1. EDITORIAL: REACHING OUT IN MANY WAYS

[Timothy K. Park, Editor]

We have reached halfway into the year 2021 and the CoVid 19 pandemic is still ravaging in many countries surging mostly in Asia. According to Reuters, Indonesia passed the 2 million mark in coronavirus cases after a record in new infections. Indonesia has been grappling with a spike in coronavirus cases this June and reported 14,536 new infections on June 21, taking its total to 2,004,445, among the highest case numbers in Asia. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/indonesia-tighten-covid-19-restrictions-2-weeks-after-rising-cases-minister-2021-06-21/… 

2. SEX TRAFFICKING AND SLAVERY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA: TO FREE CAPTIVES

[James D. Langteau and Timothy D. Dunham]

Accounts of child sex trafficking raise disturbing questions. How could any person sink to such depths of depravity to sell or buy a child? What are the long term effects of such aberrant behavior in the life of a child? More importantly, what can I do about it? Christians living in the suburbs of America may feel far removed from this particular form of evil. It is tempting to think that trafficking isn’t our problem, since it happens in faraway places like Thailand, Cambodia, or elsewhere. … 

3. LEVERAGING INTERNATIONAL EVANGELICAL MIGRANT FLOW

[Harvey Thiessen with Alena Popova]

We are in a decade of reforming mission strategy. New realities are creating mounting obstacles to what has been done while inevitably opening up fresh opportunities. Changing demographics and people movement are factors that compel us to rethink how and where we should deploy Kingdom workers. The very nature of what those workers may look like is also open for reconsideration… 

4. JESUS’ MISSIONAL TEACHING MINISTRY IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

[Jae-Suk Lee]

This study aims to examine the nature and practice of Jesus’s teaching ministry. Some scholars emphasize that Matthew does not describe Jesus as a teacher, but as a Prophet, a Savior, Lord, Messiah, or the Son of God. However, Matthew characterizes Jesus’ figure as a teacher who trains his disciples for their missional identity, role, and life pattern in the Kingdom of God. My proposal is that the essence of the Matthean Jesus is a teacher and his teaching ministry is missional. Here, the term missional is rooted in God’s sending act which explains the identity and activity of the Sent one(s)… 

5. THE ESSENCE OF STRATEGIC PRAYER IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVERS

[Lizzy Iweala]

Jesus started and ended his ministry with prayer. Prayer is very significant in the life of a believer, if the believer intends to impact his or her world. The mandate to pray without ceasing is revelatory due to the essence of prayer. Christ exemplified prayer and its effects. The effects of His prayer were very tangible, because it prompted his disciples to ask Jesus to teach them how to pray as detailed in Luke 11:1 ”And it came to pass, that ,as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”… 

6. ONLINE TOOLS TO MAXIMIZE THE GOOD NEWS DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS

[Sadiri Joy Tira]

In recent days, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau instructed Canadians living in diaspora or “scattered” in many regions of the world to “come home.” Further, he admonished all Canadians, except those in “front line services” to “stay home.” “Enough is enough,” everyone must lock down and lock in… 

7. THINGS I LEARN FROM MY DIGITAL MINISTRY JOURNEY

[Philip Yan]

Pastors who embrace their leadership over the COVID-19 pandemic with courage are heroes – head on to tackle multiple challenges while fostering spiritual growth within the community. One of the many questions you may have is: how far in digital would a people-focused ministry go? Here is my journey towards digital transformation with a humble non-digital beginning…