Workshop Tracks Sandbox

Time
Tuesday | 1:00 – 9:00 PM
Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
Church and organizational staff, mission committee members, and team leaders

Description
SOE’s Standards Introductory Workshop (SIW) is a 10-hour seminar designed to help short-term mission leaders and mobilizers make their mission trips better. We’ll examine the Seven Standards of Excellence and how these key ideas form a road map to excellent, God-honoring mission trips. The workshop is taught by experienced SOE trainers, is interactive and collaborative, and uses case studies and small group discussions to draw out how you can begin applying The Seven Standards to your specific ministry context. Tuesday evening dinner is included.

Day 1
On day 1, we’ll lay the foundation for the workshop by considering the MISTM grid which defines the phases of a mission trip (pre-, on-, post-trip) and the participants (senders, goers, receivers). We’ll continually return to this grid as we consider how the first five standards shape the way we plan and carry out mission trips. Day 1 standards include God-Centeredness, Empowering Partnership, Mutual Design, Comprehensive Administration, and Qualified Leadership.

Day 2
On day 2, we’ll examine the final two standards–Appropriate Training and Thorough Follow-Through. We’ll finish the workshop by providing an assessment tool to help you determine the strengths and weaknesses of your mission program so you can begin to take tangible next steps. You’ll receive a notebook and dozens of additional tools and resources to help you begin applying the standards as you return to your ministry. You’ll also walk away with a network of like-minded mission practitioners eager and willing to share in the journey of being a mission mobilizer.

Presented By

Time
Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
C-Suite level ministry leaders who are responsible for fundraising

Description
Remember January 2020? We all had great ideas and visions for the year and beyond. And then March hit us and we all got caught needing to reassess our plans and objectives for the year and beyond. We will help you develop, reshape, and hone an Annual Fundraising Plan.

Do you or members of your team struggle in the area of asking for support for your ministry? We will encourage you in your approach with major donors as well as give you the tools to have a well thought out and executable plan. Understanding fundraising as ministry, the importance of planning for the meeting (before, during and after) will help give you and your team the courage, confidence and conviction to ask.

Learning Objective
Implement best practices to develop, reshape, and hone an Annual Fundraising Plan for your organization.

Participants will learn what is involved in and receive tools for a comprehensive Annual Fundraising Plan including:

• Reviewing Mission and Vision
• Assessing Current Fundraising Operations
• Data Gathering
• Setting Strategic Fundraising Goals
• Setting Financial Goals by income channel
• Implementation Tactics and Review Process
• Ongoing Evaluation Process

Participants will learn what is involved in and receive tools for Major Gift Fundraising Strategy including:

• Donor Assessment Tool, who is connected, capable and ready
• Tracking Tools,
• Real Time Case for Support with Major Donor focus
• One-Sheet Proposal Tool
• Monthly Meeting Coordination Tool
• Strategies for “Getting the Meeting”, “Having the Meeting”, “Making the Ask” and “Follow Up Plan”

Specialized Knowledge 4.5 CPE hours

Presented By

Time
Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
Team Leaders and Agency/Church Staff

Description
The world we live in is experiencing unprecedented, accelerated change. How do we manage our core mission while also creating and executing innovation that addresses disruption and chaos? How do I keep from seeing innovation as a pile of cluttered puzzle pieces on a table without a box top to assemble? How should we respond in order to best serve the Kingdom?

We invite you to join us in learning the keys to creating a culture of innovation, the importance of embracing a lifestyle of innovation, and the tool of Design Thinking that will equip you to confidently engage in the unknown future. The Seeds team will give you a simple framework that allows you to see the box top of the innovation puzzle and a sense of what it can look like for your organization. Come participate in our active learning environment and take some tools to help cultivate innovative thinking within your teams and organizations – we can’t wait to see you there!

Presented by

Time
Wednesday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
Controllers and financial directors

Description
For mission organizations working locally and overseas, it’s vital to have open dialogue on the best practices impacting finances and accounting. Join us for a discussion of key considerations, including do’s, don’ts, and suggested policies for deputized fundraising; grant agreements and working with foreign entities; seconded workers at sending and receiving organizations; foreign earned income; the treatment of missionary benefits; and dealing with parsonages. We’ll also cover the policies you should have in place, such as conflict of interest, whistleblower, gift acceptance, and intellectual property policies.

Learning Objectives

• Facilitate open dialog on best practices impacting finances and accounting at mission organizations working locally and overseas
• Identify key issues for your organization to consider and address, including deputized fundraising, grant agreements and foreign entities, seconded workers, foreign earned income, treatment of missionary benefits, and parsonages
• Assess and adopt appropriate policies for your organization, such as conflict of interest, whistleblower protection, gift acceptance, and intellectual property policies

Accounting 4.0 CPE hours

Presented By

Time
Wednesday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
CIOs and other leaders providing information technology

Description
The purpose of the CIO Roundtable is to create a place for technology leaders to network with peers, learn about the latest technologies, discuss challenges, find new solutions and get advice from other colleagues. It is designed for senior IT executives and is aimed at helping them address strategic IT opportunities and challenges in a globally connected world.

Learning Objectives

• To identify the latest technologies and how they may benefit your organization
• To ascertain technology challenges facing mission organizations
• To review potential solutions
• To assess and address strategic IT opportunities

Information Technology 4.0 CPE hours

Presented By

Time
Wednesday, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Primary Audience
CFOs and financial leaders

Description
The CFO Roundtable is an opportunity for experienced financial leaders to network, interact, and learn from their peers. This highly interactive forum will equip leaders to discover the answers to the most complicated mission-critical issues and empower you to overcome your current or next challenge.

After attending, you will have an expanded perspective on financial best practices and how to implement these ideas in your work responsibilities as CFOs share:

• solutions they’ve found
• pitfalls they’ve experienced
• the lessons they have learned

Best of all, you’ll hear war stories and examples of do’s and don’ts.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss examples, solutions, and lessons learned from financial leaders
• Identify and apply financial best practices in your work responsibilities

Specialized Knowledge 4.0 CPE hours

Presented By

Time
Wednesday | 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Description
Culture is rapidly changing with respect to marriage, singleness and sexuality. Mission organizations need biblically grounded tools and resources to provide constructive responses to these changes relevant for all cultures. How do we respond to the cultural challenges? How do we live out the reality of who we are in Christ as we serve together? How do we effectively value and leverage every member?

Learning Objectives
This event will equip participants to develop answers to these questions through:

• Understanding the cultural trends on singleness and marriage around the world
• Presenting a fresh biblical perspective on singleness, marriage and sexuality
• Addressing issues and challenges of sexuality
• Providing research and feedback from missionaries across the globe

This workshop will be facilitated by Shoulder to Shoulder, an initiative of One Another Ministries.

Presented by

Time
Wednesday | 8:00 AM

Primary Audience
Anyone who feels a need for more clarity on issues/implications

Too many of us have been afraid of getting into a conversation about women in ministry because we really aren’t sure where we are on the subject, why we’ve landed where we are, or how others have come to different conclusions! Evangelicals in the inerrancy camp understand differently the position and practice around men and women in ministry, even within the same mission agency. We want to take this time to let you come to a place of more clarity in your own personal journey as well as reflect on how the issue may impact the men and women in your agency.

Learning Objectives

Together we will:

• Learn how to have a respectful conversation as we explore together
• Offer understanding of the variety of views within the inerrancy camp, from Traditional to Complementarian to Egalitarian
• Explore the variety of practices of Christians, even within each view, in the home, church, wider culture
• Consider the impact of history/culture on women from the early church through modern missions

Facilitated by

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Mission executives and leaders

Description
Is the apparent shift of the center of gravity for Christian witness a reality? What are some of the evidences of the apparent shift. Could the global church maintain missions from the ‘West to the Rest’? Are the missiological strategies still viable and transferrable? How valuable and relevant would the call; “From the whole church to the whole world” be utilized with our current realities? What posture should the global church take in innovative dialogue on God’s Mission? What challenges and responsibilities would the global church embrace? To what extent should the global church ‘discern the body of Christ, in its pursuit God’s mission.

Key Takeaways
Together, we will discuss:

• When missiology meets ecclesiology.
• ‘Mission without empire’
• Can mission thrive without power?
• What posture should receivers and senders take in global Mission?

Presented By

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
Leaders in a variety of mission contexts who want to learn how design thinking increases innovation

Description
Design thinking is a process-oriented, collaborative approach to supporting greater innovation in teams and organizations.

Learning Objectives
In this presentation, participants will:

• Understand the basic principles of design thinking
• Learn the key steps involved in a design thinking process
• Consider how to apply design thinking to produce innovative solutions in response to a variety of complex challenges in a missions context.

Strategies will be presented for both missions agencies and short-term programs.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Organizations and ministry leaders that are seeking to be fruitful in a rapidly changing world

Description
This Design Thinking workshop will help you develop practical and innovative solutions for the opportunities and challenges your ministry team face. Design Thinking is a people-focused, prototype-driven process for innovation. These methods enable you to innovate and lead you to make out-of-the-box thinking a regular practice for your team.

Learning Objectives
You will leave the workshop with a tool-kit and knowledge base to:

• Create innovative solutions that better meet the current realities
• Develop a culture of innovation in your team that breaks the silos and embraces co-creation
• Reduce risks in projects using a collaborative and iterative approach

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Leaders of charities and churches, and all who are eager to see more collaboration

Description
Faith-based organizations are sometimes known for what we’re against–and all too often that includes being against each other. But amid growing distrust of institutions, nonprofits have a unique opportunity to link arms across our organizational boundaries and pursue a calling higher than our own agendas. Rooting for Rivals reveals how your organization can multiply its impact by cooperating, rather than competing. Peter explores case studies illustrating the power of collaborative partnership and shares failures and successes in pursuing the power of openhanded leadership.

Presented By

Session Recording

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Mission Leaders who are interested in developing international, cross cultural teams

Description
Diverse cultural leadership has amazing potential. It is also challenging to build and lead an effective, diverse team.

Learning Objectives
We will identify five essentials to building, leading, and learning from an international team.

Presented by

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Local church mission leaders

Description
You know that your church has the responsibility to send your own people to the Nations. What can you do to be more strategic and effective at being a Sending Church? Come explore the elements of a healthy sending church.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
Local church mission leaders

Description
Every church is at a different place in their Sending Church journey. Join Nathan and Dave as they unpack ways every church can grow and flourish as churches that send well.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Missions or outreach pastors and missional leaders responsible for mobilizing bodies of believers

Description
The goal of the workshop is to present core principles and key practices in developing coordinated strategies between agency and church for local and global mission outreach. We will explore the power of the three c’s (convergence, coaching and cohorts) in synergistic movements for reaching the nations. This workshop will challenge the participants with innovative strategies and practical tips.

Learning Objectives
The objectives are to offer tools and help each participant to:

• Identify five key strategies that can be implemented for maximum agency and church cohesion
• Examine culturally appropriate language to deepen partnerships for missional engagement
• Explore how cohorts cultivate healthy relationships and deepen trust for partnerships
• Understand four key shifts that must be made for discipleship and mission integration

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Church leaders and those that are considering sending short-term teams

Description
We will be exploring how to pivot post pandemic and discuss the best practices to implement so that we are able to support those serving in the field while supporting the vision of the church.

Presented by

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Mission mobilizers developing partnerships globally

Description
Travel restrictions, countries in lockdown, and virtual ministry have changed the landscape of 21st Century partnering out of a globally focused church. Mark will relate three models of global partnering his churches has developed in the last decade and how they could help you better partner out of your church globally. Communication models and tools will be reviewed with clear examples you can utilize. You will have four new ways to measure the depth of your partnership relationship. Each level of partnership will include examples of how you can get better participation within your church and related better with your global partners.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
CEO’s, Field missionaries, Regional leaders

Description
God is uniting the church like never before in history, providing unprecedented opportunities for partnership. What is working and making an impact? Join this panel discussion to hear inspiring examples of global partnerships that are seeing greater Kingdom impact through collaboration. This workshop will highlight some innovative approaches to partnership in the mission movement, and recommend ways your organization can increase its capacity for effective collaboration.

Panel Facilitated by

Kirk Ogden – Exec Director, South American Mission
Therefore Alliance Kingdom Lessons from a Collaborative Journey in Organizational Alliance

Michelle Axelson – Director of Partnerships, Global Partnerships
A Growing Segment of the Bible Translation Movement Embraces An Integrated Model of Collaboration

Charlotte Deuel – Global Community Transformation Director, Partners International
How a Multi-agency Task Force Launched an Integrated Approach for Making Disciples

Ken Kaytayama – President/CEO, Crossover Global
Restructuring for Global Impact

Phil Smith – Director of Global Partnerships, Accessible Hope International
New Research Spotlights How to Develop Genuine, Global Collaboration

Kärin Butler Primuth – President/CEO of visionSynergy
Developing Network Leaders for Increased Kingdom Impact

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
Leaders and Practitioners

Description
With diaspora communities from unreached people groups now living and mixing throughout western cities and nations, Tim & Amber will share some examples of how God is using the diaspora through creative opportunities initiated through new film productions, “media to movements” social media campaigns and other tech solutions designed to see the gospel more readily shared.

Presented by

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Mission agency and church leaders, strategists, diaspora missions practitioners

Description
Can engaging with the realm of global migration actually add value to our mission work? Join us as we explore three innovations in diaspora missions that allow us to:

1. Join with the vast migration of Majority World Christians in multiplying capacity for urban missions,

2. Release the mission potential of new believers returning to their homelands, and

3. Envision value-creating collaborative spaces for engagement with the unreached diaspora in urban contexts, both in North America and abroad.

Each spot talk will be followed with a brief and illustrative case study, and also accompanied with links to further resources.

Panelists
John Baxter, Sunny Hong, Rich Mendola, Chaoyang Peng, Don Allsman, Rickie Bradshaw

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Practitioners in Diaspora, Mission leaders, Diaspora leaders, Church leaders interested in diaspora

Description
Mark Avery and Nate Scholz will be running a design workshop focused on innovation in the 3 focal areas from the previous workshop Current Innovations in Diaspora: Practitioner Spot Talks. We will be using a facilitated activity to lead small groups through an innovation process identifying what “strategic” might look like for mission efforts in these areas.

Learning Objectives
Outcomes will include:

• Learning a design process
• Developing strategic insights from design process
• Building deeper knowledge of the Diaspora context

Presented by

Handout

Session Recording

*This session was not recorded.

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Mission Leaders and anyone engaged in global ministry

Description
Ultimate security is found in Jesus. At the same time, the world is rapidly changing, and those hostile to the Gospel use technology as their primary tool to identify believers. From hacking, cyber tracking, or even Googling, technology has become an easy tool to target unsuspecting people who are careless with their digital activity. This workshop will give you principles to protect yourself and your organization so that you can continue to serve the Lord globally for the advancement of His Kingdom among all nations.

Presented by

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
CEOs, COOs, CHROs, HR Professionals, In-house legal counsel

Description
How has the new US Presidential Administration and Congress shaped the HR/employment landscape? This workshop will analyze the impact and implications of the Biden administration and 117th Congress’s actions to date. We will discuss areas ministries should watch for, and what they can do to best position themselves to continue to thrive in this changing landscape.

Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:

• Assess their organization’s risk in light of the latest the latest federal legislation, case law, and indicators from the EEOC and Dept. of Labor, and
• Formulate a plan on potential proactive steps to better position the organization.

Presented By

*This session was not recorded.

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
Caretakers of organizational culture, especially human resource professionals and senior leaders

Description

In his book Cross-Cultural Conflict, Duane Elmer identifies unity as the key to fulfilling the Great Commission, citing Jesus’s “unity prayer” in John 17 and noting that “Our ability to resolve conflict, thus preserving unity, is directly related to people’s coming to Christ.” As mission organizations become more ethnically diverse, our approach to conflict becomes increasingly important. We must realize that our Enemy wants us to fear conflict because conflict avoidance is the pathway to organizational assimilation, which yields uniformity (unity’s counterfeit).

Here’s an innovative approach: let’s welcome conflict! This session explores four specific organizational climates and offers a potential pathway to Biblical shalom – inclusive unity in diversity. You see, shalom isn’t the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of constructive conflict.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Caretakers of organizational culture, especially human resource professionals and senior leaders

Description
A senior U.S. missions expert wrote in 2017 that “The most common reason missionaries go home is not due to lack of money, illness, terrorism, homesickness, or even a lack of fruit or response to the gospel. Regretfully, the number one reason is due to conflict with other missionaries.” Conflict competence is the solution to this problem.

Participants in this session will be introduced to specific skills (perspective-taking, affirming, I-messaging, reflective listening, and suspending judgment), knowledge (cultural self-awareness, ethnocentricity, and cross-cultural awareness), and attitudes (compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience) that produce conflict that enriches, rather than erodes, our relationships and work. Implications for training programs will be discussed, with selected learning activities demonstrated as time and group size permit.

Presented By

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
All leaders, supervisors, and HR professionals

Description
This workshop will highlight practical coaching skills for leaders who desire to remain relevant and make meaningful contributions to their team. It will also help leaders become better self–aware as they lead in their staff’s coaching and development.

Learning Objectives
By the end of the presentation, participants will understand how a coaching culture in the work environment can contribute to more motivated staff while boosting productivity. Emphasis will be placed on frequent feedback and how that relates to coaching and development and boosting team morale. This workshop will benefit all leaders, supervisors, and HR professionals.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
HR and other leaders

Description
A given situation with a particular employee can give rise to counseling, member care, discrimination claims, and performance issues. Therapists, member care personnel, HR, and leadership may be respectively and simultaneously involved. These roles can intersect—or fail to intersect—in ways that exacerbate problems and create legal liability. We’ll look at how complaints develop and how to resolve them before they turn into litigation. Or if they do turn into litigation, we’ll look at defenses such as the ministerial exception and faith-based stances.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Mission mobilizers & church leaders who wish to find and train potential goers in the digital space

Description
Through case studies—get lessons learned and practical steps to 1)attract YOUR ideal goers using online funnels and digital advertising 2)start or improve a nurturing structure such as a podcast, blog, or YouTube channel and 3)partner with or offer an online cohort experience such as a digital course, Facebook Group, or online coaching mastermind groups.

We’ll walk through my experiences:

• launching C. Anderson’s digital course Getting Started in Disciple-Making Movements (https://ywamfm.teachable.com/p/disciple-making-movements) now training thousands of global south workers online
• the successful creation and launch of The Neighbors & Nations Course as Jeannie Marie (www.jeannie-marie.com) and the online mastermind cohorts run through Frontiers the last four years where 80% of the potential goer participants moved overseas.

Walk away with ideas to:

• brainstorm who your ideal goer IS and where to find them in the digital space
• get ideas on how you could improve or create an online nurturing structure and
• decide how to partner with—or create digital trainings or cohorts.

Presented By

*This session was not recorded.

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
U.S. Church leaders focused on missions, such as missions pastors or missions council leaders

Description
Understand that God is sending the unreached people groups of the world to America’s cities, creating an unprecedented opportunity for the Great Commission. By mobilizing believers in our cities, we can utilize the full potential of the Body of Christ to declare and demonstrate the gospel to the diaspora. Learn how to offer a “buffet” of ministry options in a metro area, where every follower of Christ can get involved in some way, using their gifts to effectively “crowdsource” God’s work to bring the nations into His family. This session will provide stories of such coalitions that have formed in cities around the country, and concrete action steps to launch this kind of collaboration in your city.

Presented by

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Pastors and Partners interested in partnering with the African American community

Description
This workshop is designed to give a Kingdom of God framework in mobilizing African American churches for global missions. It will also address issues that prohibit African American mobilization. Attendees should expect to:

• Examine theological differences between Black churches and majority culture
• Explore the historical contributions of African American missionaries in global missions
• Identify ways to support the National African American Missions Council
• Volunteer for networking opportunities within African American communities of faith.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Mobilizers

Description
As our world, technology and culture changes around us at an unprecedented rate, missions mobilizers must not only understand the next generation of “go-ers”, Gen Z, but apply that understanding to new mobilization strategies. We will continue to experience an increase in fluidity between the digital and physical world. If we can’t mobilize well digitally, then we will see a steady decline in those whom we hope to mobilize to the nations.

• By the end of the workshop, attendees should:
• See the importance of implementing digital strategies for the mobilization of the next generation
• Understand the design thinking for innovation process
• Be empowered to utilize a design thinking approach to innovate appropriate new models for their agencies

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Mobilizers

Description
How do people become pioneer message bearers (missionaries)? Is it some kind of deeper magic that comes upon misfits? Or is it something that can be nurtured and called out in people? Dave Keane has interviewed over 100 pioneer message bearers, both men and women, asking the simple question: How did you discover this calling in yourself? He discovered it’s not magic. It is the work of God through certain means. In this workshop, he’ll share what he found. We’ll learn from the Bible’s master mobilizers (Jesus and Paul), reconsider our mobilization message, talk about how you can create the kind of innovative culture that causes message bearers and their supporters to bubble up in your community.

Presented by

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Short-term missions agency or team leaders, and others interested in intercultural training

Description
What methods does your missions organization use to promote intercultural development for staff and STM participants? Cultivating deeper intercultural sensitivity, whether working abroad or domestically, is critical to effectively fulfill God’s call to love our neighbors and reach the nations.

Learning Objectives
This presentation will demonstrate frameworks and tools to support growth in intercultural understanding with a spirit of Christ-centered humility. Participants will learn about the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), and ways to apply this model to assess an individual’s approach to navigating cultural differences. Participants will also gain understanding of how to customize intercultural training to the needs of staff and team members. A variety of training resources will be described, including research-based strategies to reduce prejudice, storytelling exercises to encourage empathy, and reflection activities to cultivate curiosity.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
New STM leaders or trainers, or those who are unfamiliar with the 7 Standards of Excellence in STM.

Description
What makes a mission trip good? Is it the result or the way you went about doing it? It’s okay, take a minute to answer for yourself. We’ll be looking at the 7 critical elements you will want to make part of your mission trip so you can honor your hosts and glorify God. This will include sharing some best practices, tools, and resources that you can incorporate into your next mission trip. You’ll not only have the opportunity to hear from the staff at Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission (SOE) but to hear from and share with other like-minded missions practitioners like yourself.

This is an introductory level workshop. For those who are more experienced in short-term missions and the 7 Standards of Excellence, or are in senior leadership levels of STM organizations, we recommend that you attend the Executive Leadership Track workshop on “Inspiring Innovation with Design Thinking in Missions Contexts,” presented by Bethany Peters and Jolene Erlacher.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Church and organizational mission leaders

Description
One of the unique missions innovations that has come out of the hardship of COVID is the virtual mission trip. Many churches and organizations had to pivot their short-term trip plans and began doing things virtually. Are these virtual trips simply a place holder until travel starts back or do virtual trips have a future in the landscape of missions? Learn from a missions leader who had strong reservations about virtual trips, but after a season of doing them, has come to believe that they have a place in the future of missions exposure and mobilization. This workshop will discuss the benefits and dangers of virtual trips and propose best practices that can guide churches into a healthy future.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Short-term mission senior leaders and trainers

Description
Sixty-five to eighty percent of the world functions with an Honor/Shame perspective on life and relationships. However, short- and mid-term missionaries sent from North America tend to come from a Guilt/Innocence worldview (though this is changing), and are more equipped to minister from this perspective. This can lead to cultural confusion, relational misunderstandings, and a lack of clarity on how to share the gospel. In this workshop we will discuss a simple framework for explaining an Honor/Shame worldview to Westerners, briefly look at how the scriptures speak to (and from) an Honor/Shame culture, present tips on how to prepare short- and mid-term missionaries for life in an Honor/Shame based society, and share some practical ideas on some best methods for sharing the gospel with people who may be more responsive to the gospel’s offer of release from shame than forgiveness of guilt.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Those responsible for facilitating team building in online settings who want to learn helpful tools

Description
In this workshop we will revisit the purpose of team building, why it is important, and explore a few, free, online tools that actively engage participants. We will consider team training components such as introductions, setting group norms, experiential activities, and debriefing. (It will be most helpful if people have access to an Internet connection and computer.)

As a result of this workshop participants will examine the why behind the what that they already do for team building so they can adapt that to an online environment. This involves looking for the possibilities and unleashing creativity. There is a world of wonderful possibilities and opportunities that will continue even when face to face trainings become possible again.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

Time
Wednesday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Paradigm-breaking leaders who want to maximize worker health and productivity through training

Description
Your organization has a quickly growing number of Generation Z on staff who are 26 years old or younger. These younger Americans exhibit several different characteristics from their colleague Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer cohorts. Generation Z has strong distinctives about how they experience education, learning, and on the job training – with important implications for how we design and implement training for this new generation of cross-cultural workers.

Join us as we’ll explore specific practices that will raise the bar on the training you are providing for the newest members of your organization.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 8:30 AM

Primary Audience
Agency leaders and trainers who want to engage effective worker training models

Description
Many representatives of unreached people groups live among us today in the cities and states of North America. Several organizations and training ministries are seizing this opportunity to use diaspora-based training programs to minister to immigrants and refugees while simultaneously training and equipping workers who will be sent out around the world for skilled service to tribal, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu people. Why is this a good training model? What are the topics that this kind of training includes? What are some current examples that we can learn from? Come and discover!

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

Time
Thursday | 1:45 PM

Primary Audience
Mission leaders and trainers ready to engage technology for social learning

Description
Missions is a relational endeavor. Most of our staff are very relational and their ministries depend on making meaningful and trusting relational connections. That’s why organizations have invested over the years in bringing missionaries together for learning events – conference, retreats and seminars… But is the price of time, travel and ministry disruption worth the results we get? Not usually. And the timing of events like these rarely matches up with providing missionaries the learning support they need at the time they need it. Realizing this, many are now using distance-technologies to provide relationship-intense learning and encouragement events for their field staff. Learn how this is possible from those who have been doing it and seeing great results.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

*This session was not recorded.

Time
Thursday | 3:45 PM

Primary Audience
Ministry leaders willing and excited to increase ministry effectiveness through innovative training

Description
For many years the mainstay of our training for new missionaries was a semester or year-long residential training institute in New York City. We loved it and it was extremely effective. This worked great until the ministry became multi-national and diverse in our ministry strategies. The question we faced was – how to maintain the unity of our organizational mission and distinctives while providing skill-building training and mentor-based growth to a cohort of young new missionaries spread across a dozen time zones? This workshop will explain how and why we chose to move the core of our training to 100% online training in a highly relational, cohort-based format.

Presented By

Handout

Session Recording

*This session was not recorded.

Time
Friday | 9:00 AM

Primary Audience
Paradigm-breaking leaders who want to maximize worker health and productivity through training

Description
Successful ministry is all about relationship. And we all know that actions speak louder than words. This definitely applies to training. This session will explore the idea of how to integrate relationship into missionary training and how such practices naturally expand into relational ministry. Models where this is taking place today will be presented and you’ll have the opportunity to relate with others and share what you know and what you are learning.

Presented By

Handouts

Session Recording

*This session was not recorded.