July 27, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Category: Training

Coaching

Training Missionaries to Coach One Another

Coaching in SEND is getting more attention these days.  From December 3-5, Dr. David Wood and I facilitated a coaching workshop for 24 participants in Farmington. The head of our mobilization department had initially requested the training in coaching for all the mobilizers in the US Office since he believes that coaching is one of the key activities for our mobilizers. A number of other members from the US Office and the International Office joined as well, filling our IO training room to capacity.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Training

Easy Email Newsletters

As more and more of our missionary newsletters are being sent out by email rather than by snail mail, I have been looking at better ways of managing our email list, designing attractive email newsletters, and even tracking who actually reads our newsletters. Recently I have started using Mail Chimp, and see that quite a few other missionaries are doing the same. Mail Chimp is free if you have less than 2000 addresses in your list, and you send less than 12,000 emails a month to your mailing list, which fits both the budget and needs of most missionaries. Mail Chimp helps me design an attractive newsletter with pictures and columns (not just as an attachment). It will send out all of my newsletter in a couple of minutes, without forcing me to break it into batches so that Gmail will accept it. Best of all, it tells me how… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Spiritual Formation, Pre-field Training

Spiritual Formation Highlights Training for New Missionaries

Bertha and I are on a short home service, and so I am not quite as involved in SEND U activities for the next month or two.  But in July, I was back in Farmington to help lead our 2011 Member Orientation Program.   Twelve participants came from Poland, Austria and the USA.  We were trying a few new things in MOP this year, including visits to Angel House (a Middle Eastern center in the heart of Dearborn), an Iraqi mosque, and an ethnic church.   We will definitely want to repeat these hands-on opportunities for cross-cultural exposure and learning. Again we noticed how the spiritual formation parts of this pre-field training stand out as highlights for the MOP participants.   This year, Carl Kresge led most of the morning sessions on spiritual formation, building up to the “Day Alone With God” which happens the day before MOP ends. Carl emphasized that busyness… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Training, Leadership Training

New Leadership Couples’ Retreat in Budapest

From May 4-8, nine new leadership couples from various parts of SEND’s world joined our International Director and his wife, our Europe Regional Director and his wife, and Bertha and me at the Walzer Hotel in Budapest for training and orientation to their new leadership role.  Each of these new leadership couples is now responsible for SEND’s ministries and teams in a particular country, and a few of them are actually responsible for ministries and teams in two countries.   Most of the leadership couples are serving in Europe, and thus Budapest was selected as the venue for this training. The topics we addressed included transitioning to the leadership role, the leader profile, the leader’s vision, the role of the wife, dealing with loneliness, keeping your marriage strong, delegation & empowerment and managing area finances.   The complete list of topics can be seen on the SEND U wiki.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Training

Women to Women Ministry Training

Well over half of the members of our mission are women.  Increasingly as a mission, we are recognizing the priority of providing training specifically designed for them and the ministry challenges they face. Although the majority of the women that join SEND have received excellent biblical and ministry training prior to their acceptance, many of our women have not had the opportunity to fully exercise their gifts and utilize their training when they arrive on their chosen field of service.   Instead, they have chosen to prioritize their children’s nurture and educational needs in those first years on the mission field.  When their children no longer need as much time from Mom, a refresher in training is needed (as for all of us who have graduated from seminary or Bible college in a previous decade).… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
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