BOOK: Engaging the Church in Missionary Care

Source: Mind the Gaps

Mind the Gaps: Engaging the Church in Missionary Care, edited by David J. Wilson, Believers Press, 2008.

Trinity Church in Redlands, California, put together a Missionary Care Team which has been developing a system of proactive care for their missionary families since 2008. In this book they share their firsthand accounts along with results of their research on missionary care. Mind the Gaps is designed to equip your church with tools to create your own system of proactive care and reduce burnout and attrition.

A few things about this book are unusual. It’s written by a committee, rather than a single author. It’s written by and for church leaders, rather than from industry professionals. It also covers a broad array of related topics: everything from recruiting a missionary care team and establishing a philosophy of ministry to predicting missionary success and evaluating mission agencies, as well as more traditional topics of missionary care such as meeting spiritual, emotional, and practical needs and walking with missionaries through transitions.

The result is a bit overwhelming, and maybe especially for churches that don’t have a mission pastor and a strong mission committee like Trinity’s. On the other hand, the book covers so much ground and provides so many practical tips that even if your church has a well-developed strategy for missionary care, there’s probably something here that you can use.

» Purchase from Amazon (or elsewhere) for US$10.95. Electronic editions not yet available but expected soon. To learn more:

1. Visit the Mind the Gaps website. It features links and downloadable resources mentioned in the book.
2. Attend the Mind the Gaps webinar that David Wilson, Trinity’s Mission Pastor, will lead for Missio Nexus on September 16.
3. Send people from your church to the Mind the Gaps conference March 3-5, 2016 in Redlands, CA, which will feature some top leaders in missionary care today. More info will be posted on the Mind the Gaps website by mid-September.