Gospel.com Blog

Interested in ministry to the Muslim world? Before Christians can witness effectively to their Muslim neighbors, they need to understand Islamic beliefs and culture.

We’ve mentioned Arab World Ministries before—they’re a Christian ministry focused on sharing the Gospel with Muslims and educating believers about Islam. As part of that mission, they’re running a training program this May called the Summer Institute on Islam in Philadelphia. SIIP 2008 is a training course designed to help Christians better understand the theology and worldview of Islam, in order to be more effective ambassadors of Christ to Muslims. The SIIP 2008 website lists the following objectives for the course:

• Understand the major cross-cultural, theological, and spiritual challenges westerners face when relating to Muslims.
• Know how to respond accurately and respectfully to the assumptions behind Muslim objections to Biblical Christianity.
• Be able to compare and contrast the Islamic faith with Biblical Christianity.
• Know how to respond to Muslims in love by speaking into their framework of understanding.
• Understand the world-view and ethos of Islam.

The deadline for course registration and fees is coming up soon (May 15), so if it’s something that interests you, head over to the SIIP 2008 site and get started on the registration process!

Just wanted to point your attention to a site with a number of promising features called StudentSoul.org. This site is a ministry of InterVarsity, which has been doing college ministry since 1941. There’s an emphasis on user-generated content on StudentSoul.org, “at every turn, readers have the chance to participate in creating content at StudentSoul.org–from making comments on Spotlight features or suggesting questions for our next InterView to posing a Good Question or uploading your own resources.”

Their mission is to be “a place for conversation about lively faith, real relationships and life on a college campus.”
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Yesterday, tragedy struck in the form of yet another fatal school shooting–this time in a Cleveland, Ohio high school. Dale Fincher of the Soulation ministry talks about the religious and spiritual elements of the shooting, and wonders how Christians can do a better job of reaching spiritually troubled individuals–like this shooter–before they act out destructively.

Summer’s over, and the school year is back in session… including at Virginia Tech, the site of a horrifying shooting spree earlier this year. The Virginia Tech InterVarsity group, called 180, met recently for the first meeting of the new school year. The question of how to approach the issue of the shootings–still fresh on the minds of students and faculty–was a big one. Here’s a report on the way Virginia Tech’s InterVarsity group approached the issue, neither avoiding the topic or obsessing on it, but focusing on the hope that Jesus offers.

The registration deadline for the last of InterVarsity’s On Purpose Greek Conferences in Charlotte, NC is rapidly approaching! InterVarsity’s Greek conferences are an aspect of their fraternity and sorority ministry, and are the biggest IVP events outside the massive Urbana student missions convention.

If you’re a student with an interest in shaping your campus culture for Christ, consider attending the On Purpose conference, which runs from February 16-18. Read more about the Greek conferences at the IVP website.

Educators and parents: looking for a place to discuss current ideas about teaching and nurturing children? Dan Beerens of Christian Schools International writes a blog, Nurturing Faith, at which he tackles concerns, issues, and ideas about raising kids today, with a focus on their personal and spiritual development as well as their academic success.

Recent posts have covered topics ranging from cultivating your students’ gifts to accelerated physiological and psychological development in young people today. If you’re an educator or a parent with a special interest in Christian education, bookmark Nurturing Faith–and add a comment or two to a post that catches your eye and makes you think!

Christians often talk about the need to “transform” culture. But what does that actually look like? Do Christians transform culture by being a part of, by participating in it, or by commenting on it? In an interview at InterVarsity’s StudentSoul site, Andy Crouch (of Christianity Today International) talks about the need for Christians to become “culture creators”–to not just condemn or blindly participate in culture, but to actively create superior pieces of culture. Crouch notes:

…unfortunately right now Christians are kind of known for being critical and uptight, right? But we are not known as people who are creative. That’s too bad because I’m around so many creative, joyful, culturally-engaged believers. So the perception is not totally accurate, but there is some truth to it. The problem is that critique just doesn’t get you anywhere unless you create something that improves on what is already there.

Crouch offers some specific suggestions, especially for students who are looking to impact the culture of their school campuses.

Nobody said marriage was easy–but it’s especially challenging when both people are working in academia! At InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries site, one woman recounts the challenges that academia posed to her engagement and marriage, and how God provided for their family in ways that she never expected.

School is back in session–and kids aren’t the only ones scrambling to gear up for the new school year. In an article in the latest issue of Christian School Teacher, Pete Post offers a collection of practical advice for educators embarking on their nerve-wracking first year of teaching. Post’s advise ranges from the predictable (”Listen to your students”) to the decidedly unusual (”Beware the Italian Renaissance”). Whether you’re starting your first year of teaching or have been a teacher for years, read his advice and consider whether it can help you through the school year ahead.

Last week, over 9,000 of America’s teachers gathered in Orlando for the NEA 2006 convention. Since the creation/evolution issue is an important one for schools and educators today, the Answers in Genesis ministry made a special effort to reach out to convention-goers with its message of Creation.

Answers in Genesis blogged its outreach efforts at the Propoganda in the Classroom blog. Stop by to see why AiG decided to pursue this outreach effort, and read about their interactions with convention-goers.