…we will foster a culture of care among our churches and mission organizations compliant with the model and mandate of Christ to love and serve each other…cooperate in stewardship of God’s resources with each other and with the global member care community…raise more church leaders and ministers particularly focused on Member Care, adequately equipped…to serve the needs of…[mission workers] including their families and home-based personnel (excerpts from the Declaration, Philippine Member Care Congress, October 2005)
Member Care Around the World
Recent Books and Materials
General Member Care
—Help Your [Mission Worker] Thrive: Leadership Practices that Make a Difference (2016), Ken Harder and Carla Foote http://www.gmi.org/products/books/gmibooks/help-your-missionaries-thrive/
--Staff well-being and mental health in UNHCR (2016). Suzik, D., Thomas, R., Lachens, L., & Mihalca, L. http://www.unhcr.org/56e2dfa09.pdf
--Workplace Stress: A Collective Challenge (2016) International Labor Organization
http://www.ilo.org/safework/events/safeday/lang--en/index.htm
—Mind the Gaps: Engaging the Church in Missionary Care (2015) David Wilson (Editor) and the Trinity Church Member Care Team http://mindthegaps.org/
–Healthy, Resilient, and Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry: A Comprehensive Member Care Plan (2015), Laura Mae Gardner http://condeo.ondemandbookstore.com/healthy-resilient-and-effective.html
--The missional heart of member care. International Bulletin of Mission Research 31(2), 91-96. http://www.internationalbulletin.org/issues/2015-02/2015-02-091-odonnell.html
--Member Care Study on Korean Mission Workers (in Korean, 2015), Korea Research Institute for Mission krimadm@krim.org
—Special Issue on Member Care (February 2015) Missio Dei (journal) http://missiodeijournal.com/md-6-1.html
--Humanitarian Effectiveness and Staff Wellbeing (webinar 30 July 2015; archived) Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Protection https://phap.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=302
Relationships
--The Curious Incident of a Boy's Transformation: Helping a Child on the Autistic Spectrum (2016) Debbie Lovell debbiehawker@interhealth.org.uk
–God’s Design for Community: Strategies for Building Better Relationships (2015), Gaylyn Williams. https://relationshipresources.org/shop/godsdesignforcommunity/
—Reconcilable Differences: Strategies for Your Journey Through Conflict (2015), Gaylyn Williams. https://relationshipresources.org/shop/reconcilable-differences/
—Married in Mission: A Handbook for Couples in Cross-Cultural Service (2015), Alexis Kenny. http://alexisckenny.wix.com/marriedinmission
—Love Across Latitudes: A Workbook on Cross-cultural Marriage (2015, sixth edition), Janet Fraser-Smith. http://www.gileadbookspublishing.com/love-across-latitudes.html
—Our Global Families: Christians Embracing Common Identity in a Changing World (2015), Todd Johnson and Cindy Wu. http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/our-global-families/349570
Recent Events and Training (2016 examples)
--Africa: InterHealth (Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia, UK)
https://www.interhealthworldwide.org/home/training-events/?selecttrainingtopic=0&selectstaffgroup=0&selectlocation=0&page=2&tab=1
--Asia: Asia Member Care Consultation (April 2016) Singapore
david.modesto@gmail.com
--Australia: Spiritually Aware Member Care Course (June 2016)
http://www.globalmembercare.com/fileadmin/user_upload/2016/SAMCfinalpdf.pdf
--Europe: European Member Care Conference-10 (May 2016) Germany
http://www.membercare.eu/emcc-10/
--India MUT Conference (June 2016)
http://mutindia.org/index.php
--Korea: Global Member Care: Serving Jesus Christ in the Missio Dei (leaders workshop, May
2016), Korea Research Institute for Mission
http://membercareassociates.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Korea-global-member-care-overview.docx
--Mexico (Latin America) Member Care Course (June 2016)
https://www.facebook.com/Cuidado-Integral-550471775116545/
--Spain: Adelante (May 2016)
http://us11.forward-to-friend.com/forward/show?u=796f8c4f9565aa1e09a106bf8&id=3be950b577
--Turkey: Counseling and Member Care: An Intensive Counseling Seminar for Cross-Cultural Workers (October 2016) Narramore Christian Foundation ncfseminars@gmail.com
--USA: Mind the Gaps Conference (March 2016)
Note: Neal Pirolo was a main speaker. See the updated version of his book, Serving as Senders Today (2012). http://mindthegaps.org/2016conference/
--USA: MK Retreat Seminar (July 2016)
https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1794378
See also:
--Sharpening your Interpersonal Skills (schedule of trainings around the world)
http://itpartners.org/
--Member Care Update: Training opportunities (April 2014)
http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f34fc856e7776d7b69dafd3b3&id=3bd7b0087d
-- Breathe, Restore, Traction, etc. (special retreats, just a few among many)
More Member Care Materials
--Brigada Today (search “member care”)
http://www.brigada.org/
--Cross-Cultural Workers
http://crossculturalworkers.com/
--William Carey Library
https://missionbooks.org/products/categories/category/member-care
--100+ Books for Member Care (including updates)
http://membercareassociates.org/?page_id=606
--Member Care Materials in Different Languages
http://membercareassociates.org/?page_id=43
Global, Regional, National, and Local News
(updates, newsletters, resources)
--Global Member Care Network
www.globalmembercare.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/globalmembercare/
--Africa
africamembercarenetwork@gmail.com
http://maniafrica.com/network-facilitators/member-care/
--Asia
david.modesto@gmail.com
--Europe
http://www.membercare.eu/
--India
http://mutindia.org/
--Indonesia
http://www.memcareindo.org/
--Latin America
http://cuidadointegralcomibam.blogspot.fr/
http://www.comibam.org/es/?s=cuidado+integral&submit=Buscar
--Middle East and Central Asia
memcare@poboc.com
Personal Reflections
Global Member Care—Polishing the Gold
Doing member care well helps us to do missions well...It is a pioneering, practical, and deeply personal ministry. Doing member care well is a direct and strategic way to fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12, along with both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. That is to say, God blesses us and thus we bless others, especially those who bring the blessings of God to the unreached.
Tolkien (1965, p. 325) has said it well: “Everything that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost. The old that is strong does not wither. Deep roots are not reached by the frost.” In the world of missions and member care, some of the choicest servants are unheard of, not necessarily professionally trained, and not usually invited to be plenary speakers at conferences. But they are solid gold—they sparkle internally, privately, out of the limelight; and they are sturdy folk, with deep roots in God, putting into practice the biblical call to “love one another.”
It is not the member care specialists—as important as these are—who are the main practitioners of member care, even though some of them might be leading the member care charge. Rather, it is the missiological equivalent of “the average person on the street”—the [mission worker] on the field. Herein lies the backbone and the future of member care: mutual support and spiritual nurture among [mission workers], and between missionaries and the people to whom they are called. We member care workers primarily polish the gold that is already there. May God give us grace to follow their examples of sacrifice. And may we do our part in supporting them in their most holy work, serving with them unto the ends of the earth and until the end of the age.
Excerpted from “To the Ends of the Earth, to the End of the Age.” Doing Member Care Well: Perspectives and Practices from Around the World (2012, pp. 9-10)
