Abortion

A Partnership with long term missionaries, Indigenous evangelists and a short term medical training team in one of the most persecuted areas in the world brings light to the darkness.

Spotlight on fifteen of the world's most un-evangelized people groups.

Family physicians, nurses and primary care providers regularly encounter “extracurricular” situations when practicing in developing countries especially in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and clinical needs, a “golden platter of opportunities” sort-of-speak. New estimates for 2014 show staggering gaps in SRH and basic clinical services fall far short in developing nati...

Be missional! How do you keep up with the demands of ministry while balancing the needs of family, not to mention your own needs? How do you keep doing more with less? How do you protect yourself from burnout while advocating for the least of these? How do you establish boundaries without neglecting the needs of your community? These are some of the questions Dr. Thomas hopes to explore as he shar...

Health professionals in all settings should take a history from their patient(s). National guidelines in the U.S. recommend a spiritual assessment be included with most or all patients. Yet, surveys show that over 95% of patients say that no health professional has ever inquired of their spiritual or religious beliefs. Furthermore, most health professionals indicate that they never been taught how...

In recent years there has been a tsunami of healthcare volunteers going into the developing world; both faith-based and humanitarian. Recent estimates tell us that 29% of students enrolled in medical schools participate in some type of short-term global health project prior to graduation. Dental, nursing, and allied health schools are also beginning to follow suit. This workshop will review some o...

More than half of the Middle East population, 54% are under the age of 25 including 90 million adolescents (10-19 years of age). The growth spurt challenges of the second decade of life is mounted with early sexual debut and early marriages. Consequent unintended pregnancies and child birth, the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS threaten the fragile adolescent still...

Christians are called to love yet often times, our communities are rife with conflict and unresolved hurt. Interpersonal conflict is cited as one of the major reasons why missionaries leave the mission field. Using concepts from Ken Sande’s Peacemakers and his personal experience working as a the Medical Director in an FQHC in Appalachia, Dr. Thomas will review … - The cost of conflict for the ind...

Whether you see yourself as a leader or not, you play a critical role in determining the success of your experiences and those around you. How you plan, recruit, and execute your Short Term Trip strategy will impact your entire church/organization and any trip participants... the ripples of which you may never fully know. Don't have a Short Term Trip strategy yet? We can help you think through...

Every person has a worldview, a deep sense of what is real and how the world works. What we believe and value and what we do and say are shaped by our worldviews. All cross-cultural ministry brings us into different worldviews in missions. Our approaches to healthcare ministries whether in our home country or another are liberated and limited by (1) our own worldviews (2) our awareness of our worl...

Spiritual formation is a way of describing the life-long journey of becoming who God created us to be. That’s the essence of being a “disciple” or learner. Our experience in healthcare ministry continues to "form" in us the ability to love God with all our heart, mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. In this break out, we will collaboratively identify characteristics of a per...

This session reports on focus groups conducted with 107 domestic victims of sex trafficking in which they discussed the health problems they experienced during trafficking. In addition, the session examines victims' interactions with various types of healthcare providers. The focus groups revealed that nearly all victims experienced physical and mental health problems while being trafficked, i...

The Millennial demographic is a conundrum of sorts. Millennials are those aged 19-36, and are the largest demographic group in history. They are bigger than baby boomers and they are a powerful force in society. They think and act differently than any group before them, and they are critical to the future success of every non-profit. This session is focused on non-profits who are looking to better...

Suppose you were born in Central Thailand 60 years ago. As a teenager you found a numb spot on your arm, later on your arm became painful and finally your hand was deformed and you couldn’t feel or grip anything. You and your family were frightened. The monks at the Buddhist temple tried to help, but their expensive poultices did not help. Your family loved you, but they felt they had no alternati...

Spina bifida is usually a devastating diagnosis in any part of the work, but it is even more grave in the developing world. Embarking upon a treatment regimen demands that the parents have full information about what limitations should be anticipated for their child. Also, the full repertoire of potential operations, needed care, and life expectancy should be discussed with the family. The mother...

While embarking on a general surgical career as a worker in Africa, I found the breadth of surgical need far beyond my narrow thinking. General surgery gave way to gynecolgy, plastic surgery, orthopedics, urology, and ultimately neurosurgery as pertaining primarily to children with hydrocephalus and spina bifida. The rehab surgery has endured as my focus for the last thirty years. It has been a jo...

Dr. Ralph Winter said that for every 100 people who made a mission commitment at some point in their lives, only one made it to the mission field. Why? For lack of mobilizers! The same can be said for lack of mentors. What is a mentor? What do mentors offer prospective long-term medical missionaries? Come to this session if you desire a mentor or if you desire to become a mentor. Before the sessio...

Health professionals in all settings should take a history from their patient(s). National guidelines in the U.S. recommend a spiritual assessment be included with most or all patients. Yet, surveys show that over 95% of patients say that no health professional has ever inquired of their spiritual or religious beliefs. Furthermore, most health professionals indicate that they never been taught how...

The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven shaped every aspect of Jesus’ ministry - - his healing, prayers, teaching and even his identity . As we follow him in health care missions, the Kingdom should also define our goals, methodologies, and ways of relating with those we serve and with our co-workers. It should fuel our hope and our perseverance.

Everyone who has been on a medical mission has some embarrassing and/or hilarious stories of cultural or language blunders. Sometimes the events are just funny. Sometimes they can seriously compromise relationships and the intended impact of the whole mission, including our Christian witness. This session offers perspective, spiritual grounding and practical tools for building healthy relationship...

Mission Medical: Assessing and Addressing Spiritual Needs of Patients We'll discuss (1) why healthcare professionals have been reluctant to take a spiritual history, (2) the positive association of spirituality/religiosity and physical/mental health, and (3) several spiritual history tools to consider for use in clinical care.

Healthcare provides a unique opportunity to engage the deepest issues of life and faith alongside those who are suffering. Can you care for patients in a way that brings them before Jesus and offers them peace, healing, and wholeness? Discover how to practice healthcare as your ministry…starting even now as a student or resident.

This session will give an overview of the current picture of trafficking in persons within the United States focusing mainly on child sex trafficking, the major form of trafficking in persons within the U.S. In addition, the session will address specific ways that health professionals can become abolitionists.