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 |
October 2004 |
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.
Don't forget to participate in November's day of prayer and fasting next Tuesday!!!
IN BRIEF
1. Abandoned Devotion Reflection
2. Global Proclamation Reflection
3. November Day of Prayer and Fasting
4. What is the SVM2 Initiative?
5. All Hands on Deck
6. Resources
7. Recommended Reading
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Abandoned Devotion Reflection |
DRAWING NEARER
By Kelly Shaw
Kelly is the SVM2 Director for Abandoned Devotion gatherings
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) James is giving us some key advice that each one of us needs to grasp. God drawing near to us is dependent upon us drawing near to Him. Unless we are intentional in our quest for the living God, we will wind up at the same place of wanting more of God. Now let me say that wanting God is good, but it is not enough. Wanting more of God won’t happen when you only give him ten minutes in your quiet time with him in the morning or when you expect Him to fit into your busy schedule in which you have almost completely crowded Him out altogether.
Do you want to hear the voice of the living God speaking to you? Then you need to make space for Him to come and abide in you. You are in charge of your schedule. Though this may sound like a simple statement, it has incredible implications. You can’t tell the Lord that, “I’m just too busy.” Your busyness is dependent upon your choices. If you want to experience the presence of the Lord in your midst daily, then you will have to surrender certain things to make that a reality. For those of us who are lazy, we must surrender our sleep. For those consumed by sports, we must give up watching a couple games on ESPN. For those who are with friends all the time, we must find some chunks of time to spend alone with the Lord.
I challenge you to take 15 minutes and write out your schedule for the week. If you can’t find some real face time before the Lord, cut out something on your schedule. I would also challenge you to schedule in another 15 minute block of time to go over your goals. When we are in college or any other time in our lives, we can allow work and studying and countless other things to consume our lives. If you want to grow in the Lord, I challenge you to make some goals. Where do you want to be in the Lord by next fall? What books of the Bible do you want to study? What Scriptures would you like to memorize? What is a goal that you would set for spending more time in prayer? If we merrily go along our way reading our Bible and doing an occasional devotional, we won’t grow. Be intentional! Ask God for some ideas on ways to grow with Him that will work in your schedule. Maybe it is doing your quiet time in the library between study sessions. Be creative, but be intentional!
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Global Proclamation Reflection |
WE CAN REACH THE WORLD IN OUR LIFETIME
By Ryan Shaw
Ryan is the Director of Student Volunteer Movement 2 - SVM2
I firmly believe that we can reach the world for the sake of Jesus in our lifetime. We are living today in extraordinary times. God is moving around the world in an increasing fashion. Though the outlook in many places may seem daunting in our finite view, there are many reasons to be greatly encouraged that we could realistically see the fulfillment of God’s global purpose in our generation, if we will embrace obedience.
First, the church is presently making tremendous headway in this direction. From 1974 until 2004, those out of reach of the gospel message around the world has gone from ½ to 1/3 of the global population. This means that within a 30 year time-span we were able to plant the church in almost as much territory as was done in the first 2,000 years of its existence. Every day the average number of people added to the body of Christ worldwide averages 174,000, and 3,500 new churches are being planted every week worldwide (USCWM stats). Yet due to population growth globally this is only a drop in the bucket.
Second, those who put their faith in Jesus alone for salvation in the decade of the 1990’s around the world were more than the rest of the century put together. Third, technology is opening up the ways that the message can be communicated. Take the completely Islamic island country of the Maldives located off the tip of India, for example. During a visit to this beautiful country, known as the scuba diving capital of the world, in 2002, I spoke with a 20-year old Muslim man whom I asked, “tell me about the various beliefs of people on the islands.” He responded with firmness and ease, “everybody here is Muslim. Nobody is anything else!” The idea that someone could have a different outlook than this was totally foreign to him. I later discovered that for the first time in the nation’s history, gospel messages had begun to be beamed in by radio from Sri Lanka, something short-lived as the government realized what was happening and scrambled the radio waves. The technological possibilities, are numerous, however, before us. Similar stories are common of people using mp3 players to record training materials or messages about Jesus on, as these have a large capacity for storing digital memory.
Fourth, for many in the body of Christ strategic, focused intercession is taking its rightful place as a priority and is helping us understand how to move in the authority of Jesus boldly, yet wisely. In the 1990’s the church around the world was mobilized in prayer by the millions for the gospel to take root throughout the most resistant areas of the world through the 10/40 Window prayer initiatives. Luis Bush, in his book, “The Move of The Holy Spirit in the 10/40 window,” relates “Praying through the Window III in 1997 focused on the unreached people groups….. nearly 27 million intercessors from 121 nations prayed for the lost of the window.”(Bush, 31) And we consistently hear incredible stories of the fruit of this saturating corporate prayer today.
We can trust that in the coming years more fruit will continue to be seen as a result of the increase of awareness and focus on global prayer and intercession. In 2002, while in Lagos, Nigeria, I was invited to attend an all-night prayer meeting and evangelistic service held in a huge, open field on the outskirts of town. The denomination who hosted this gathering did so on the last Friday night of every month. I had no idea what to expect, but went with much curiosity. When my host and I arrived by car, I was utterly astounded as I made my way through a sea of 1.2 million Nigerians who had come to this gathering. There were many prolonged times of corporate intercession (focused on national revival and global evangelization) throughout the 12 hour meeting. The global church is learning to pray en masse, and as a result walls of bondage and deceit are being shattered as we move forward in this hour.
In this pivotal hour of change and expectancy let us arise fully committing our hearts with total consecration unto the Lord of the Harvest and respond to Him with faith as we set out to impact a dying world with the love of Jesus Christ. It is time for serious surrender and perseverance. Who will reach Libya, Algeria, North Korea, Yemen? Who will love the broken and downtrodden in Sudan and India?
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November Day of Prayer and Fasting |
Don’t miss out on standing with many others around the world from the younger generation on this coming month’s SVM2 Day of Prayer and Fasting. Since our selected day of the 2nd of each month falls on a Saturday this month we will be pushing the date of this month’s day of prayer and fasting to Tuesday, November 2nd. Attached to this e-newsletter is a prayer guide for the day to give us focus as we cry out to God together for our generation and it’s involvement in Global Proclamation. 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!
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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:
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The Attributes of God by A.W. Tozer
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Intimate Friendship with God by Joy Dawson
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No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green by Melody Green
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Passion for Jesus by Mike Bickle
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Revolution! by Michael Brown
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The Calvary Road by Roy Hession
Global Proclamation - Books concerning reaching the world
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The Great Omission by Robertson McQuilkin
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Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret by Dr.& Mrs. Howard Taylor
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Let the Nations be Glad! by John Piper The Missions Addiction by David Shibley
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The Move of the Holy Spirit in the 10/40 Window by Luis Bush
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Operation World by Patrick Johnstone
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Scaling the Wall by Kathy Hicks
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Imprisoned in Iran by Dan Bauman
Most of these titles are available very reasonably, used and new, at www.amazon.com, www.cbd.com or www.usa.om.org/books
SVM2 Abandoned Times
Phone: 519.268.8778 / Fax: 626.398.0784
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".
SVM2 Team
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