December is the time to create your 2017 Individual Growth Plan. SEND is committed to nurturing the growth and development of all of our members. Therefore we ask and expect that all of our members will create a plan for their own growth each year. SEND U provides a IGP guide and a template to help you do a self-assessment and gives you a step-by-step process in creating your personal growth plan. You can find the guide at this link (bit.ly/SENDUIGPguide) and you can also find it here on the SEND U wiki.

Remember, the IGP is not a ministry plan describing your goals in ministry in 2017. Your IGP is your plan for learning, so that you can become better at what God has called you to do. Here is a simple analogy. If your ministry plan is like the goal to cut down enough trees to build a house, then the IGP is the plan for when and where you will stop to sharpen the axe. The IGP is an intentional plan of learning activities (books to read, workshops to attend, people you want to interview) that will equip you to do your ministry and become more the person you want to be. SEND International allows you to spend up to 10% of your work time in ongoing growth and professional development. The IGP is a way of making that growth intentional.

Of course, we don't need more good intentions that never get done. So we ask you to show your IGP to your team leader or a friend so that you have some accountability to make the plan actually happen.

Here are two ways you could sharpen the axe in 2017!

Crosswired.com is an online learning platform that was created by people in OMF. Other missionagencies and member care organizations have developed self-study courses for this platform. Currently there are 32 different short courses available, covering many different topics of interest to cross-cultural workers. And for a short time, we can access all of it for free. Crosswired is offering all SEND members 3 months of free membership (normally $1/month) and free access to all the self-study courses (most normally cost $5.99) on their site until the end of January.

This is a generous offer and I would strongly encourage you to register on Crosswired.com and try out a couple of Crosswired courses between now and January 31. These are short courses, and most can be completed in under an hour. I have taken a few of their courses already and I found them very well done and helpful. I particularly enjoyed the one on Cross-cultural Discipleship Principles, developed by the former International Director of TEAM. The coupon code you will use is SENDU2017. The list of available courses and the process for registering and enrolling in a course can be found on this wiki page - Crosswired.com.

I am pleased to announce that SEND has signed a partnership with the Fuller Seminary's School of Intercultural Studies. This partnership allows SEND members to get up to 53% off of several different online courses specifically designed for missionaries. By completing 6 of these masters-level courses, you can earn a Certificate of Christian Studies (Mission) from Fuller without ever needing to go to a Fuller campus. These courses can also be applied to a MA degree. This web page on the Fuller site gives more information about this certificate and the courses offered. On the SEND U site on SharePoint, you can find more information, including what courses are being offered in 2017 and 2018. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Keep Learning,

Ken

Ken Guenther
SEND U Director based in Kiev, Ukraine