Here is a sampling of comments submitted by NTS students regarding the online mission resources of USA/Canada. Students were asked to review the resources and comment on which would be particularly helpful in their specific context/congregation. Please note that many of these students are currently serving in various pastoral assignments.

“I really like the Cultural Expressions magazine. It is a valuable resource that few know about. I would love to have the opportunity to take specific articles from this magazine and present them to our church board. This could be very important and significant leadership development. We have done this in the past, especially when we first began sharing our building with a Burmese Congregation, and when we first started ESL classes. There are articles included in this magazine that are helpful to a variety of urban and cross-cultural ministries.”

“The demographic data is helpful, especially in vision-casting for ministries the church would like to do in the future.”

“What appealed to me first about the video series, Engaging the World at our Door was the title. I believe this title would generate immediate interest among many members in our congregation. The videos in the series are brief but powerful for discussion and rich in content. The breadth of topics is important for people beginning with little or no experience in CQ. It takes them through an introductory course from beginning to end. Additionally, video series are an excellent communicator for our congregation. People are drawn into video content, and Oliver is an excellent and interesting communicator. Also, it’s free! We can teach this by streaming the content online or posting the videos to our website or social media site.”

“I thought Oliver Phillips’ short videos on cultural intelligence would be valuable for all members of our congregation, because we have people visiting from very diverse cultures. I could, at the very least, imagine some classes that utilize this material to launch discussions on how we can be more welcoming to people venturing through our doors.”

“These are all great resources. However, I was particularly impressed with the videos. The series of 12 videos can easily be shown to a congregation in an effort to make people more aware of CQ [cultural intelligence]. Oliver challenges us to look through a new perspective.”

“The video series by Oliver Phillips was fantastic. This makes CQ training so accessible and possible for the small church pastor. These videos could be used in small groups or on an individual basis. They are the perfect format to set up further discussion and teaching.”

“In my current ministry (Connections/Assimilation) I write a weekly newsletter through a purchased email marketing software company. I have recently been working with our Missions President to create a similar type of weekly newsletter for missions awareness and education. We could easily provide links and article summaries from the resources provided in the lecture. These resources would save a ton of time doing the writing ourselves.”

“The magazine (found at the Cultural Expressions link) that I reviewed had pretty lengthy articles, and I questioned if they would be read in our setting. However, article summaries could be offered and links to the full articles provided. Likewise, shorter articles and blogs could be featured according to specific weekly emphases. The videos (Found at the Engaging the World at our Door link) are well done and informative, and I like that it provides a different type of media. I find the elements in my newsletters, which offer animation, music or video are typically the most popular. And again, these videos were just 5 minutes long, so their brevity is an added benefit.”

“Most of our teens are in poverty, and occasionally bring their friends and neighbors, who are also in poverty. Therefore, I looked to the urban ministry resources available on the site, and found FCS Urban Ministries, a cooperative of mission-minded organizations, which offers monthly articles on urban issues. An article on giving to the homeless seemed particularly relevant to my congregation. And with an educated congregation, I think many people would be willing to read such articles. Discussing these articles, as well as the CQ videos, in our adult Bible study class would be good preparation for missional activities in our community.”

“The North American People Groups website would also be a wonderful tool to see who is in the neighborhood since immigrants are constantly moving in and out.”

“The concepts that are laid out in the videos and resources available through the Cultural Expressions magazine are great, and I will reference this page again as we continue to encourage our congregation to think outside of the walls of our church or the fellowship of who we have coming currently. Sharing the statistics and the thoughts of leaders throughout the denomination offers credibility that makes our people think more about the information being presented.”