Features for 2022

Here are seven suggestions for you if you would like to help support missionaries at Christmas. We have updated an article we wrote 5 years ago. Some things have changed!

It's been tough enough this year for Ukraine but the Winter will bring new difficult challenges. Don't forget to continue to pray for and support churches and missions that are active in helping. Choose from OSCAR's extensive list.

OSCAR's Christmas section includes some mission focused advent and Christmas resources as well as an extensive list of Christian organisations that sell Christmas cards and gifts for their ministry, plus 'alternative gifts' for people in need all over the world.

Are you following us on Instagram? We currently post weekly summaries, spotlights on key opportunities, organisations, resources and events as well as jobs closing soon, all in colourful graphic form!

OSCAR has set up a fund to provide small bursaries for TCK’s (children of missionaries) requiring counselling or transition assistance. It is generally for those who have limited access to this kind of support (i.e. not provided by their organisation) and very limited financial resources. If you would like to contribute to this fund, it will help us to help more TCKs.

This month's guest writer is Carol Luttah, a Kenyan national working in Papua New Guinea. Carol gives us her perspective on some of the challenges and questions people face when considering engaging in reverse mission.

SIL International has collated its HR materials online on one website and has very generously made much of it available for other organisations and projects to use. It's a mine of resources and advice.

OSCAR's Christmas section includes Christian organisations which sell Christmas cards and gifts for their ministry, plus 'alternative gifts' for people in need all over the world.

It's Trustees' Week is in November, so we are offering FREE posting of all trustee opportunities for the whole of the month! Just submit them through your account or, if you haven't got an account, send them to us and we will sort it.

We are opening our Gold & Silver package subscriptions and renewals for 2023. Unlike everywhere else, we are NOT increasing our prices! If your organisation isn't on a paid package yet and you book now, you get the rest of 2022 for FREE! Fill in the online form to subscribe/upgrade or email us to renew.

Whilst we may hear more about abuse in churches, is there much documented about abuse in missions? Sarita Hartz has conducted a recent study and last month published her initial findings along with an explanation of some of the main issues. 

Chris Howles, the person behind 'For Every Nation' and 'Mission Hits' has launched a new service profiling some 50 mission themed podcasts available online. He even provides a monthly email with links to some top world mission podcast episodes.

Langham Partnership's Global Voices Daily Email features excerpts from works written by Majority World scholars on various relevant theological and biblical topics. A great way to see different perpectives.

If you feel nervous when asking others to join your support team, Jo Arkell, from Stewardship, has some advice on how you can make others feel comfortable as you make the invitation.

This month sees the national Christian Resources Exhibition taking place in Esher, Surrey from October 11th to 13th. OSCAR will be exhibiting, along with a bunch of mission organisations and lots of other Christian resourcing organisations. Come, enjoy and have FREE entry on us!

If you are hoping to do mission somewhere else in the world, there are some key things you can develop locally before you go. This article from TEAM explores 5 reasons why preparing your ministry locally can be beneficial to your global impact later on.

Prayer.Global seeks to encourage extraordinary prayer for the fulfillment of the Great Commission using technology. You can log on at any time of day or night for a few minutes and pray for a specific chosen place or peoples for that moment. A brief insight into the situation to be prayed for is given.

If you think that your disability is a barrier to travel, or if you are wanting to make your mission trip or programme more accessible for anyone with any kind of disability, this comprehensive blog guide and associated documents will help you think through the issues and deal with many of the challenges.

If you have returned recently to the UK or are planning to return over the next 6 months,  this online day course will help you make sense of the challenges you face during transition. Our next course is on Saturday 24th September. Book now!

From Sep 1st we can offer our Gold advertising package for the rest of the year at just 33% of the annual fee! That gives organisations and churches a great opportunity to try out our all-inclusive advertising service over 4 months for one low fee.

Have you ever felt called to overseas mission but thought you weren’t the right person to go? AWM have written an article exploring some of the personal barriers to stepping out.

Lausanne Movement have launched a free weekly prayer guide to inspire and inform the whole church to pray for the whole world. You can use it in a variety of formats across your church, fellowship group or even for your own individual use.

The provision for online Christian secondary schooling is developing all the time. This recently took a big step forward with NSWLearning merging with Immanuel Online School to provide a bigger community and greater range of options (see the press release). 

If you have certain skills, including Medical, Logistics, Admin, IT and Security, and already work for another organisation, you can still sign up to DART. Under Samaritan's Purse, the DART programme enables short-term teams to help in disaster and relief situations.

OSCAR is exhibiting at three conferences this month, Sixty-One, Bangor Worldwide and David's Tent. Come and visit our jobs boards if you're going to any of these. You can also advertise your jobs on our board if you want.

Online privacy and security are important for all of us, but especially for many mission workers and anyone communicating internationally. Our friends at Comparitech do lots of great guides on technical issues and here's a recent survey and guide on the best VPN (Virtual Private Network) services for 2022.

Ron & Bonnie Koteskey have written books and led retreats on reentry. Out of their experience they have put together a free online workbook for those tackling reentry after short-term missionary service. Useful for short-term individuals or team members, or your church's young people on gap years.

Harry Hoffmann, Global Membercare Network coordinator, is running 20 days of free online daily devotionals throughout July for those on furlough or home assignment. Great if you're taking time out from the field for a few weeks or months.

Sixty-One is a brand new festival for students and young adults in August in Peterborough. It's a partnership between New Wine and Fusion to help prioritise the presence of God plus awaken a deeper calling and confidence in life's next steps. OSCAR will be there giving advice and profiling both Christian opportunities for service and resources.

Sarah, our media whizz at OSCAR, has been producing short videos for us over the last few months. They can be used in your church, with your youth group or anywhere online when you want to tell people about OSCAR's services. Check them out.

Peter Bates, who is new in his role of chairing his church's mission committee, has been putting together some thoughts on considerations when funding overseas workers. He would appreciate any input others have on this topic, particularly about what has been written so far or what has been missed! It's a very interesting insight into the subject from a fresh pair of eyes.

This site, managed by mission technology specialists, Lightsys, has a wealth of information on countries, topics, continents etc. to help you pray for the world, plan your strategy to act and present the Great Commission to others. 

The starting point for knowing who you are in God is knowing yourself. A little insight into who God has made you to be usually shows the handywork of the creator long before your knew Him as such. We have some great links to tests and information to help you discover yourself.

If your security and privacy is important to you, personally or for your work, then you will want to make sure that your instant messaging app is as good as it can be. Here is a growing list of apps with good security/privacy features that people have recommended. 

Following the success of a new mission area at CRE South-West in February. CRE have announced plans to host a similar area at CRE National held at Sandown Park Racecourse in Surrey in October. OSCAR is helping to put the area together.

How do you go about trying to find out what God might have you do with your life? OSCAR's director, Mike Frith, shares his top tips.

No matter what stage you’re at in your missionary journey, Pursuing the Call will prepare you to make the wisest, most Christ-centered decisions. It has step-by-step advice from the early stages of exploring God’s call, to ultimately moving overseas and ministering in a new culture.

Though parents and children can struggle with learning from home, there are some great tips and techniques you can use to ensure your child stays motivated. In this article on the GoStudent website, they share some top tips that’ll help you support your kids in the best way while they’re homeschooling. 

We are looking to develop our Community section into more of a hub for the topical or interactive things on the OSCAR website. We have made a start by expanding the landing page. Let us know your thoughts and what you would like to see.

If you have returned from overseas in the last year and are struggling with re-entry or the partial transition back to UK culture because of covid complications, this day course, run by OSCAR, will teach you the basics about making a healthy transition from one culture to another. It's also useful for those who want to understand and give care to those who have returned.

The desire to do something to help the Ukraine crisis has been strong in the UK. At OSCAR, we have received emails and phone calls from Christians wanting to play their part. So, we have put together a list of Christian organisations that are involved in responding in some way to the Ukraine crisis. That way, you have them all at your fingertips. 

Participate with hundreds of thousands of believers around the world for this annual prayer event for Muslims. Since 1993, the 30 Days of Prayer for the Muslim World prayer guide has been helping Christians to learn, love and pray for Muslims around the world. This guide will inspire you as you discover the unique challenges faced by Muslims in cultures near and far. 

With all the changes to international flights due to changing fuel prices and the Russian airspace ban, there's never been a better reason to use a specialist to plan and organise your travel arrangements. It could not only save you time and money, but it will also give you access to all the information only available to travel agents.

Between COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis, there is a huge increase in the need for support during extraordinary times. Thrive Worldwide have a range of downloadable resources to help you deal with a range of issues, including evacuation, trauma and critical incident. They produce some of them in Ukrainian and Russian too.

Would you like to sponsor a section of the OSCAR website? We currently have 15 sponsors for various sections with space for many more. Costs start at just £10 per month. Help keep OSCAR online and raise the profile of your organisation at the same time.

'If one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it' (1 Cor 12:26). Canon J. John suggests there are four duties we can do in response to the Ukraine crisis. 24-7 Prayer have also produced a prayer along with slides and a pdf printout that you can use in any context.

In a time where keeping positive seems more difficult than ever, Beth Sear, Senior Psychological Practitioner and Director of Work to Wellbeing, gives us some best practice pointers for staying positive and looking after our own mental health.

Testimonies are such a powerful demonstration of God working in the lives of all people, whatever their cultural or faith background. Here we have a testimony from someone who started out defending her Muslim faith but, through others sharing their faith and her own research, concluded that the Bible is reliable and true.

Did you know that OSCAR has a whole section devoted to helping you plan and implement actions in the event of a crisis? This section includes prevention, losing documents, training, advice and a resources section with lots of great links to useful organisations and websites.

OSCAR is planning a Christian job and mission opportunity board at some of the UK's biggest Christian festivals and exhibitions this year. The next one is Big Church Day Out in June. Bookings for job cards are now open!

What do you really know about the church and Christians in China? In this month's guest article, Joann Pittman from Chinasource.org gives us an overview of the situation. Having spent 28 years working in China and writing about her experiences, Joann highlights what we can learn from them and what we might be able to offer.

Have you ever wondered, "Is this all there is to life and ministry with the Lord?" "Why am I so tired all the time?" "How can I grow in my intimacy with God in practical ways?" "Am I so busy doing that I have forgotten how to be with God?"

This book, by Herbert F. Lamp Jr., explores over fifteen ancient spiritual graces for developing your relationship with God.

Dr. David Curtis has been on over 52 medical mission trips and examined over 50,000 patients. From his experience as a doctor and what he learnt doing these clinics, he created Eye Doc in a Box. It is a tool to train anyone to conduct eye clinics so that even more people can be blessed with better sight.

Martin Beck, of Shepherd Group, has opened a discussion on the hidden costs of making poor financial choices in mission. He poses two situations he has experienced that have proven to be false economies. What experiences have you had that we can all learn from?

OSCAR, along with a range of other mission organisations from the SWAN network, will be at the Christian Resources Exhibition in Exeter later this month (23rd & 24th Feb). We have a special mission area called 'Mission on the Map'. Come and meet us and enjoy a day of interaction, connection and resource gathering. Free tickets here.

Making New Year's resolutions isn't the problem, keeping them is. In this month's guest article, Vince Antonucci, pastor of Verve Church in Las Vegas, helps us stick with them by suggesting we follow six steps.

Many people are changing their careers and priorities as a result of the pandemic. Whether you're looking for your first opportunity in Christian work, or looking to change jobs within the Christian sector, OSCAR is the best place to start your search. We host more opportunities with Christian organisations than any other website in the UK.

Whilst getting away is not easy at the moment, you can prepare for better times by planning your holidays, breaks and retreat time for 2022. This will give them the priority they need in your life. We have lots of good suggestions for holiday and retreat locations geared for those in mission and ministry. We have also updated our Bible Weeks & Festivals page, as much as we can.

If you have returned from overseas in the last year and are struggling with re-entry or the partial transition back to UK culture because of covid complications, this day course, run by OSCAR, will teach you the basics about making a healthy transition from one culture to another. It's also useful for those who want to understand and give care to those who have returned.

Our online job advertising prices are remaining the same for 2022. That includes both our individual listing and our package fees. As the most comprehensive, most viewed and most reasonably priced Christian jobs website in the UK, that makes us even better value than last year!