This handbook encourages short-term mission volunteers to reflect on the reasons why they engage in mission and how they plan and prepare to be more intentional. It helps volunteers shape the stories of their mission experiences in a way that enhances their personal and spiritual journeys. This is the Participant's Book. The Leader's Guide, God's Mission, Our Journey, can be found here.

At the end of this course, you will be able to establish a daily practice for communicating with God and listening for God's answers. You will find ways to come to the Lord in prayer (singing, fasting, praying the Scriptures, praying for others, and using intercessory prayer). You will explore the many names of Jesus and God you can use for adoration in your prayer. You will identify your need to overcome the barriers you may now be experiencing in your prayer life. Finally, you will be provi...

Building on the congregational strategic planning resource, "Does Your Church Have a Prayer?" this Participant’s Book will guide Lay Servants seeking to be more empowered to lead their congregations toward vitality. Written with two distinct purposes, Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders will first define the three disciplines of Christian transformational leadership and the four qualities of Christian transformational leaders. The accompanying Leader's Guide is in PDF form and...

This Leader's Guide is the accompanying piece to DR 881 Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders – Participant's Book. It is a PDF that can be downloaded and used to support the course outlined below. Building on the previous Lay Servant course "Does Your Church Have a Prayer?", this Participant's Book will guide Lay Servants seeking to be more empowered to lead their congregations toward vitality. Written with two distinct purposes, Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leade...

"Tell me a story." Countless parents and grandparents have heard that request from children. People of all ages are captivated by a good story. Storytelling helps us makes sense of the events of our lives, the world around us, and God. When we tell stories, we speak a world into being—just as God did in the creation accounts in the book of Genesis. "Everyone is a storyteller," says author Michael Williams. You don't have to be a professional storyteller to be able to tell good stories. In thi...

"Tell me a story." Countless parents and grandparents have heard that request from children. People of all ages are captivated by a good story. Storytelling helps us makes sense of the events of our lives, the world around us, and God. When we tell stories, we speak a world into being—just as God did in the creation accounts in the book of Genesis. "Everyone is a storyteller," says author Michael Williams. You don't have to be a professional storyteller to be able to tell good stories. In thi...