June 01, 1989 by

Summer courses are in full swing at William Carey International University. Classes are being offered in the following areas: Chinese, Muslim, Hindu, Japanese, Korean, and African studies; teaching English to speakers of other languages; introduction to the World Christian movement; international community development; and intercultural communications. For further information on summer and fall class schedules, contact: WCIU Admissions, 1539 E. Howard St., Pasadena, CA 91104, (818) 797-1200.

Other, autonomous centers for world mission are starting up around the world, often with the advice and encouragement of the USCWM. One recent example: a mission resource center in Sydney, Australia—started by SIM Inter-national—has attracted the support of a large number of mission agencies based in the Australian state of New South Wales.

A survey team from the Institute of Chinese Studies, led by institute director Jim Ziervogel, recently returned from a research trip into Yunnan province in the People’s Republic of China. Yunnan is home to 24 officially-recognized ethnic minorities, and the ICS team focused their efforts of five of these peoples.

Another research institute on campus, the Institute of Global Urban Studies, is conducting a survey in Southeast Asia during July.

Do you have a car you’d like to donate to a missionary? Numerous staff members at the USCWM could make good use of such gifts. Tax-deductible receipts can be provided. To check out the possibilities and procedures, contact Kirk Anderson, Business Services Office, (818) 398-2139.

Staff in the Mobilization Division are serving as consultants to the planning committee for CONQUEST ’89, a mission conference for high schoolers scheduled for December 27-30 at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California.

“The greatest move in youth ministry today is getting young people involved in missions and outreach,” says Carolyn Koons, noted author and founder of the Mexicali Outreach program. “CON-QUEST ’89 is geared toward helping high school students see their calling as World Christians.”

Biola University teacher and youth pastor Keith King agrees: “High school students need to be challenged to see the world as Christ sees it. CONQUEST ’89 promises to challenge them not only to know why they should consider missions but also to know the next step in their lives so they can do it!”

Conference organizers are praying for 1500+ participants. They are also hoping that CONQUEST will blossom into a national conference in 1991.

For further information, contact: CONQUEST ’89, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA 91702, (818) 812-3027.

USCWM staff have made initial explorations of the use of satellite technology for extension offerings of the “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” introductory course. The technology would permit a lecturer to simultaneously speak to numerous classes and interact with students at each location.

Order fulfillment clerks at the William Carey Library publishing house report that they’ve already sold 5000 copies of the 1990 Unreached Peoples poster, introduced just a few weeks ago. Got your posters yet? See the inside back cover to find out how.

Nearly 200 radio stations, and three Christian radio networks, now air the 60-second Global Prayer Digest spots produced by Mission Vision Network. MVN began to produce the spots at the U.S. Center, and has since moved operations under the umbrella of FEBC International.

If you’d like to hear the GPD spots on your local Christian station, call and request that a cassette be sent to the station. Contact Steve Taylor at (213) 947-4651, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific time.

Ebenezer Sunder Raj, general secretary of the India Missions Association (IMA), visited the USCWM in early May and shared highlights of IMA’s goals and ministries.

Sunder Raj reported that the association, comprised of 52 indigenous Indian mission agencies, has launched a cooperative, systematic survey of India’s unreached peoples and the Indian workers available to reach them. He expressed interest in the Adopt-a-People program now taking clearer shape in North America.

The IMA publishes Indian Missions, a quarterly magazine that describes the activities of member missions and other Indian organizations. To obtain a sample copy and information on subscriptions, contact: India Missions Association, Shenoyagard, Madras 600 030, India.

Another recent visitor to campus is Dr. Mildred Larson, international vice-president for personnel of Wycliffe Bible Translators. During June and July Larson, an eminent linguistic consultant, is teaching courses on linguistic translation and consultation skills at William Carey International University.

Frank Kaleb Jansen—editor of the Target Earth missions atlas and founder of the Norwegian Center for World Mission—has accepted an offer from William Carey International University to direct the university’s new World Populations Study Center. This center will coordinate the efforts of existing campus organizations focused on various people groups and population data.

Staff within the Mobilization Division report that 125 churches or individuals are now market-testing the “Year of Vision” curriculum. Early reports are encouraging! Stay tuned for announcements of a general release.

The USCWM continues to seek to establish regional centers and area offices throughout the U.S. in order to better serve mission agencies, churches, and students. New offices are now developing in: St. Louis, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; New Orleans, Louisiana; Washington, D.C.; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

World Prayer 2000, a new ministry directed by Jack McAlister, is working with USCWM campus ministries to stimulate a new movement of prayer focused on what God could do by the end of this century. McAlister has produced a pilot of a 30-minute weekly radio program due to air this fall, printed a special map on prayer for the world, and begun work on a customized edition of the Global Prayer Digest.

Mission Communications Conference Attracts 115
A mission communication symposium, held at William Carey International University June 19-21, brought together representatives from 25 Protestant mission agencies, ten media ministries, four Christian colleges, and three secular media organizations.

“International Communications Strategies for the 1990s” was the theme of the symposium, which drew 33 speakers and 115 registrants. Sessions featured the strategic use of various media as well as the development of communications strategies for Brazil, Nigeria, and Indonesia as gateways to the regions of South America, Africa, and Asia.

“ICS '89 helped to bridge relationships between Christian communicators and to nurture mature and unified communications strategies for the advance of the Gospel,” stated Dr. Dale Kietzman, executive vice-president of WCIU.

Dr. James Engel, professor of communications research at the Wheaton Graduate School, focused symposium participants on their audience. Engel said, “We must be concerned with how people have ‘processed’ our message, not simply with how many people heard it.... What did the audience understand? And what did they do with this understanding?”

Bob Slosser, CBN University president, declared, “If we Christians hold a particular value system and we want to impact any country, we must legitimately outperform those that carry contrary beliefs.... We must work harder and be better.”

Attendees also heard presentations from Jeff Holder (ABC Entertainment), Bruce Johnson (Hanna Barbera), E. Russell Chandler (Los Angeles Times), and many others. Serving as moderator was Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and chairman of Good News Communications (Atlanta, Georgia).

ICS ’89 organizers are planning a four-week Communications Institute next summer. The institute will include a three-day symposium, various media workshops, and special short-course intensives.

Mission Frontiers readers may purchase a set of 20 cassette tapes of symposium presentations for $50. (A forthcoming compendium of symposium documents and strategies will be available for $20.) Order your tapes on the inside back cover of this issue of Mission Frontiers.

24-Hour Prayer Watch and Telephone Service

Did you know that someone can be found in the Center’s prayer room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Every member of the central staff is assigned a four-hour prayer watch 2-3 times each month in order to lift before the Lord issues of concern to the Center community. Before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. PDT, the prayer room doubles as the after-hours telephone switchboard, so someone is always available to answer your questions about the Center, direct your calls elsewhere if necessary, or pray with you. Call us at 818-797-1111. We’re here to serve you!