MOP 201 is an essential part of SEND International’s Member Orientation Program. This is a 6-week online course that builds the foundation and provides much of the preparatory content for MOP 202. It is designed to help you learn about and reflect upon many of the issues missionaries face as they head into cross-cultural life and ministry. The course takes 5 – 6 hours of work per week and will cover these main topics:

• Defining Worldview
• Understanding Culture & Personal Cultural Values
• Cultural Stress
• Incarnational Ministry and Sacrifice
• Safety & Security

MOP 201 focuses heavily on cross-cultural life and ministry, so those whose job and ministry will not be taking them out of their home culture have at times wondered why the course might be useful for them. MOP 201 training is useful for all SEND members, no matter what their area of service, for the following reasons:

1. Multicultural world of SEND – Even if you never live outside of your home culture, your work will likely intersect with those from other cultures. SEND has sending offices in Canada, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, and the USA, as well as missionaries from partner organizations in South America, Europe and Australia. It is likely that sometime during your career with SEND, you will have reason to work with someone from another culture and/or take a trip to a different culture, and it is good to be prepared for these eventualities. Unity in Diversity is one of SEND’s core values, and we can demonstrate our belief in this value by learning about cross-cultural interactions.
2. Cultural Intelligence Sequence – One of the elements of cross-cultural understanding that is covered in MOP 201 is Cultural Intelligence. Cultural Intelligence is a sequential series of topics that begin in MOP 201 and proceed into MOP 202. If you only attend MOP 202, you will miss about half of the Cultural Intelligence training, which is important for all SEND members given the reasons listed above.
3. Relational Learning – In SEND U, we value information, but we also value relational learning. As adults, we all bring different experiences to the table, and we learn best in community when we can each contribute to the learning of one another. This relational learning begins in the video calls of MOP 201. Further, MOP is not only for the purpose of training, but also for the purpose of building relationships with SEND leadership, SEND U staff, and other SEND missionaries. Without attending MOP 201, you would be missing part of this relationship building opportunity.
4. Understanding Missionaries – Whether you are recruiting new missionaries or serving missionaries in some capacity, the topics of MOP 201 give you an opportunity to understand the struggles and stressors that missionaries face in serving outside of their home cultures. Further, while it can be difficult to commit to a training when you are already busy with many responsibilities, this is also what our missionary appointees face. While taking MOP 201, they are in the midst of raising support, working full-time, raising children, moving, and preparing to say goodbye to everyone and everything that is loved and familiar to them.

Overall, MOP 201 is an essential part of orientation for any SEND member, whether you are headed to a different culture to minister, or your ministry will be directed towards those who will. Those who take the course often rate the course as useful to their future work and find it to be a key element to their orientation to SEND International.