It’s not too early to circle Saturday, August 5 on your calendars! “Missions Lifeline” will be held at Calvary Baptist Church in Greenfield, and this is an event you don’t want to miss! The day will be filled with missionary speakers, missions-related breakout sessions, and a mini Kids on Missions camp for children PreK – 6^th grade. Breakout topics on missions education for children, students, and adults, how to reach your community for Christ, planning missions trips, and lifestyle evangelism (among others) will be offered at the event. This event has been designed for all missional leaders! Register on line by going to www.scbi.org and click on Events.

Linda Clark is available for individual church consultations about the “how-tos” of missions education. She can help you develop a plan to guide your church to a fuller participation in missions-related activities. Linda is available to meet with mission leaders or a group of women wanting to participate in missions on a regular basis. Contact her at 502.595.8473 via text or email her at: lclark1213@hotmail.com

If you missed attending the Indiana Transformed women’s event in New Albany, you have one more chance! April 7-8 the second Transformed will be held at Sunnycrest Baptist Church in Marion. You can register at: www.scbi.org/transformed. This event has been designed with you in mind so make plans to attend. Be sure to take note of the special mission project for the Women’s Life House, a shelter program for women in transition.

Now is the time to begin planning for summer mission activities for youth in your church. Woman’s Missionary Union has a great resource that will help you provide missions involvement opportunities during the summer months. “e-4” units are missions education units designed for small churches, church plants, home-school families, and small groups. They are developed around Engage, Expand, Explore, and Experience. There are currently 4 units ready for you to use with your students: Poverty, PTSD, Disaster Relief, and Live Like Jesus.

The units can be downloaded for $3.99 each. Involve your students in missions this summer! Go to www.wmustore.com to order.

Oh! Guess What? !

There are “e-4” units for children too! These drop-in missions activities cover such subjects as: Chaplaincy, Church Planters, Hunger, Homelessness, and Disaster Relief. Download for $3.99 each from: www.wmustore.com.

“Across the Street, Around the World: Ideas to Spark Missional Focus,” written by former Indiana’s Diana Davis and Autumn Wall, is a new source with a looong list of missions ideas to jump-start your missions group or church’s involvement in mission activities. Divided into  categories for one-hour, one-day, one-week, long-term ideas, and checklists for mission trips, this resource is a valuable tool to help motivate others to engage in mission opportunities locally, regionally, and globally. Order online at www.wmustore.com

The March 2017 issue of Missions Mosaic Magazine included an article about starting a crafting group with your neighbors or women in your church. Pinterest has created a great deal of interest in crafts and is a great source of ideas you can use. Crafting with neighbors gives you a good opportunity to get to know them and establish relationships. A casual atmosphere encourages women to share with others. Add food and you have the recipe for some great times! Missions Mosaic is a monthly missions magazine for adult women and contains not only the month’s missionaries who have birthdays but articles about international and North American mission work. The magazine has a heavy emphasis on what women can do right where they live….like crafting with their neighbors!

If you are new to this webpage, welcome to the space with the latest missions education information! The page is designed to keep you informed about upcoming missions events and how you can involve your church in learning about and supporting missions.

Southern Baptists are fortunate to have a denominational entity whose purpose is solely to distribute information that informs individuals and churches about how to create a missions atmosphere and involve every age in learning about how missionaries serve around the world. Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU), begun in 1888, provides materials in various formats (magazines, books, DVDs, videos) that are easy to use and motivational in content. These resources are available through WMU and New Hope Publishers.

If you want to begin new age level mission groups, you can receive discounted curriculum through the Indiana WMU office. Contact Allison Kinion, Indian State WMU Director, through Terah Adams, tadams@scbi.org,  to order the mission resources.  Visit WMU’s website at www.wmustore.com for a complete listing of magazines, books, and related products.

As SEIBA’s Missions Education Consultant, I am available to help you and your church with resources, ideas, and ministry opportunities. Don’t hesitate to contact me at: lclark1213@hotmail.com or by calling 502.595.8473. I’m here to help!

On March 3-4, Transformed, an annual women’s event, will be held at Graceland Baptist Church, New Albany. This rewarding weekend challenges women to grow in their relationship with Christ and to answer His radical call to reach the nations with His good news.

A church missions group in Florida chose Pure Water, Pure Love as a project for last year. Members took bottles of water, drank the water, and returned the bottles filled with change. They called it “Pennies for Pure Water” and were able to send in $1,206.40! They followed the collection with a Hawaiian luau. They are doing the project again this year and will celebrate with a Mexican fiesta.

Pure Water, Pure Love is a ministry of Woman’s Missionary Union that provides water filters for missionary families and the people they serve with wells that offer clean water, free from disease-causing microorganisms. More information is available at www.wmu.com/getinvolved  (videos, water bottle labels, etc.).

How much do you know about the water crisis in the world?

*About 3.4 million people each year die from water-related diseases.

*More than 780 million people lack access to clean water.

*Lack of clean water and sanitation kills children at a rate of a plane crashing every four hours.

*Women spend 200 million hours a day collecting water.

There IS something we can do – and Pure Water, Pure Love is a channel for our giving and support of clean water.

March 5 – 12, 2017 has been set aside to pray for Southern Baptist North American mission efforts. An informational packet is mailed to every Indiana church, and your church can order free posters, prayer guides, and offering envelopes through the state WMU office. Ordering can be done online or by contacting Terah Adams at: tadams@scbi.org  The North American Mission Board (NAMB) has a Press Kit available online at www.namb.net that contains missionary stories, videos, and photos of featured missionaries.

This year’s theme is “Together for His Kingdom,” and the national goal for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is $70,000,000. It’s estimated that 259 million people in North American do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Prayer and financial support are critical for the work of church planters, evangelism catalysts, and missionaries who carry the gospel throughout North America.

Has your church set a goal for this offering? If not, set one and challenge your members to become actively involved by praying, giving, and going. “Together for His Kingdom!”