The latest World Watch List has been released from Open Doors, outlining the 50 countries with the most Christian persecution.  It can be easy for me to take for granted the freedoms I have to worship without fear of arrest, torture, or death.  Check out this video below or website for more information.  We at GMI will be producing a related map soon.

Last Fall, I had the opportunity to take a class, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement.  I had been considering it for at least a year, and when the course was offered at my home church, I decided it was the right time.  This course, organized by the U.S. Center for World Mission, was an incredible set of lessons that addressed what God is doing in the world, both historically and currently, and the privilege we have to play a part in it.  My eyes were further opened to the Biblical-basis for world missions, the strategies needed, biographies of influential missionaries, and lessons from case studies.  One of the last set of concepts in the course was a discussion of the roles of going, sending, welcoming (such as connecting with international students or visitors), and mobilizing.  I fall into the mobilizing role, making maps and presenting statistics to support and increase the missional efforts of the Church.  I was also challenged by the call to fill multiple roles in our lifetimes, and I look forward to those chances.

Another concept from the course that impacted me was God’s intention to bless us so that we can be a blessing to others and to the nations (Psalm 67).  “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us. That your way be known on the earth, Your salvation among the nations” (v.1-2).

See more information at www.perspectives.org

Here’s a link to Luis Bush’s new booklet on the 4/14 window — a demographic term that stresses the importance of impacting children within the ages of 4 to 14.  I was responsible for creating most of the maps: http://4to14window.com/4-14-window-booklet

Mapping for New Life Church’s Global Ministries: I both attend and am graciously supported by New Life Church. To help raise interest in their mission trips for 2010, several volunteers assisted in the design of a fold-out brochure, featuring trip descriptions and maps. Some sample graphics are included below. The maps needed to be stylized for an attractive brochure, as well as show the general areas for the trips. We were pleased with the printed result and hope that it stirs many to serve in short-term trips in various countries around the world.  See the Global Ministries website for more information:  http://www.newlifeglobal.net/

SRG:  This organization distributes funds to various ministry projects. We gathered data on religions, literacy, age distribution, languages, denominations, and other topics in 2007 and 2008, producing many maps and spreadsheets. SRG use these visual aids and tables in making decisions and communicating with donors. GMI was honored to receive a follow-up request to update the maps with the latest data available in 2009.

Recently, I had the significant privilege of meeting with the Operation World team in the United Kingdom.  Operation World is the definitive prayer guide for the nations, listing country information, religious statistics, and strategic issues for missions.  Its purpose is to inform and to mobilize.  There have been seven editions published, with the next due in 2010.  It is listed in Christianity Today’s Top 50 Books that have Shaped Evangelicals.  GMI will create the maps for the book, publish a DVD version of the book (making it searchable electronically), and design a website.

In the summer of 2005, I briefly met with the current author, Jason Mandryk, in the UK when working with the founding author, Patrick Johnstone, on an internship.  Exactly four years later I met Jason again, with the privilege discussing mapping ideas for the 2010 edition, representing GMI.  The Lord has directed and guided my steps in the last four years, and it’s been exciting to learn much more about mapping and the world of missions.                     

Patrick Johnstone writes, “if all the desires, requests and goals expressed in [Operation World] were to be implemented it would radically change the nations of this world.”  It truly embraces the call to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19-20). For more information, please see www.operationworld.org (2001 edition) and www.operationworld.info (information on upcoming edition).

It can be easy at times to get lost in the tasks and ‘to-do lists’ of our work and temporarily lose sight of the source and motivation that is driving our efforts. It is illuminating to step back, see things from a broader perspective, and catch glimpses of how God has been working.

I spent many hours gathering data, designing maps, and making edits for Luis Bush and his booklet on the ‘4/14 Window.’ In this work, he stresses the importance of reaching children between the ages of 4 and 14 with the Gospel and the capacity they have to make important changes in the world’s future. It was a blessing to see the maps published and read the following feedback in an email from Luis:

I believe it tells the story powerfully through the maps themselves… It shows the enormous contribution Global Mapping can be for the mission enterprise in our time. Many of us out there are visual learners. The message is very clear through the maps.

Some of the maps I produced are in the January update below.  It was great to hear this encouragement.

Similarly, a worker from another mission agency asked me to put together a background image for a mapping project. The rest of his team added important early biblical places in a native language. The shapes of the continents and the hillshades (mountains) were provided in our software’s dataset, so my job was to pick the right color scheme and bring the layers together (see image below – click once for a larger view and click again to zoom in for detail). The leader was very pleased with the colors of the landforms and the clarity of the image. This was encouraging, and the final map will be used on the mission field in South America.

Hebrews 10:23 reads, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”

The mapping work at GMI has continued to increase in the last several months as various organizations have to come to us to discuss projects. At times, it can be overwhelming, but we are thankful for all of the interest in mapping and research. Please pray for the wisdom to manage and execute these strategic projects effectively!

Here are a couple of highlights:

• OneHope (formerly Book of Hope):  This organization distributes literature and shows The GodMan movie in many countries around the world. For India and Brazil, we mapped out where they were doing their ministry work in relation to the youth population (aged 5-19). Thus, they can analyze how effectively they are reaching people with Gospel and where they need to re-focus their efforts. GMI completed this project in February, and we have now been asked to submit a proposal for a much larger mapping project that covers more countries.

• Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI): We are developing 7 maps for their upcoming Missio Dei textbook. The history section traces the growth of Christianity, and the maps we’re producing will highlight the time periods in the text. These are the first ‘textbook’ maps I have produced!

I am very thankful for those who pray for this work.  It is greatly needed and appreciated!

I’m writing this from GMI’s new location in Colorado Springs – we moved into an existing facility that is located closer to our staff’s homes and is a better fit for us financially. We spent the last couple of weeks moving and getting settled in, and now I am back to work on two major mapping projects:

One of those is the ongoing work with Patrick Johnstone and his new book on world evangelization. Working closely with the Joshua Project, a ministry dedicated to sharing the current statistical status of unreached peoples, we have been developing maps that show the world’s languages classified by six major religions: Christian, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Non-religious, and Ethnic/other. Patrick is very pleased with the initial results. It also shows how partnership between organizations helps to advance the work of the Kingdom more effectively.

 

I have also been working with missions strategist Luis Bush on an upcoming booklet that focuses on the importance of reaching children and young people. He was interested in my 3D designs (see one above) that can show two different variables in a visually striking way. Hopefully, this will open the door for more of this work. Also, we have completed some more traditional 2D maps for the booklet, like the one below showing the under-5 mortality rate of each country. This is one of the standard global health indicators (the probability of dying between birth and 5 years of age, per 1,000 births) and shows great physical needs in Africa, Asia, and portions of Latin America.

Thanks for your interest in what I am doing here at Global Mapping International. I started my position in January 2007. It has been a wonderful experience helping organizations, ministry leaders, and authors clearly ‘see’ their ministry contexts through mapping and research.

Global Mapping International is a non-profit, Christian missions research organization in Colorado Springs, CO. GMI’s primary goal is to provide research and information to mission leaders, churches, organizations, and individuals. Helping missionaries get accurate and timely information is vital to their planning, outreach, and witness for Christ. GMI specializes in professional research services, geographic mapping and training, and mission information publishing.

At GMI, I am in charge of custom-mapping. I gather data and produce maps depicting themes such as population characteristics, the locations of ministries, and the locations of certain ethno-linguistic groups. Projects have included work for Patrick Johnstone, author of Operation World, Josh McDowell Ministry, Pioneers, the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, VIVA Network, and the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, among many others. My vision is that ministry leaders will make more use of geographic techniques to spawn new ideas, enhance planning, and improve the effectiveness of their ministries. Specifically, my ministry builds upon my recent studies in cartography and the geography of religion (M.S. in Geography from the University of Georgia), as well as my studies in business management, focusing on entrepreneurship (B.S. in Business Management from Clemson University).

As mentioned above, I am currently assisting Patrick Johnstone with his new book on world evangelization. Mr. Johnstone is the author of the detailed prayer guide and global assessment of the Church’s missionary work, Operation World. In the summer of 2005, I had the opportunity to work as an intern for GMI providing on-site cartographic work for the book in his United Kingdom office. I have continued this work here in Colorado, making various maps and researching relevant data. This book will explore global missions trends in a visual manner with significant numbers of maps and graphics woven into the narrative.

My work with GMI is unique since it is not a salaried position. Like all GMI staff members, I have the privilege of developing a team of partners to pray for and financially support this ministry. A large portion of my income is from the financial support of churches and individuals. I am inviting potential partners to consider a monthly or yearly commitment to this work. If you have any further questions, please see the custom mapping website (www.gmi.org/mymap). Also, GMI’s 2008 Annual Report is available online.  Thank you very much for considering this opportunity!