Note: Please forward this newsletter to your friends, networks, fellowships, co-workers, college and career ministries, and all young adults who may be interested in participation with a global mission initiative in our generation!
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SVM2 (Student Volunteer Movement 2)
www.svm2.net |
January 2005 |
SVM2 is a global mission initiative among the younger generation calling new message bearers to a life of abandoned devotion to Christ and the urgent global proclamation of His gospel.
IN BRIEF
1. Abandoned Devotion Reflection by Paul Borthwick
2. Global Proclamation Reflection by Julia Cameron
3. 100 Days of Prayer and Fasting for 100,000 Message Bearers
4. A Call to Mobilize your Peers
5. January Day of Prayer and Fasting
6. What is the SVM2 Initiative?
7. All Hands on Deck
8. Resources
9. Recommended Reading
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Abandoned Devotion Reflection |
GO CRAZY FOR GOD
By Paul Borthwick
Paul is a prolific author and speaker on youth and missions. He lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with his wife Christie.
I live in the American suburbs in a beautiful town. Many friends and neighbors hold college degrees, drive nice cars, and present themselves as dignified, respectable citizens. While I know that behind their doors there is relational abuse, alcoholism, despair, people walk with heads high in my community.
How do I present the love of Christ in this context? I try to fit in. I act dignified, talk intelligently about my faith, and warm others to the gospel. If someone asks about our international missionary work, I talk about respectable things – like leadership development, well drilling in poor villages and health care for children.
People listen and clap politely, but none get too excited about the Christ they see in me. The neither act nor react. What am I doing wrong?
When I looked more closely at the examples of Jesus and the apostle Paul as witnesses to God’s truth, I discovered my problem. I’m simply not crazy enough.
Consider Jesus – he started his ministry, performed some healings, drew some followers, and then came home. And there, his family tried to restrain him because people were saying, “He is out of His mind” (Mark 3:21). The religious leaders called him demonized and his own household refused to believe (Mark 3:22, 31-35; John 7:5).
Or look at Paul. He gets his big chance for ministerial influence in the political arena before King Agrippa, but rather than softly introducing the story of God’s love, he gets right to the point – declaring the suffering Messiah whom God raised from the dead (Acts 26:23). The listeners quickly observe that Paul, like his master, Jesus, was out of his mind. He had truly become a fool for Christ’s sake.
When I first decided to follow Jesus, we lived in a counter cultural era. We followers of Christ happily considered ourselves “Jesus Freaks”. Being out of step with society was a good thing. We saw a little weirdness as evidence that our true citizenship was in heaven.
I wonder if I need to return to being radically different than the norm. Maybe my neighbors would rise up and take notice if I started welcoming the outcasts of the world into my dignified neighborhood. Maybe I should take my neighbors with me to the poorer world – so that they could see the counter cultural nature of following Christ.
If I were a little wackier for Jesus, at least my neighbors would be forced to have an opinion – rather than relegate me into the category of a “nice, religious person.” If being crazy for God was good enough for Jesus and the apostle Paul, it should be good enough for me .
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Global Proclamation Reflection |
By Julia Cameron
Julia is the head of Communications for IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students) and is based in the United Kingdom.
Editor's note: This writing is a report on a large student missions conference that took place in Nigeria in November. It is a testimony to the reality that God is beginning to raise up the younger generation and giving them a vision of reaching the world in our lifetime. May we press on and take a hold of the full inheritance that God offers in this realm together.
Nigerian students converge on the ‘Land of Promise’
The scene: a hot, dry, sandy field 45 miles west of Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital. Three part-built dormitories with no roofs were crammed with mattresses lined up edge-to-edge. Just two water taps served upwards of five thousand students.
The Nigerian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (NIFES) is the largest movement in IFES, with some 40,000 student members – many on campuses in the north of the country with significant persecution from the majority religion.
Every three years, NIFES holds a major missions convention. This year the title was Servants to the Nations with a particular focus on North Africa and other countries in the 10:40 window. An exhibition of indigenous mission agencies showed how Nigerian graduates could serve in every sphere.
Following strikes on campuses, and a national strike earlier in the month, university terms were suddenly lengthened and exams re-scheduled. This hit the conference hard. It started with around 2,000 students but built to upwards of 5,000 as the days went by. Buses and vans left campuses across the country as soon as exams were completed, depositing tired, cheering students at the campsite from early until late.
The Land of Promise
Three years ago, NIFES purchased a 20-acre site about an hour west of Abuja, the federal capital. The sign on the highway reads: ‘NIFES Land of Promise’. Staff and students have given generously to it with a Macedonian spirit, often beyond their ability. The Certificate of Occupation, allowing building to take place, was received only weeks before the conference started, so there was little chance of much headway before students arrived.
Everyone took the basic conditions in a wonderful spirit. ‘God is preparing us for service’ said one student, with a glint in his eye. There was no complaint, nor any hint of discontent. These students were glad to be there and to make the most of the opportunity.
Awnings stretched over bench-seating on three sides of a square, and a temporary platform was erected. Students listened attentively to Bible exposition from Femi Adeleye, Gideon Para-Mallam and Calisto Odede, African IFES staff. The ‘health and wealth gospel’ is hugely popular in Nigeria, and these men countered it with care from Scripture. It was striking to see students all with Bibles open on their laps. They listened for hours each day. Sue Brown (Arab World Ministries) brought a focus on the 10:40 window and Keith Walker (SIM) drew lessons from Scripture on dealing with corruption.
Benches were quickly re-arranged for group Bible study, and for seminars. The seminar range was very wide: different aspects of mission; family life; sexuality; spiritual growth. I taught on how to develop writing skills. Several campus groups produce their own magazines.
Opening Ceremony
The formal Opening Ceremony showed the regard in which NIFES is held. Prof Jerry Gana, Political Advisor to the President, represented His Excellency bringing a robust exhortation to the students to share the gospel with others in Nigeria, and to serve nations beyond its borders in the Name of Christ. The Ven. Prof Nebu, Vice-Chancellor of UNN, the national university, referred to NIFES as ‘the most formidable, articulate, committed and enduring ministry to Nigeria’s universities.
An hour into the ceremony, a large hole appeared in the stage. The mass choir was amassing, and several boards came adrift from their moorings, with 20 or 30 students slipping down with them. It caused no difficulty. No ankles were broken, and the choir was simply asked to re-amass on the ground. How refreshing to be out of our litigious culture!
Students and World Mission
Ryan Shaw from the USA urged students to look back 200 years to the famous Haystack Prayer Meeting of Samuel Mills and his friends in Williams College in 1806. That prayer meeting – with just a handful of students sheltering from the rain - proved to be the start of a huge missions movement. ‘God loves to use the younger generation’ Ryan repeated from the platform, illustrating his point from Scripture. Ryan is the leader of SVM2 (named after the former Student Volunteer Movement) which is serving and facilitating a current mission movement among the younger generation.
IFES movements around the world hold regular conventions on world mission for each generation of students. The Kenyans have theirs this month; the Mexicans in March. The Koreans and Taiwanese each held theirs a few months ago. Nearly 200 years after the haystack prayer meeting, students are still going into world mission by the thousands.
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100 Days of Prayer and Fasting for 100,000 Message Bearers |
A few weeks ago while spending time worshipping God and just enjoying His presence I (Ryan Shaw) sensed Him whisper something into my heart and my thoughts. It was quick and I wasn’t sure if it was my own thinking so I immediately asked Him if this was really Him. When I did a sense of peace rushed over me. I heard Him say, “I want you to pray and fast TV for 100 days and seek my face for young adults to be launched in cross cultural ministry.” Initially I thought that this was something He was asking of me personally but as I talked with my wife about it, it soon became clear that maybe this for a wider group of people who would take up the challenge as well.
Because of this, on January 10th we will begin fasting from watching TV for 100 days and use this time to seek God for 100,000 new message bearers to be catapulted into global, cross cultural ministry among the forgotten. We invite you to join us! Tell your ministries, churches, and friends about this call to prayer for our generation’s involvement in global proclamation. Gather together with others (Global Prayer Teams, etc) and pray together like never before. Let’s activate everyone we can as we corporately lay down the idol of TV and instead seek God on behalf of the nations and our generation. You may feel that God is asking you to fast something other than TV, be led of the Lord in this endeavor. We are after the spirit of a fervent and committed lifestyle before the Lord. Be on the lookout for future updates about this. We will continue to have the monthly Day of Prayer and Fasting as well during this season.
Be on the lookout in the next few days for a detailed email regarding the 100 days!
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A Call to Mobilize your Peers |
One of the ways we sense the Holy Spirit leading is to reproduce what is currently taking place within SVM2 more broadly. A way to do this is by launching what we are calling “Spread the Vision” teams. These are groups of ideally 4 young adults who are somewhat recently graduated who travel to different parts of the nation and visit campuses, churches, etc., hosting Abandoned Devotion gatherings on a regular basis (hopefully weekly) and doing other meetings challenging the younger generation with launching student mission movements in their communities of believers. We have been creating a manual for getting into the hands of student leaders on campuses to equip them towards this end.
The vision we have is to see a couple of these teams launched next Fall (2005) that would travel through the fall and then again for the Winter and Spring of 2006. We are looking for current seniors with leadership giftedness, good speaking skills to communicate the vision, a deep love for the Lord and what He’s doing globally, administration and organizations skills, good people skills, a mentoring component to new younger leaders they would be connecting with on campuses, visionary thinking, and other strengths that could serve the larger movement God is presently raising up. Though the team wouldn’t start traveling until the Fall of next year, they would need to begin organizing meetings and gatherings for the Fall in the Spring of this year. The teams would also need time to raise support, etc. so we would need to have a Spread the Vision Team set by February or early March.
If you are interested in more info related to this exciting opportunity send a message to Ryan@SVM2.net
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January Day of Prayer and Fasting |
Don’t miss out on standing with many others around the world on this coming month’s SVM2 Day of Prayer and Fasting on January 2nd. Gather your friends together on campus, in your church, or in your dorm room and seek His face in prayer and intercession with all your heart! Remember to spend the day fasting from food as well and giving the extra time to seeking God on behalf of the least reached and forgotten around the world.
Let’s also continue to lift up those who have suffered enormously in southeast Asia and for the missionaries and churches who are offering assistance in that region. May it continue to be an opportunity for the hope that comes in Christ to break through.
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What is the SVM2 Initiative? |
SVM2 is an global mission initiative among the younger generation calling new cross cultural message bearers to a life of Abandoned Devotion to Jesus Christ and the urgent global proclamation of His gospel.
The Two Pronged Vision of the SVM2 Initiative:
A. Going
The “going” component of the SVM2 Initiative is to corporately, across the younger generation, call forth 100,000 new message bearers from around the world, who will “GO” to the least reached areas of the world for at least two years following graduation.
B. Praying
The “praying” component of the SVM2 Initiative is to inspire a grassroots prayer movement among the younger generation by encouraging the initiation of 50,000 new Global Prayer Teams and periodic campus-wide Abandoned Devotion prayer gatherings on campuses and in churches which dedicate themselves to praying for the expansion of the kingdom of God globally and the younger generation’s involvement in this great endeavor.
As each mission minded student, mission fellowship, campus ministry, and collegiate ministry in a local church commit to their part in calling their peers to a greater standard of going & praying, momentum is gained and the opportunity for those that are least reached to have the gospel proclaimed to them is made possible. This is done with the knowledge that other young adults around the nation and world are committed and involved in the same endeavor.
Ways to implement the SVM2 Initiative in your community of believers:
1. Commit to and sign the Message Bearer Creed and challenge your peers on campus to make this longer term mission commitment as well. You don’t need to know where you will go or who you will go with at this point, simply step out in faith trusting that God will lead the way regarding the specifics of carrying it out. Please go online and fill out the Message Bearer Creed form at http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=224&EXPAND=104 We want you to receive a Message Bearer Manual to get you growing in the three parts of this commitment (see below). We also want you to receive various encouragements and resources by way of e-mail, so let us know your contact info at the above site.
2. Initiate one or more Global Prayer Teams in your community. Why not invite other student leaders to start groups of their own, and create an environment of radical, global prayer and intercession on campus? A Global Prayer Team is a gathering of students or young adults getting together for prayer with a focus on reaching the world for Christ in our generation, local and global revival, and for an increase of missions vision on their campus or in their church. Go to the website http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=44and scroll down to find and download the Global Prayer Team Handbook to get you started, or to connect an existing prayer group to the SVM2 network.
3. If you are a student leader on your campus or in your church, consider giving a portion of your time and taking on the role of Student Coordinator in your community. Contact Paul at paul@svm2.net to receive a Student Coordinator Handbook full of information regarding SVM2, its strategies and resources, to help you see this grassroots initiative take off. A Student Coordinator is one who commits to being a voice and an organizer to see the SVM2 Initiative implemented on his/her campus, campus fellowship, or local church.
4. Participate and promote the November Day of Prayer and Fasting held on Tuesday, November 2nd this month. Attached to this newsletter is a prayer guide that can be used for focused prayer and intercession on this day.
5. If you are a leader of the younger generation and want to learn more about the SVM2 Initiative and how to implement the various strategies in your ministry, contact Paul at paul@svm2.net to receive a Networking Partners Notebook. It clarifies the vision of the SVM2 Initiative and details ways that each of its strategies can be implemented within a specific ministry by the individual leader among the younger generation.
6. Consider hosting an Abandoned Devotion Prayer Gathering on your campus or in your church. We can send you all the necessary materials to get you on your way to an extended meeting which challenges students toward involvement in reaching the least reached, and crying out to God in prayer for the nations. Contact Kelly at Kshaw@SVM2.net for more information.
7. God may be calling you to greater responsibility in this endeavor. If you would like information regarding becoming an area or state coordinator for SVM2 in your geographical area, contact Ryan at ryan@SVM2.net.
Message Bearer Creed
By God's grace, as a Message Bearer, I covenant to:
Abandoned Devotion
Wholeheartedly devote myself to the person of Jesus Christ and be committed to the marks of a true disciple.
Global Proclamation
Sacrificially pursue revival and the spread of the gospel in the midst of the forgotten, through disciplined prayer and the commitment to go for two years or more.
Spread the Vision
Intentionally influence others to develop an awareness of the global purpose of God toward the aim of their personal involvement.
Visit the SVM2 website at www.SVM2.net to get your hands on various resources that will prove helpful to you as you seek to influence others with a passion for Abandoned Devotion to Jesus Christ and the urgent Global Proclamation of His gospel. Go on-line to http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=44 to download any of the following resources.
1. The research booklet called This Generation for the Nations. This is a compilation of a nationwide research project that took place in 2002 which sought out the various trends taking place in the student world with regards to missions vision and involvement. This research was the precursor to the launching of SVM2 as many of the findings were implemented into the various strategies looking toward a movement in our generation.
2. The Fellowship of The Unashamed. A powerful quote made by a young African pastor who was martyred for his faith. Read it! Pray it! Live it!
3. Prayer for My Generation. Use this as a launching point to pray for various areas relating to this generation of young adults and their Abandoned Devotion for Christ and their role in Global Proclamation.
4. The 2-Year-Go Opportunities list. Look over this list to find organizations and ministries that cater to a two year term among the forgotten peoples of the earth. Use it to contact these organizations for info for yourself and encourage others to use it as well.
5. Next steps... Steps to Abandoned Devotion, Steps to Global Proclamation, and Steps to Spread the Vision. See http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=185&EXPAND=185 to download these lists of Next Steps to take.
6. The Global Prayer Teams Guide contains helpful information for students and others who desire to gather together for prayer toward God's global purposes. We would be happy to send a free copy to you by request to info@svm2.net
Abandoned Devotion - Books for personal discipleship:
- The Attributes of God by A.W. Tozer
- Intimate Friendship with God by Joy Dawson
- No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green by Melody Green
- Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle
- Revolution! by Michael Brown
- The Calvary Road by Roy Hession
Global Proclamation - Books concerning reaching the world
Click on the following link http://www.svm2.net/index.cfm?PAGE_ID=234&EXPAND= for further description of these titles. You can also find them at www.amazon.com, www.cbd.com or www.usa.om.org/books
SVM2 Abandoned Times
Phone: 519.268.8778 / Fax: 519.268.2787
Email: info@svm2.net / Website: www.SVM2.net
If your are not on our monthly e-news mailing list and would like to be included, contact us at info@svm2.net Any other questions, or to be removed from this mailing, may also be directed to info@svm2.net or simply hit "reply". Thank you.
SVM2 Team
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