Persecuted Church

Exploring how the storyline of the Bible is the theology of missions and how we take our part in that story.

Do you love hearing a good story? Jesus’ ability to connect a story to a person’s heart is one reason people flocked to hear his teaching. During this session, you will learn to use Bible stories to communicate the story of Jesus to others. You will participate in a story fellowship group to hear and learn a story, and to discuss the story in the context of a small group.

Clear communication is essential in any effective healthcare environment. Working in another language adds a whole new layer of complexity to the communication process. Learning another language can seem like a daunting task, especially if you had a negative past experience with a foreign language, or it can be viewed as an exciting adventure. This session will focus on practical tips that engage...

This session will look at the reality of suffering in this world and how to reorient our hearts and minds to face it well.

About 25 years ago, while sharing an early morning cup of coffee with my dear friend and practice partner, family physician John Hartman, MD, he asked, “Walt, how come we don’t bring our faith to work with us more often?” It was a question the Lord used to convict me of the fact that although my personal relationship with God was the primary and most important relationship in my...

This session will address five common misconceptions about missions that are based on assumptions and conspire to prevent people from exploring their own fit in mission.

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.

As we consider the commission that Jesus gave his followers, while realizing that over 3,000,000,000 have never heard the name of Jesus, there is too much work to be done for us to not work together.  While there are many ways we are different, we have One God, One Savior, One Spirit, One Body and One Mission.  If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission, we must not only work togeth...

In this breakout called "For all to hear" we will take a look at the current state of missions and the Gospel worldwide. Where is the church struggling to penetrate? What are some strategies that are being developed to get into those areas? What role can medical professionals play in getting the Gospel to unreached people?

there are more unreached today than there were last year when we met at GMHC. 21 million more to be precise. We are going backwards in our task to complete the great commission and that is not OK. Meanwhile our traditional missions model has sidelined over 99% of Jesus followers who look at the model and do not see a fit. Yet God has made everyone for His purposes and uniquely talented them to ful...

Why do Christians suffer? What made the Apostle's such effective missionaries? There are almost as many answers and opinions about suffering as there are Christians. To some suffering is just part of living in a fallen world. It is to be avoided if at all possible and, if necessary, to be endured with Jesus’ help until we escape this life and get to heaven. Others may think it is all fro...

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...

The command "fear not" or "be not afraid" occurs more than a hundred times in the Bible, including many times from the mouth of Jesus. The fear of the LORD is healthy, but our Enemy uses fear as a principal weapons to hinder Christian obedience and fruitfulness. Courage is not the absence of fear, but boldness to proceed in obedience despite fear--because of faith in the Person...

Dentistry has a great opportunity to reach the least, the last and the lost for the needs are overwhelming and universal. I will use various countries to evaluate and discuss how to take advantage of different opportunities and situations that may be available. It is important for us to discuss and understand the government and the culture and what it entails to move forward on a venture into a cl...

If you are ministering in a Muslim community, it is imperative to understand the cultural implications of Islam. This session will address those implications from a speaker that grew up in those communities.

Why do we serve? Where should we go? How do we make disciples? Why should we make disciples? What is the purpose of missions? What does it mean to be missional? How can I go from theoretical to practical? All of these questions, and more, will be discussed in this workshop, using THE source material – the Bible!

after 21 years of implementing transformational development, an independent team has researched on the work of Life in abundance. Life in abundance works in 14 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. The session will share and discuss the findings that confirm the model of development has outstanding impact.

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...

Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons(IDP’s) face significant challenges to their health and well-being that are unique, due to lack of necessary resources including food, water, sanitation, shelter, security and healthcare. Caring for people in these situations requires an understanding of their unique needs as well as having realistic goals regarding what can and cannot be done for the...

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...

Want to know the key to raising resources for a life-time of ministry or for a short-term mission trip – its Effective Ministry Partnership Development (MPD). We’ll address how correct thinking, biblical principles and practical principles are the key. This session will explain “why people give,” “how to effectively gain their support and involvement,” “ways to grow your list of prospects” and “wh...

This session will discuss understanding the value of medical outreach and allied professionals for outreach to closed countries and unreached people groups. We will learn about different steps for engagement in closed countries. We will also look at how to have clarity in one's role in global missions.

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...