Training that Transforms

This summer, 35 cross-cultural workers from 14 nations gathered in Panama for two weeks of cross-cultural training called the HT and Alice Maclin Mission Training Institute. We were part of the 8-person facilitator team that led the training. Laurie is the Director of Training and Formation and is responsible for oversight of curriculum and all training events. Billy serves as a trainer, and also as a member care specialist, caring for cross-cultural workers and pastors in their emotional and spiritual needs. It was a powerful event. Cross-cultural workers and pastors came from barrios, villages, and cities, ages 15 to 65, all with the same heartbeat: to bring Jesus’ love to those who have never heard.

Most were only able to attend because of scholarships funded by a Bolick Foundation grant and by special gifts from friends like you. Truly—you helped make this possible! Many of you will remember our pastor in Spain—Miguel. Your gifts helped Miguel and his assistant pastor, John, to attend Maclin training by helping us help them with their travel costs. For the majority of this year’s trainees, a lack of funding is the biggest barrier to receiving the training and resources they need to carry out their work. Special scholarships and grants allow us to ease that burden so that cross-cultural training and equipping can happen.

One pastor from Kenya, now serving a diaspora church in Washington, said:
“We’ve been doing missions the wrong way. Now, I want to go back and train others. Me and my friends—we can change Washington State.”

Missions isn’t “the West to the rest” anymore. It’s “everywhere to everywhere”. God is sending people from every corner of the world. This training brought together people from Panama, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Kenya, USA, Congo, and Argentina to learn together. Their mission reach is huge! Several are working among unreached or least-reached people. Some are church planters. Some are children and youth ministry workers. Some own small businesses. Some are teachers. Several are actively in the process of launching to countries on the other side of the globe, while yet others have a call to reach their own communities and countries in deeper and more effective ways. Some feel led to Muslim communities or refugees in Europe; others to prisoners, street youth, or people with disabilities. A few sense God’s call to Spain, where over one million people still have little access to the Gospel. Did you know that there are officially 15 unreached people groups in Spain?!

We are excitedly watching this particular group of trainees! Already, in just the few short weeks since training ended, this group has been transforming their ministries. For example:

• Miguel and John have been teaching their congregation many of the lessons they learned in Panama. John said that this training clarified his calling and passion - to minister to immigrants in Spain and to walk alongside them in their transition to a new culture and new life.
• Saul, a young missionary from the Miskito indigenous people of Nicaragua, immediately took all of the training sessions and materials and began working with a friend to translate all of the information into the Miskito language so that they could teach and mobilize their people for missions.
• Brayan and a couple of other young missionaries went to the jungle in Peru after our training and began using what they had learned. They reported back that the training was transformative and changed how they did their mission work, as well as gave them tools to teach and go deeper with the community they were working in.
• Karla immediately took one of the teaching activities from training and used it to teach 45 leaders in her country of Costa Rica. She reported back to the group about the impact of the activity and can’t wait to use more of the training with others.

Thank you. Your prayers and gifts are multiplying in ways we can’t yet see (and in ways we are already seeing!) —rippling out from Panama to the nations. Ordinary people, carrying extraordinary hope, because you said yes to helping train and care for cross-cultural workers. You said yes to partnering with us in spreading the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Acts 1:8

To read more about the Panama training, go to the TMS Global website and see the Stories & More tab. Empowered to Carry the Gospel Across Cultures, Even to the Least-Reached - TMS Global

To see the highlights video from training, go to Maclin 2025 in Panamá - Highlight on Vimeo

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