With 25 years of experience working on multicultural mission teams, Roembke helps the reader to identify and clarify credibility factors as well as problem areas of multicultural teams. She also offers concrete points of action for mission executives, team leaders and missionaries - whether they are seeking training for new missionaries or seeking to make changes to existing teams. Ultimately the aim of this book is to deal with concerns of multicultural mission teams so they can live together in such a way as to attract others to the person of Christ.
New college students face a world of adjustments as they take on the challenge of campus life, and one of the biggest tests is learning to thrive in the midst of monumental life change. Student to Student is a collection of reflections written by students, for students, that takes an honest look at the most common pitfalls and opportunities that...
Churches and mission agencies are increasingly characterized by cultural diversity. As a result, many Christians find themselves working as part of a multicultural team. Leading these teams is a complex challenge that requires team leaders to understand how to help multicultural teams thrive. Team leaders need to know how to help team members grow in particular qualities and acquire specific skills related to multicultural teamwork. This book integrates insights from the Bible, team theory, leadership, and intercultural studies to explain how leaders of multicultural teams can help their teams become enriching and enjoyable contexts to work in, at the same time as achieving their purpose.
This book explores how member care is being practiced around the world to equip sending organizations as they intentionally support their mission/aid personnel. The information provided includes personal accounts, guidelines, case studies, worksheets, and practical advice from all over the globe. “This book delivers what it promises! Here are 50 chapters from the widest selection of writers in the member care field to date.” –Brent Lindquist, President, Link Care Center This book was published in partnership with the World Evangelical Alliance.
This qualitative study explores intercultural social dynamics among international Christian workers who are part of multicultural teams engaged in Christian ministries in a North African country. It seeks to understand these workers’ lived realities at intersections of multiple cultural flows. Ethnographic methods were used to collect and analyze data, and forty-nine international Christian workers were interviewed. The findings of this study indicate that intercultural Christian workers go through complex intercultural social processes interwoven in the fabric of their everyday life. These processes are mediated by their social experiences in the local North African context and their multicultural teams, resulting in significant changes in their personal dispositions and social behaviors. Based on these findings, a working concept of diasporic habitus is developed, and the practice of double discourses of culture is further examined. This research suggests that some existing missiological concepts need to be revisited and recommends further interdisciplinary conversations involving cultural anthropology and sub-fields in psychology about the changes that happen to people in intercultural missions. It also calls for a reflexive approach to missiological research that incorporates awareness of one’s situatedness and the lasting impact of historical entanglements on contemporary intercultural relations.
When we think about globalization with the eyes and heart of a sovereign mission God, we must recognize the vast opportunities before us as God is moving His people around the world, bringing the gospel with them in new and different ways. Globalization and Its Effects on Urban Ministry in the 21st Century is an attempt to broaden the views of individuals and institutions alike to what God is doing around the world and how He is accomplishing His purposes through globalization. The book is organized around the four overarching themes of globalization, reconciliation, church planting, and leadership development.
Timbuktu has become a metaphor for remote and inaccessible locations. However, it is a real place with real people. Like much of the world’s population, few of Timbuktu’s residents have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. While the task may seem daunting, the Church is not sitting still! Each year hundreds of Christians are joining the vast force of cross-cultural missionaries flung around the globe. To Timbuktu and Beyond serves as a practical, step-by-step guide for those getting ready to go into missions. It begins with the basic question of knowing and confirming your calling, working through the various steps of preparation, training and logistics, and carrying you through your first few months on the field. Each chapter has a series of tasks for you to prayerfully complete. Missions is the most fulfilling career path you could possibly embark on—not to mention an incredible adventure! To Timbuktu and Beyond will help you in preparation for your journey, because what you do before you go will have a significant impact on your future success.
Church planting is one of the most challenging yet rewarding adventures you can embark on. Often zealous planters and their teams launch their new church prematurely, without taking time to lay a firm foundation for long-term fruitful ministry. Failure to do so often results in a weakened new church, or even the new church closing after a few years. Rather than focusing on methodology, the how to's of church planting, this book gives attention to six foundational concerns wise planters will need to nail down before they ever plant: -Biblical foundations, -Theological foundations, - Ecclesiological foundations, - Missiological foundations, -Spiritual foundations, -Practical foundations. Although helpful for a wide range of planting leaders, this book is particularly written for four specific groups: -those who feel called to plant and are making preparations; -their planting teammates and launch leaders; -those exploring church planting; -those who coach and train church planters. Foundations for Fruitful Church Planting serves as a comprehensive resource that will guide you to think strategically, plan carefully, and prepare thoroughly to birth a healthy, growing, and reproducing congregation. Each chapter includes recommended resources, discussion questions, and follow-through exercises.
Hope and Help in Member Care. Culture shock. Marital strife. Depression. Addictions. Disillusionment. Organization and team tensions. Family trauma. Medical issues. This is not what you signed up for when you pursued missions. Field workers cross-linguistic, cultural, and ministry boundaries, but they still experience the same mental health challenges as everyone else—and often more. When the missionary unit includes a spouse and children, the complexities multiply as each person undergoes stressors. Needing psychological or psychiatric help too often leads to burnout or worse. It’s time to let go of the stigma and embrace mental health. Missionaries, Mental Health, and Accountability opens with stories of scriptural saints who also struggled and still made profound impacts for the kingdom. Then, global contributors—comprised of an equal balance of Korean and Western writers—reach into the complexity of missionary mental health with the added component of accountability in church and agency support systems. Specifically, four important areas of missionary mental health are considered: 1) disillusion, discouragement, and depression; 2) relational dynamics and tensions; 3) contributing factors in missionary psychological duress; and, 4)resources and organizational structures that address missionary mental health. Every chapter demonstrates courage, personal conviction, and judicious honesty. Significant insights provided through case studies, surveys, and personal reflections will offer action steps for increasing mental health awareness and developing mental health best practices for individuals and teams. Written for field workers and those who support them, Missionaries, Mental Health, and Accountability is a critical resource in member care.
