July 26, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Year: 2016

Cross-Cultural Living, Teaming, Multicultural Teams

Making the Most of Multi-cultural Teaming

SEND International is intentionally multi-ethnic and multi-national because it takes people from all nations to reach all nations. Our membership is currently composed of at least 13 nationalities, and many more cultures are represented within those nationalities. Our “multi-culturalness” provides unique opportunities as we seek to fulfill the mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ among unreached peoples of the world. But the diversity that accompanies this mix of cultures also has many inherent challenges; challenges that should be acknowledged and addressed.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Books

How Do You Find Time to Read All Those Good Books?

A young friend of mine recently posted on Facebook that he did not want any books for his birthday, even the very best.  He already had more books stacked up to read than what he would be able to finish in the next 2 years. I can identify with his problem.   I just am not as disciplined as he is in telling people not to give me books!   My problem is not as visible, since almost everything I read is in digital format.  But my digital collection continues to grow and so is my list of books that I really want to read.  I have recently started using Goodreads.com to keep track of my books and it tells me that currently I am reading 5 books and there are 12 books on my top priority To-Read list.   Now some of those “currently reading” have not been touched for a while.  … Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Spiritual Formation, Training, Leadership Training

Saul Was Not Ready

1 Samuel 9 introduces us to a very promising young man named Saul, a young man who we soon find out has been destined by God to become Israel’s first king.  He is from a good, highly-respected family with wealth and influence (1 Sam 9:1).   He himself is physically impressive, tall and handsome (1 Sam 9:2). But this young man has a problem – his father’s donkeys have wandered off, and he and his servant have already spent three days looking for them without success. At this point, we come to an interesting discourse that gives us a window into Saul’s spiritual formation up to this point in his life.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Disciple-making

Lessons to be Learned from the Church in Asia – Part 3 (Tan-Chi’s “Church Growth Paradigm Shifts”)

In my last blog post, I introduced you to Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF), a church in the Philippines that has grown over a period of 30 years from a small group Bible study of three couples to a church of more than 60,000 believers in over 50 satellites in the Philippines and beyond. I recently attended a meeting where Pastor Peter Tan-Chi (Senior Pastor of CCF) explained 8 paradigm shifts regarding church growth that have helped to guide the ministry of CCF over the years. From Preaching to Disciple-making Sunday morning sermons are not the focus of CCF pastors/leaders. Rather, the emphasis is on disciple-making – “Bringing people to Christ, building them up in faith toward Christ-likeness, for the purpose of spiritual multiplication, resulting in the glory of God.”… Read the whole post
Darlene Jovellanos1 min read
Disciple-making

Lessons to be Learned from the Church in Asia – Part 2 (Christ’s Commission Fellowship)

Intentional Disciple-making – A “Success” Story In my last blog post, I shared about the recently held “Global Discipleship Congress” in Manila. This congress was held at the main church of Christ’s Commission Fellowship (CCF). My husband and I have the privilege of being on the leadership team of one of CCF’s satellite churches . . . and indeed it IS a privilege! When Jun and I began to feel God leading us to move back to the Philippines in 2013, one of the things that we were most excited about was the thought of being part of a dynamic church growth movement here. We were blessed to find a brand-new CCF satellite about half a kilometer from our home. Though our church is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, it IS an amazing testimony of God at work through believers committed to intentional disciple-making and I hope… Read the whole post
Darlene Jovellanos2 mins read
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