Medicalmissions.com Podcast

The Ebola outbreak in West Africa not only challenged governments, NGOs, and health systems, but had ripple effects including the closure of hospitals and clinics and loss of health care workers. Over the past year, training has taken place, hospitals have reopened, and survivors are being treated. However, Liberia's Medical College remains closed (as of June 2015), and many other areas are still adversely affected. ELWA Hospital's experience shows how a Mission hospital has navigated through this crisis, and how God's aims have been furthered. .

Untreated caries of the deciduous and permanent dentition is number one in global prevalence of disease by a large margin. This lecture will focus on strategies for caries prevention and treatment in settings with limited resources.

This talk will review common parasitic diseases in the tropics. The classification, presentation and basic treatment of these syndromes will be discussed in a case-based format. Visual recognition of findings will be part of this interactive session, using an audience response system. We will focus mostly on classic skin, abdominal, and pulmonary syndromes. We will also discuss some beneficial effects of parasites on childhood immune development. Less emphasis will be placed on parasites covered in other sessions, such as malaria. Let me know if you have a case to discuss or a specific question before the session.

For the last 18 years, as the relationship has deepened between Southeast Christian Church and Life in Abundance, an African organization, much has been learned about how to minister cross-culturally together. As these 2 organizations serve alongside one another, exponential kingdom impact has happened by engaging the skills that both entities possess in a complementary way. As we look at the issue of dependency around the world, this is a refreshing model to consider as a solution to this struggle in missions.

The Next Generation of students, just like each generation before it, is different and is engaging the world in a new way. In order to effectively attract and retain these students, the church will have to adjust as well. Students no longer want to be a part of a church where they sit, listen and give an offering each week—students of this generation want to know where their money is going and to be a part of the movement. They want to engage in the mission of God in a tangible and real way. Because the entire world is available to them more than ever before, they want to be involved both locally and globally.

Effective short-term healthcare missions requires actions that facilitate long-term change in the local setting - in healthcare services, in combating poverty, and in addressing spiritual needs. Unprepared short-term teams often do more damage than good. This presentation will provide strategies and tactics to properly prepare a short-term healthcare team and to build a relationship with a national partner that improves national conditions over the long-term with short-term teams.

Much has been said in recent years about relief vs. development in global health missions, and missions in general. We know that it is often harmful to engage in relief when what is needed is development. Yet, the vast majority of global health missions are relief oriented with little understanding of development processes. This session will review participatory approaches for community engagement that facilitate community response to their own problems. We will review key concepts such as: community ownership, community participation ladder, stakeholder analysis, and building cross cultural partnerships that escape the trap of paternalism and dependency. These principles apply broadly to both short and long-term global health missions.

Discipling that yields 3rd & 4th generation followers of Jesus more rapidly is not a program, but is fueled by the life-giving pattern from the scriptures. Discover the essentials of the simple & reproducible Kingdom pattern that will lead to effectiveness in making disciples that make disciples that make disciples. You’ll learn from case studies of those doing it how to get started in multiplying multipliers & pleasing our King.

Faith-based medical ministries have substantial opportunities to conduct biomedical research that positively impacts the communities they serve. In addition, biomedical research can help mission organizations achieve their strategic goals. In this session missional, ethical, and practical aspects of research in faith-based, developing-world settings will be discussed.

GMHC 2015 Saturday morning plenary session

GMHC 2015 Friday night plenary session

GMHC 2015 Friday Morning plenary session

Philippians 1:29

We go to medical missions cross culturally with some expectations to partner with churches, mission agencies and local humanitarian agencies. Partnership is often seen in light of synergistic and supporting relationships for the purpose of the gospel and the Kingdom of God. How does the local governing systems and officials view our presence as health and development related services? What expectations do they have of us as their partners in serving the health needs of the community? What kind of theology of relationships do we have with these entities that may serve or complicate the purposes of the mission that we are called to? What opportunities or hindrances do governing structures post to medical missions? Come bring your questions or comments and participate in the discussions that will be facilitated by two doctors with combined several decades of experience struggling through contexts in East Asia and Africa.

During the main GMHC conference 2015 PRIME International's CEO, Prof Richard Vincent, presented this breakout session on ‘Compassion: Foundation for Whole Person Care’.Scientific and technical advances may be seen as the key to best medical practice, but to focus only on biological processes is to ignore other powerful influences on the causes and treatment of illness. A solely mechanistic approach fails to deal with the basic requirement of patients to be cared for as people - in body, mind and spirit. This session explored the topic of whole person care including its biblical basis, evidence for its benefit and its delivery to patients founded on compassion.

While weaving into his presentation personal experiences from both his time serving in Liberia and his own experience with Ebola, Dr. Sacra will discuss ways in which the response to the Ebola crisis sometimes has unintended consequences. We’ve observed cultural clashes sometimes leading to violence, both in cities and in rural areas, as well as impacts on the health system as a whole. Some key interventions carried out by the Government and NGOs have served to disempower communities rather than empowering them. We’ll review lessons learned from these first 6 months in battling Ebola.

Experience is showing that equipping women to deal with family and community concerns without involving husbands is like teaching women to clap with one hand.Community Health Evangelism equips communities through Christ-centered health and development. Thousands of highly participatory lessons empower less skilled trainers respond to most community interests and spiritual needs. New lessons deal with being a good husband and father, understanding how men’s leadership and leadership styles affects others, how to truly love your wife, how to earn your children’s respect, and men’s health issues.

It's estimated that more than 4 Billion people in the world are oral learners. They can't, don't or won't read. Regardless of the reasons or situation, oral communication methods and participatory/discovery learning processes are important tools in most of the world. In this session we'll look at case studies and experiences helping friends in North India create mother-tongue audio recordings of community development/health information and also Scripture stories. The session will give you a taste of how to use stories/arts to transfer information more effectively in oral cultures.

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a breakthrough mission strategy that seamlessly integrates evangelism and discipleship with disease prevention and community-based development. Through these ministries people become followers of Jesus, churches are planted, and entire communities are lifted out of cycles of poverty and disease.

God called us, we listened, and we took small steps toward obedience. Then when the Ebola tragedy struck, we knew God would be faithful and use it for His glory. Followed by Q&A time.