Member Care Update

Ethnê-MC Facilitation Team

To contact us: membercare@ethne.net

Ethnê-MC Update Issue 21: October 2010

THE ROLE OF MISSION AGENCIES IN PRAYER, CONFLICT MANAGEMENT, PARTNERSHIPS, AND CRISIS & CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT

This article is the last of a thematic series on Agency-Level Member-Care. In July, Peter Shankar focused on Recruitment; in August, Peter presented his insights on Pre-Field Preparation and On-Field Care; in September, he covered the Role of Mission Agencies in Home Assignment, Re-Entry. In this final article, Peter will share his insights on Prayer, Conflict Management, Partnerships, and Crisis & Contingency Management.

Peter Shankar is a Missions Associate of WEA Missions Commission and a member of the ETHNE Member-Care Facilitation Team. ETHNE is the official network for Unreached People Groups of WEA Mission Commission.

Peter can be contacted at shankarpeter@gmail.com

Prayer

+ Set aside time to pray for missionaries serving on the field, and communicate the prayer needs of the missionary with the sending-church at least once a month

+ Understand the spiritual dynamics of the ministry the missionary is working in so they can pray intelligently, and deal wisely in matters relating to spiritual warfare

+ Work along-side intercessors as closely as possible, find a group or network of intercessors to cover the endeavors of the missionary and the agency in prayer

+ On a practical side of prayer, help missionaries by designing Prayer Cards for them, give them tools they can use to mobilize prayer for them

+ Be a praying agency.

Conflict Management

+ Have clear procedures to deal with conflict

No longer are mission teams homogeneous. Over the years, they have become less homogeneous and more cross-cultural (multicultural). Contemporary missions, with all the mixtures, have had some challenges working with team members from the different cultures and language groups, and with different personalities, training, etc. Agencies must have clear procedures and policies in place to deal with team conflicts. These should be communicated clearly from the very beginning so missionaries are prepared to deal with team differences.

+ Deal with team/personal conflicts quickly and with appropriate actions so issues will not escalate or continue to erupt and cause disunity on the team

+ Provide networks for support especially on the field

Whenever a conflict arises, teams must be willing to help each other. Missionaries should have access to people who could help on the field. These could be co-workers, or missionaries who are serving on the field (who might or might not be serving on the same team) and able provide support for the missionaries.

+ Ensure availability of a network of mission relationships through a database of missionaries serving in the same region

This would be helpful when something goes wrong on the team and help is needed from others who would be able connect with them.

+ Connect with the missionary’s sending church to learn about the missionary.

Partnerships

+ Dialogue with other agencies on the needs, resources for Member-Care

Look for opportunities to share resources and search for new resources within the agency network.

+ Partner with the local/sending church

Work very closely with the sending church. There needs to be constant communication i.e. meetings, evaluations, personal visits, mobilization, etc., so the church and the agency can work together to ensure the church is involved with the missionary.

+ Work with external partners/specialist – psychologist, doctors, community development, businessman, engineers, accountants, IT specialist, etc for help when dealing with ministry approaches for field strategy/workers, and for their personal well being

Facilitate opportunities for missionaries to connect with member-care personnel & specialists on the field.

+ BE involved in the church mission’s endeavors

Give input and share resources to engage and mobilize the church for missions. The agency’s input will be invaluable in getting the church involved with the missionary and his work.

+ Promote a culture of teamwork between the church, agency & missionary

Everyone needs to work together. An African Proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

+ Encourage sending churches to be involved in the life & ministry of the missionary

Constant communication is vital in building this relationship with the church.

+ Both the sending church and the agency should conduct an annual performance with their missionaries .

(The following section was written by Kelly O’Donnel many years ago. It provides some good overview of what agencies would need to do in times of crisis and gives good insights on contingency management).

Crisis & Contingency Management

(1). Preparation

-          Contingency plans for individuals, families, teams

-          Forming plans for hostage situations, natural disasters, evacuation, moral failure

-          Estate planning – writing a will, organizing & safe guarding important documents

-          Stress training to develop coping skills

-          Simulation exercises

-          Pre-field & field orientation on security guidelines, dos & don’ts.

(2). Staying Alive

-          Use survival skills to stay alive & manage oneself.

-          Crisis Management Teams monitor and make decisions during a crisis.

(3). Crisis Intervention

-          Practical help to protect/stabilize situation, ensure safety, provide food, shelter

-          Critical incident stress de-briefing (express thoughts and feelings related to the crisis)

-          Brief supportive counseling

(4). Aftercare

-          Therapy/Counseling (help with anxiety, PTSD and other adjustment problems)

-          Organizational review (evaluate the causes, interventions, results/lessons from the crisis)

-          Follow-Up (contact those affected, implement suggested changes)

Reflection Questions:

(1). How can we best prepare missionaries for cross-cultural work? How can agencies compliment the church in its endeavors to prepare a potential candidate for cross-cultural work?

(2). How can we best work in partnership with other organizations when mobilizing or sending missionaries to the mission field?

(3). What can we do to help missionaries manage conflicts? How can we train our missionaries to develop culturally appropriate conflict resolution skills?

References:

Doing Member Care Well – Edited by Kelly O’ Donnel

Missionary Care – Kelly O’ Donnel

Too Valuable to Loose – Bill Taylor

Worth Keeping – Rob Hay

Serving As Senders – Neal Pirolo

Prepare For Battle – Neal Pirolo