“There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God”…
That song began running through the back of my memory after a recent lesson focused on the need for missionaries to maintain quiet connection with God.
More on that in a bit.
In my quest to discover the whys, whats, and hows of member care, I was blessed to find a vibrant group of whos on Facebook administered by Harry Hoffman. A German national, Harry has an amazing background which includes: missionary work in China,the development of member care departments and centers, and Business As Mission (BAM) education. The Facebook group is Global Member Care Network (GMCN). It is a forum for missionaries and support personnel to exchange information and access training. The training addresses a variety of needs the missionary community as a whole experiences.
Recently some of the lessons have covered trauma healing, children growing up cross-culturally, and crisis intervention.
The lesson subject that triggered the song above was titled “Solitude & Gentle Whisper”. The focus was on calming stress through spending quiet time with God using some of the classic Christian disciplines – silence, contemplation, listening prayer, etc.
Working through that lesson helped reinforce the need for missionaries and ministry leaders to “come aside and rest a while”. When the time is taken for refreshment and centering, the worker can lead from a higher view of the people being led.
At Missionary Support Network, our goal is to keep ministry personnel in their positions to bring about God-centered change in the communities they serve.
We trust that you are growing in your understanding of the critical necessity to care for Christian workers on the front line.
