I asked our International Leadership Team to share the resource that they found most helpful for their own learning and growth in 2023. Here are their responses:

Warren Janzen - Podcast, The Maverick Podcast. I am currently enjoying the second season. The podcast explores the unexpected movements of God among Muslim peoples across the globe. Very inspiring.

Dave Brubacher - Conference, Global Leadership Summit. It is a yearly 2-day event (online or in-person) that draws leaders from a wide cross-section of the for-profit and non-profit worlds. There are always excellent leadership insights that are applicable to everyday life on the mission field. In 2023, I particularly enjoyed sessions by Craig Groeschel (about Trust), Condoleeza Rice (about Principled Leadership), James Clear (about Habits), and Patrick Lencioni (about Courage).

Craig Gustafson - Website, Motus Dei: Network for the Missiological Study of Global Movements to Christ. Most of their resources are not publicly available (you have to be vetted to join) but their recent book on movements to Jesus is current and is filled with solid research on the struggles and successes in these movements. Some of the key leaders in this movement work with Muslims but there is good data on broader themes such as theology of movements, social architecture, women in movements, diaspora, and movements in Thailand.

Lisa Gustafson - Network, the Accord Research Alliance Network and in particular, their journal, Christian Relief, Development and Advocacy: The Journal Of The Accord Network. They have an excellent series of online webinars and a podcast as well.

Philip Jackson - Book, Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools__ by Tyler Staton. Lynn and I both were encouraged by Staton's honesty around disappointment with unanswered prayer as well as his passion toward intimacy with God through prayer. We listened to it on Audible, some chapters two and three times while walking the Camino. Also recommended by Warren.

John Wicker - Book, Global Humility: Attitudes for Mission. Also recommended by Dave Brubacher and Warren. Dave says,“an excellent resource for preparing the missionary in cross-cultural ministry. The greatest asset we can bring with us to our overseas context is humility, that readiness to learn from our host culture and to not presume that our way of thinking or doing is right.”

Ken Guenther - Book, Mansions of the Heart: Exploring the Seven Stages of Spiritual Growth Paperback by R. Thomas Ashbrook. Ashbrook puts Teresa of Avila's work into more contemporary language for Protestants. He gives us a roadmap for a life of growing intimacy with Christ after we learn how to serve faithfully in some ministry in the church. This book gave me a vision and sparked a renewed desire to continue to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus. I realized that I still have a long way to go.

8 people responded to our question from last month—What did you learn from your IGP in 2023?

1. John Edwards
2. Rich Ramirez
3. Brooke Nagel
4. Lisa Farley
5. Brittany Beacham
6. Jaime Clore
7. Alyson Haynes
8. Joy Rodriguez

Several shared that they grew in areas even though they did not complete their entire IGP. A few mentioned that they saw the value in having an accountability partner (aka an IGP encourager) to keep them on track. If you have not already read their responses, they can be found here. The entries will encourage you in your learning journey so give them a read.

Thank you to everyone who participated in sharing their experience. Each person who responded won a $10 amazon gift certificate.

How are your IGPs coming along for 2024? If you are looking for an IGP coaching call to assist in your plan, please email Jenny Baker to arrange a time to chat.

SEND has recently released its Domestic Abuse Policy and manual. Statistics tell us that everyone knows someone who is affected by domestic abuse.

Learn more about how to address this international issue. A training course has been prepared by professionals specifically for SEND members and employees. We are offering it to you for no cost until October 2024. This training has been broken up into four sections with two to three 10–15-minute subsections and can be completed at your convenience. You will need to enter your send.org email address, and request a one-time password which will be sent to your send.org email.

We are asking all team leaders to take this training, but all SEND members are invited to take the training as well. If you have any questions, contact Colleen Eichelberger ceichelberger@send.org

Domestic Abuse Training

All these can be found on the SEND U Training Events pageon the SEND U wiki.

• This 5-week online course (30-35 hours) is focused on equipping the missions team leader with the tools to serve more effectively as a supervisor or manager of people. It will look at the concept of steward leadership, and different aspects and skills needed in providing oversight, including setting clear expectations, providing regular accountability, offering feedback and promoting the growth of the people on one’s team. The course is facilitated by Ken Guenther. SEND members get more than a 50% discount.

• A two-week online course designed to give you tools to understand and grow in resilience and to keep your life and ministry true to your calling.

• The course walks through the eight different cultural differences found in Erin Meyer's book, The Culture Map. Participants are asked to develop plans for how they can help their team become a great intercultural team. The course is only 2 weeks long, and expects participants to work on different assignments for about an hour each day.

• A one-week Grow2Serve online course designed to help you as a new missionary or cross-cultural worker to begin to put into practice your culture-learning skills. The course asks you to make an investment of 4-6 hours of learning time. First, you’ll review some basic concepts of culture and participant observation. Next, you’ll get to practice observation and assessment through a fiction-based activity. And the final task is a guided observation project on-site at a venue of your choice.

• A 6-week online course that is required of all mid-term and long-term members of SEND. It looks at worldview, cultural values, cultural stress, servanthood and sacrifice, and safety and security. It is facilitated by Bethany Reedy and Jenny Baker. About 5-6 hours of work per week for native English speakers.

• NMT is where you will find the experienced teachers, the networking, connections, and community that you have been craving. This is where you will find a safe environment to learn about your ministry location, and collaborate with and encourage those working in the North. For those who have been any length of time in bush ministry to those new to the ministry, this training is for you! This year SEND will again be hosting NMT at Tanalian Bible Camp in Port Alsworth, Alaska.

Keep learning,

Ken Guenther
based in Saskatchewan, Canada

Jenny Baker
based in Yukon, Canada