Resources

With so many changes in the world – could God be opening new avenues for medical missions in general and dental in particular to take a leading role in reaching the lost? Some considerations for dental missions and opportunities for increasing our impact.

While technical advances are often seen to define progress in the diagnosis and treatment of illness, a solely mechanistic approach fails to deal with the basic requirement of patients’ need to be cared for as people - in body, mind and spirit. This seminar looks at the biblical basis for whole-person medicine as well as its practical application in healthcare provision and teaching.

There is a real danger of short term team intervention. Whilst immediately doing good, they may create real problems in the longer term due to poor appreciation of the true local situation and the problems of national health workers while arrogantly importing western thinking and “clinical imperialism”. This seminar examines the importance of "leaving oneself behind' when going (one’s prejudices, assumptions and any feelings of superiority) and instead having an openness to learn from our national colleagues. But when we return we should also “leave ourselves behind” - in the skills we have imparted, the training and encouragement we have given, and the on-going friendships we have built.

Have you longed to integrate your Christian faith into your patient care – both on the mission field abroad and in your work at home? Not sure how to do this in a caring, sensitive, and relevant manner? This “working” session will explore the ethical basis for spiritual care plus provide you with profession, timely, and practical methods to care for the whole person in the clinical setting.

Is it possible to equip indigenous believers to meet the needs of their own people so that the work continues when the short term team returns home? Jaime will share stories from the mission field regarding training and equipping indigenous Christ-followers with especially designed tools so that they can meet the felt needs of their own people, through which they develop relationships and have the opportunity to both demonstrate and share the love of Christ in a tangible way.

We spend so much time, money, and resources on short-term missions trips that we often forget about the mission field at home. How can we live intentionally for 52 weeks each year in the mission field God has placed us in?

What could small groups of people from the USA do in week-long trips to help invigorate, inform, and empower the local people for months, years, and even generations? This workshop will present some field examples of this happening, clarify some key factors for this style of Short-Term Missions (STM) to be successful, and generate your input on how to measure a truly successful STM trip. Come prepared to participate, and leave motivated to change.

Cultural contextualization and illiteracy can be a challenge in creating educational materials that reach our priority populations. This session will provide an example of how media can be applied in indigenous and oral settings to help communities educate themselves and others regarding health issues. A program evaluation report provides tremendous evidence of the effectiveness of this approach. Our case study of a video HIV education project in a rural Maasai setting, implemented by a small Maasai organization , has increased self-efficacy resulting in behavior change throughout the program area. Come to this session to be encouraged and to consider how media learning might be integrated into your health education efforts to help communities help themselves!

Reaching out to the tribal people of Ecuador

Second Career Missionaries

Called to the mission field.

The life and testimony of Dr. Paul Brand.