Resources

Most Christians today readily understand that the Gospel of Christ relates to our hearts, our spirits, our souls and even our minds. But many are at a loss when it comes to the body! Yet the message of the New Testament is clear that the Gospel has huge implications for how we think about and treat our bodies. Pope John Paul II and others in recent years have been challenging the global church to rediscover the importance of our bodily existence here on this earth and the implications this has for life and ministry. This workshop aims to highlight what the Bible teaches about the body and specifically to focus on the implications of this truth for Christians in the medical profession.

My wife, Lara, and I thought we knew a lot about missions before we went to Cambodia. We had both been journeying in missions for many years - I majored in anthropology, worked in a cross-cultural clinic, had been on several short-term trips, attended conferences and trainings, and advocated whenever we could for missions; we lived intentionally and missionally. Both of us knew that Cambodia would stretch our lives and our faith. What we did not realize was how much of that challenge originated from our own ideas and expectations of what it would be like.

The similarities are many. Perhaps the best preparation one can get for long-term overseas missions is learning to be fruitful as they serve cross-culturally and incarnationally in domestic communities where the needs are great and the resources are slim. Christian clinics that serve the domestic poor have a major role to play in preparing Christian health professionals for serving God's global mission.

This session will focus on the history, symptoms and treatment of Zika. Most of the talk will be focused on the recent outbreak, symptoms to watch for, personal protection, transmission and currently available treatments. We will also take a look at medications and vaccines currently undergoing investigation for the treatment of Zika.

there are more unreached today than there were last year when we met at GMHC. 21 million more to be precise. We are going backwards in our task to complete the great commission and that is not OK. Meanwhile our traditional missions model has sidelined over 99% of Jesus followers who look at the model and do not see a fit. Yet God has made everyone for His purposes and uniquely talented them to fulfill the purposes. Those who are talented in the medical profession, who are passionate about it and believe they were created to do it have been told they have to leave that and do something different, (oh and raise support to do it) or simply do it on a short term mission trip or even as someone told me last year at GMHC, 'forget your specialty and come do general health care'. We will continue to go backwards unless we engage the whole body of Christ and engage them wholly. In other words send them out to be who God has created them to be. As GP's, Surgeons, Radiologists, Dentists, Pediatricians, Nurses..... what ever God has uniquely made them to do. The world is changing, the missions model has to change. Come hear how we are changing the face of mission and how you, as a medical professional can be at the cutting edge of that - but be warned our call to you is to be who God has made you to be, where He is not worshipped. This is session is for those who are truly interested in using all of their life to reflect God's glory and goodness.

Why do Christians suffer? What made the Apostle's such effective missionaries? There are almost as many answers and opinions about suffering as there are Christians. To some suffering is just part of living in a fallen world. It is to be avoided if at all possible and, if necessary, to be endured with Jesus’ help until we escape this life and get to heaven. Others may think it is all from the Devil. Others believe the primary source is personal sin or the sin of others. Some believe it is from a lack of faith and if we just had more faith suffering would not come. There is some truth in each of these perspectives of course but they are not the whole story. Anyone following Jesus will experience suffering at some point in their lives including those who abandon themselves to follow him in mission anywhere in the world. This seminar will look at what the Bible teaches about suffering and discover what it teaches about the role of suffering in our lives, how God uses it to fulfill his purposes for us and how it prepares us to be more effective missionaries and servants in his name.

For over 5 years, unrest in Syria has resulted in the death of over 450,000 individuals, and has displaced more than 10 million refugees both internally and externally. Many of these refugees have been forced to reside in Jordan, either in the subpar conditions of refugee camps or within the shadows of remote Jordanian cities. After participating in a medical mission trip with the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), I was fortunate enough to see a glimpse of the lives of these refugees. Join me as I reflect on my recent mission trip and attempt to explore some of the different aspects of the Syrian’s lives that have been influenced by the conflict. We will end the session with an open Q&A.

Be missional! How do you keep up with the demands of ministry while balancing the needs of family, not to mention your own needs? How do you keep doing more with less? How do you protect yourself from burnout while advocating for the least of these? How do you establish boundaries without neglecting the needs of your community? These are some of the questions Dr. Thomas hopes to explore as he shares lessons from the field. He serves as the Medical Director at Dayspring Family Health Center and co-pastors a local church, answering a call to serve vulnerable and marginalized communities. He is married and has three teenage children. Serving his family and discipling his children are some of his top priorities. Despite the busyness and numerous challenges of ministry and family life, he continues to learn the importance of balance, boundaries, and rest. If you are experiencing burnout or having a difficult time keeping “afloat”, this session may give you some insights on how to maneuver through the ups and downs of missional living.

Health professionals in all settings should take a history from their patient(s). National guidelines in the U.S. recommend a spiritual assessment be included with most or all patients. Yet, surveys show that over 95% of patients say that no health professional has ever inquired of their spiritual or religious beliefs. Furthermore, most health professionals indicate that they never been taught how or why to incorporate a spiritual or religious assessment into their patient history. In this session you'll learn why a spiritual assessment is now considered a part of quality, evidence-based patient care. In addition, you'll be exposed to a number of spiritual history instruments to consider using in your patient care and you'll be exposed to options of how to utilize the information obtained from a spiritual assessment.Finally, you'll be introduced to a small group training tool that you can use at home to facilitate the introduction of these principles to other health professionals.

There are 65 million refugees and internally displaced people in the world today. This session will address the refugee crisis both globally and locally. We will discuss the refugee resettlement process to the United States and, more specifically, to Louisville, Kentucky. Who are the refugees coming to Louisville? What are the major health issues they bring with them and challenges they face post-migration. As healthcare providers, how can we provide holistic care that addresses all aspects of the person?

In recent years there has been a tsunami of healthcare volunteers going into the developing world; both faith-based and humanitarian. Recent estimates tell us that 29% of students enrolled in medical schools participate in some type of short-term global health project prior to graduation. Dental, nursing, and allied health schools are also beginning to follow suit. This workshop will review some of the guidelines for improving global health missions and what constitutes best evidence based practice in this area. The format of this workshop will be two talks by two mission leaders – one a sender and one a receiver. Both speakers will give positive and negative examples of short-term mission teams with long-term impact. The sender talk will be from Greg Seager RN the director of Christian Health Service Corps. The receiver talk will be by Dr. Jefferson McKenney missionary surgeon and founder of Loma De Luz Hospital in Honduras.

This is the second part of a two part workshop. In Part II of this workshop case studies will be reviewed and discussed. Together we will discuss these important questions and define pathways for healthcare mission teams to have a positive long-term impact on the communities they serve. Handouts of the case studies will be used to facilitate small group discussion and strategy development. Case studies will be assessed in the context of four primary areas: 1) Patient Safety, 2) Healthcare System Integration and Collaboration, 3) Facilitation of Health Development and 4) Community Empowerment.