Foundations of the Christian Faith (Master Reference Collection) by James Montgomery Boice. Recommended by Anne Marie Smoker. “A systematic theology book for the lay. The first half of the book is solid theology, may not interest some folks. But the second half of the book I've used over and over again in ministry as I relate to people and try to bring Christ into our conversations.”

IGP guide or roadmap – A guide, self-assessment and form for creating an Individual Growth Plan developed by SEND U. For creating a IGP for mission leaders, see Personal Growth of the leader.

A process for self-assessment and creating a personal growth plan, developed by SEND China

China Annual Self Assessment

SEND China Personal Growth Plan

Ken Guenther's PowerPoint on creating a personal development plan, given at Leadership Couples' Orientation

A template for personal growth goals from the Personal Growth Self Assessment Tool developed by Steve Moore.

Overcoming in the battle with pornography

see resources on the Member Care page

see articles and resources on emotional intelligence, depression and burnout on this page

see resources on the Finishing Well page

Intentional Living is a topic that is discussed in some detail in the pre-field Member Orientation Program. See the handouts for this session.

Reflect & refocus > a series of questions to help us regain focus on life and ministry. Use it on a quarterly basis (once every 3 months).

Should we set ministry goals, and why do goals make us more productive? See Goals and Accountability for Ministry Effectiveness: Insights from Psychological Science by David Dunaetz.

The SEND North Central Europe Personal Review Form, which includes a section on personal development goals.

Accountability questions suggested for an accountability partnership

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. Reviewed by Ken Guenther on the SEND U blog.

Ted Szymczak's paper on Lifelong Learning with theoretical foundations and examples in the Missions context of SEND NCE.

Appendix for Ted's paper on Lifelong Learning with NCE's L&O manual and Personal Review Forms.

Life-Long Learning > article by Rick Mann

The Learning Cycle: Insights for Faithful Teaching from Neuroscience and the Social Sciences by Muriel I. Elmer > Reviewed by Gary Ridley on the SEND U blog.

Teaching and Learning across Cultures: A Guide to Theory and Practice by Craig Ott > Reviewed by Gary Ridley on the SEND U blog.

The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don't by Julia Galef. Reviewed by Ken Guenther on the SEND U blog.

You Can Change: God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions by Tim Chester. Recommended by Jacob Ginter. “discipleship that gets to the heart of the matter… not formulaic”

Seeing the larger picture > an article by Dr. Evan Parks on how people change

Heart of the Problem: When You're Tired of 'Just Coping' with Your Struggles and Want to Find a Cure, You're Ready to Face the... by Henry Brandt and Kerry Skinner. Recommended by John Paetkau.

Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God's Unfailing Love by Jerry Bridges. Recommended by Ken Z. “Great book to help us understand the enabling power of grace and the transforming work of grace. Much of this book exposed my own legalistic tendencies and pointed me to the finished work of Christ (like most of Bridges' books).”

Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. Recommended by Andy Spradley. “A unique and very insightful look at the Sermon on the Mount. Seeks to inspire the reader to live a “God-saturated life”. Richard Foster (author of Celebration of Discipline) called it “the book I have been waiting for all my life”. A rich book for personal spiritual growth and reflection. I'm being inspired even more as I read it through for the 2nd time.”

Hazards of Being a Man: Overcoming 12 Challenges All Men Face by Jeffery E. Miller. Audio series also available as well as discussion guides. Recommended by Ron Redell. “Each entry in the series focuses on different challenges that men face through eyes of Old Testament lives. All of the examples that Pastor Miller uses are negative examples so that we can learn from their failures.”

Counselling Resources at Christian Counselling and Educational Foundation, particularly articles by David Powlison, recommended by Jim Gabriels.

The Tank Man’s Son: A Memoir by Mark Bouman. Reviewed by Ken Guenther on the SEND U blog. The author's unbelievably traumatic childhood was graciously transformed by God into something that made him more resilient and able to function and even lead in a time of great stress and chaos.

Understanding Yourself > links to various personal self-assessment tools

Personal Growth Self Assessment Tool developed by Steve Moore, president of The Mission Exchange, and author of the The Dream Cycle: Leveraging the Power of Personal Growth

SEND Team Leader Profile Self-Assessment.docx based on SEND Team Leader Profile

Cure for the Common Life: Living in your sweet spot by Max Lucado

see wiki page on this topic

see IGP resources on spiritual formation