was not very strong, but maybe that kept people from making rash emotional decisions.

Pray for the follow-up to this Ta Ethne conference that Wade would be able to nurture students who are committing to reaching the unreached and that God would raise up leadership who could coordinate Ta Ethne next year.

31 Jan 97 MISSIONSFESTS IN CANADA '97
Missions Fest, Vancouver, Canada - January 31-February 2, 1997 Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre, 999 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC Theme: "Moving Into the City: The Urbanization of the World" Plenary Speakers: Ray Bakke, Galo Vasquez & John Perkins Youth Speakers: Ridge Burns & Mike Yaconelli Seminars for Adults & Youth & Youth Leaders Over 90 Youth Rallies & Children's Programs Missions Agencies: over 230 will have informational exhibits (Missions Agencies must submit a Statement of Faith & a Statement of Purpose before receiving application forms.)

For more information as it comes: http://www.ansa.com/~mfestvan/ Address: 7200 Cariboo Road, Burnaby, BC V3N 4A7 Canada Tel. 604/524-9944 Fax. 604/524-4690 Speak with Bonnie or Richard

EDMONTON February 7-9 (email: kolba_wanda@computronix.com)

TORONTO February 28-March 2 (email: mft@io.org)

25 Jan 97 BELO'97
QUESTION From: Jason Butler <76574.1545@compuserve.com> Joshua Project 2000 is sponsoring a conference called Belo '97 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, January 25-31, 1997. I have seen an announcement in Mission Frontiers, but that is all. I have no idea who to contact for further information. Any ideas?

ANSWER From: Mike Clinton <Mikeehc@aol.com> The Belo conference in Brazil is primarily a Brazilian affair, although it began as a more global effort. For detailed info, check out the AD2000 web page at <www.ad2000.org>.

ANSWER From: DN@xc.org (David Nesmith) Contact Ted Limpic, SEPAL, Brazil (tedlimpic@xc.org) who should know something about it... I am also copying the brigada-peopples-latam conference where someone may be able to help.

17 Jan 97 STM CONFERENCE IN L.A.'97 Advertisement
From: Kimberly Hurst <KJHurst@aol.com> The National Short-Term Mission Conference will be held this year from Jan. 17-19, 1997, at the LAX Marriott hotel in Los Angeles, with a pre-conference for mission agency reps on 1/16/97. Early registration is $195 and includes most meals. Pre-con is $50 extra.

Now in its 8th year (formerly known as the Miami Conference and held in Florida), the conference will again bring together goers, senders, receiving missions, and national hosts for three days of training, idea-sharing, and fellowship; all geared toward improving the quality and outcome of STMs for everyone involved. Topics cover the basics of STM (team training, Biblical foundations, debriefing, etc.) as well as hot-button topics such as Gen-X in STM and using the internet to plan your mission trip. Over 30 workshops in all. Keynote speakers this year include George Verwer and Isaac Canales. Pre-con speakers are Spenser Perkins and Chris Rice.

NSTM '97 is sponsored by several churches, agencies, and colleges. For a full brochure (or better yet, several brochures) contact KJHurst@aol.com and leave address and number of brochures requested.

12 Jan 97 TEEN MANIA
From: G.P. "...I was in Miami, sharing some mobilization thoughts with Teen Mania kids! (Someone said that to say 'teen mania' is redundant.) But these kids were great. About 1200 of them, returning from Russia, Ecuador, Kazakstan, India, Albania, etc. They were fired up. They had seen God heal people in answer to their prayers, and they had planted alot of gospel seeds, and seen quite a few people accept Jesus as Savior.

"I got to do a seminar...on how they can use drama, skits, good stories, etc to share their world vision with those in the churches, schools, etc to which they're returning... I met and trained Jon, Conor and Jenna on Wed and on Thursday the four of us did Priorities, World View, the Mime, and Satan's Undoing. I did a little teaching/explaning in between, on coming up with a 20-30 second response to the question "How was your trip?" and how they might use their time if they are given a 30 minute presentation opportunity, etc.

"The audience broke into spontaneous applause in the Mime when the Buddhist turned toward and worshiped Jesus! Amen. (Would that all audiences were so responsive!) They applauded of course when satan was cast down in satan's Undoing, prayer skit. After the skit, I asked them to break up into groups of 3 or so and pray for the people they had shared with this summer, with that scenario in mind. They seemed to be really into praying for a few moments.

"...I'm very impressed with Teen Mania--their ministry, vision and kindness, and their commitment to excellence and to calling and raising up youth to a strong commitment to following and living for Jesus. And to missions. My thanks to Beth and David Hasz for the invitation to co-labor with Teen Mania."

01 Jan 97 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SERVING CHRIST WORLDWIDE, A conference for Christian Internationals
January 1-4, 1997, Urbana, IL, following URBANA 96. Registration fee is $145 per person. For more information, contact Ned Hale at IVCF, P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895

EOF