Medicalmissions.com Podcast

This session will discuss understanding the value of medicine and allied professionals for outreach to closed countries and unreached people groups. We will learn about different steps for engagement in closed countries. We will also look at how to have clarity in one's role in global missions.

Every person has a worldview, a deep sense of what is real and how the world works. What we believe and value and what we do and say are shaped by our worldviews.All cross-cultural ministry brings us into different worldviews.Our approaches to healthcare ministries whether in our home country or another are liberated and limited by (1) our own worldviews (2) our awareness of our worldviews and how they are formed and transformed and (3) our capacity to recognize and work with the worldviews of the people to whom God sends us.By the end of this session, we will have grown in all 3 of those areas. We will leave with resources for continuing growth.This participatory session will include learning from person reflection, discussion of Biblical stories, and the wisdom of other participants.

Although ill defined and legally outlawed, the caste system of India is too deeply rooted to not have continued influence in daily life. The needs of the poor are vast. Homelessness and addiction are just two of the major plagues of the poor of India. However, there is hope. Sewa Ashram is a community that translates to “Serving Community,” and is a place where the love and hope found in Christ is shared with those who would know no hope or love otherwise. A crucial component of this is staff, volunteers, and long-term patients showing love towards one another in the name of Christ by serving and respecting one another. This attitude is displayed for and trickled down to the patients. The patient population is comprised of men who are destitute and have various acute and chronic health problems like tuberculosis, liver disease, traumatic wounds, or paralysis. Medical needs are met as best as possible given the resources available. Moreover, spiritual and emotional needs are addressed. Prayer meetings, one on

This document contains the Community Transformation Training that I give overseas to missionaries and to nationals. It teaches the basics of church planting strategies for restricted access countries.

I hope to share both from a Biblical, Missiological, Geo-Political standpoint how health care professionals can be part of a mass movement of Jesus followers to the unreached. Where they can live out who God has created them to be as a passionate and highly qualified medical professional where God is not worshipped. This is not about going to work in Christian hospitals, rather the health care institutions in countries like Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Dubai where American HCP's are sought after, paid well and if serving with excellence will have opportunities to reflect the glory and goodness of God in these closed environments.

Spiritual formation is a way of describing the life-long journey of becoming who God created us to be. That’s the essence of being a “disciple” or learner. Our experience in healthcare ministry continues to "form" in us the ability to love God with all our heart, mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves.In this break out, we will collaboratively identify characteristics of a person who is “prepared” for healthcare ministry, and practices that help us cooperate with God’s efforts to form us for that work.

The "missionary-call" can be a source of high anxiety and soul-searching for those who think God is leading them to the mission field. But what do we mean, and more importantly, what does the Bible really have to say about the call to missions? And what do we think of when we use the word "missionary"? Does our view match what we find in the Bible? In this session we will explore some of the misconceptions of what it means to be "called to missions," and take a look at how the Bible has more to say about God's guidance rather than the traditional idea of a "call." Hopefully we can set aside some of the anxiety and focus on how God has given us the opportunity to spread the news of his grace in Christ according to the various gifts he has given to each of us.

Participants will learn about the unique roles of women in missions and how to overcome the challenges which women encounter. Suggestions for preparation for missions service as a woman will be presented.

How do I pick a mission agency? How do I know I'm "called?" What about raising children overseas? How can I avoid burnout? These and other questions are answered in this popular talk illustrated with real and sometimes humorous real life stories.

This session will share answers on how to select a missions agency. Each person who attends will receive a 3 x 5 card when they enter the room. The moderator John McVay will group and select questions, direct them to appropriate panelists, and receive questions from the floor. Probable topics discussed from questions expected are: agency focus, doctrine, finances, services, leadership, locations, compatibility.

Should you do a domestic or international rotation while in training? When? Where? How do you make it happen? All are questions mission-minded healthcare professionals ask as they explore opportunities to serve during training. Join us as we discuss domestic and international locations, best practices and steps you can take in selecting an opportunity that fits your goals, timeframe, skills, and budget.

This document is for students desiring to prepare for or persevere through medical school, that they would be spiritually ready for their marathon in a way frees them for Christ's mission today and decades from now.

Surviving Culture Shock addresses the stresses that everyone feels when crossing cultural boundaries for short or long term. The ethnocentrism that is true of every culture results in unfair judgment of other cultures and impedes effective interaction. We will explore this dynamic and how to minimize it. We also explain the three stages of the culture shock cycle– tourist, rejection, and adaptation, their natural progression, how to recognize each stage, and the best way forward to a culturally appropriate healthy balance. We also address the inevitable reality of reverse culture shock that often hits unexpectedly upon returning “home” to one’s culture of origin.

Why are you heading overseas as a medial missionary? What’s your ultimate long-term goal? Is your dream, for example, to vaccinate multiple thousands of Berber children against preventable child-hood diseases or ... do you dream of launching movements of missional-communities (churches) among the Berber who will reach all the Berber for Christ … AND vaccinate all their children too?The Kingdom needs missionaries who will do both. This workshop will help you form and prepare a strategic team to go and do it with you.

If God has called you to be a healthcare missionary, you will experience one of the most satisfying – and challenging – careers in the world. You will be a warrior for God in a hostile land. Like any soldier, you need a time of preparation – what the military refers to as “boot camp” – and that time should begin before you enter your mission field. The time to live, think and pray like a missionary is now!

How can we share the Gospel in such an increasingly diverse world? In a world where cross-cultural encounters and relationships take place right outside our door? The answer lies in learning how to apply and use the stories and texts we find in the Bible - ultimately the big story of the Bible itself. To do so, we must also consider the worldview of the people we meet - the lens through which they look at the world, how they answer life's questions, and how they identify themselves and their place in the world.

PRAYER AS MEDICINE: Practical methods & panel discussion regarding personal experiences and best practices in praying for patients during a medical missions outreach.Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Luke 10:9 (NIV) Jesus commanded his disciples to “heal the sick.” As medical professionals involved in missions, we take this command seriously. Our love and service help demonstrate God’s kingdom to the less fortunate. But what if a patient needs more than medical treatment? What if a spiritual cure is also required?During medical outreaches, which often take place in uncomfortable, rushed and chaotic situations, how can we best incorporate prayer for our patients? How can we pray for each patient when there isn’t enough time, or when there is a language or religious barrier, or if simply lack the training and experience in praying directly with patients?In this session we will discuss a number of practical ways in which you can pray for patients. Th

The Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons is a five-year surgical residency program to train 100 Christian African doctors in mission hospitals by 2020. At the present, there are sixty-four residents being trained in nine countries. A great need exists for long and short term general surgeons and sub-specialists to participate. In addition, there is a spiritual curriculum to prepare each resident for spiritual growth and hospital leadership.

Single medical professionals are resilient in a cross-cultural setting and have the opportunity to be highly effective in service. The greatest challenges impact the personal home life of the individual. Applications to increase resiliency in the personal life will be explored with attention given to the relational and sexual domains of life. The workshop will include a presentation followed by designated time to pose questions and dialogue about the material.

Our call to health care ministry is a daily call to share the compassion of Christ, and “suffer with” those we are called to serve. If our own lives are not intimately bound with our Savior, deep engagement and compassion for our patients can be difficult or shallow at best, leading to disillusionment, distance, and burn-out. Worship and spiritual vibrancy, evidenced by a deep dependence on the Lord, are the foundation for compassionate ministry. This workshop will explore Christ’s call to share in the suffering of others, how a life of worship is foundational for ministry, and ways to foster spiritual vibrancy that sustains our compassion for others.