Preparing cross-cultural workers and ministry leaders around the globe

We are making the final preparations before a very busy season of training and travel. We leave this weekend to spend a week in Atlanta to help lead training for college students who will be traveling to Thailand and Cambodia for a few weeks of ministry and cultural immersion. Laurie will be teaching sessions on Cultural Observations and Appreciative Inquiry, as well as teaching on the Community Care Model. Billy will be leading a session on Self-Care for cross-cultural workers.

We will then travel to Kentucky to lead two of our main training events of the year. We will be at Asbury Theological Seminary leading a seven-day training for cross-cultural workers and ministry leaders. We will have several countries and cultures and experienced CCWs represented in the room… Peru, Spain, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kenya, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Algeria, USA, Kosovo, France… so much cultural diversity!  We will also have people going through training that are CCWs, pastors, mission leaders, mission support workers, mission organization staff and administrators, and more.  In all, we’ll have 38 in training daily, with an additional 13 pastors who will attend a few sessions with us on one day.

Then Laurie and Karen Couch will be leading a week-long training and retreat for mission trainers and facilitators. This week is the culmination of a 9-month learning cohort for Experiential Learning and Engaging Training. We had 26 mission trainers in the cohort, and we’ll have 18 in attendance for the week of training and retreat in Kentucky.

This week, Billy is leading a community of practice workshop for All Nations Christian College and Redcliffe College in the UK. He will be teaching on Burnout in Ministry Workers. Billy has also been asked to write a couple of articles in the coming weeks for various publications—one on Sabbatical and Sabbath Rest, and another on Walking Retreats. He’ll also be leading a webinar in the Fall on Burnout.

Later in the year, we will be headed to Kenya to lead a training for Kenyan cross-cultural workers! We have an international partner who we dearly love working with. Simon leads a Kenyan ministry called God’s Glory for All Nations (GGFAN) and he has asked for us to come lead some training for his leaders. Simon always tries to send his leaders to our trainings, but we had 5 who were denied visas to attend training in the USA this year, and 2 more who need training this Fall, so it made sense for us to just go to them!

After the training for GGFAN, we will be headed to the Global Member Care Conference (also in Kenya) where Billy will be sitting on a panel of care practitioners to talk about Sustainable Practices for Member Care in ministry.
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It is an honor and a privilege to have the opportunity to train others and mobilize people for service all over the globe!!! Our service and training has ripple effects that reach far and wide and impact the Kingdom of God in places that we may never actually go! Thank you for helping us train and serve others so that they can go out and do the same all around the world.