September 6, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

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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. Related Posts:Empowering New LeadersOperation World - A Wealth of InformationTanks and Training for MissionsExploring Spiritual Formation: AttitudeCrucibles Develop Our CapacityIndirect Training?… 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.” Related Posts:Lessons to be Learned from the Church in Asia - Part…The Vine Project: A reviewMultiplication Process Development in Ministry:…Discipling disciple-makersYou… 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
Disciple-making, Prayer

Lessons to be Learned from the Church in Asia – Part 1 (2016 Global Discipleship Congress)

A few weeks ago I had the amazing privilege of joining together with 6000+ believers (mostly Asians) at the Global Discipleship Congress (GDC) in Manila, Philippines. It was a transformational experience as God used several Spirit-filled Asian leaders to challenge us to intentionally live a life of making disciples — to live out our faith and to pass it on to others. Wishing that all SEND members could experience GDC along with me, I started jotting down a few notes for a potential blog (a poor substitute for actually being present, I know, but hopefully better than nothing). Rev. Edmund Chan The Global Discipleship Congress got its start with God working in the heart of Rev. Edmund Chan, a Singaporean pastor with a passion for seeing churches be intentional in their disciple-making. As Rev. Chan welcomed us to the Congress, he remarked, “My burden for the church is that many… Read the whole post
Darlene Jovellanos2 mins read
Lifelong Learning, Growth Plans

When Personal Development Became Exciting for Me

I remember the minute personal development became exciting for me. I was sitting in a training room in Singapore listening to the introductory session on Christian coaching. I showed up to the training kind of on accident. I didn’t know the first thing about coaching but a few months earlier someone had asked me to consider going. He also volunteered to pay for the training and to watch my 3- and 7-year-old for a week. So, I said yes. At the end of that first session, we were directed to a document called “Personal Development Worksheet.” It had about 15 different headings and we were instructed to brainstorm as many goals as we could under these headings. We didn’t have to figure out how to accomplish them, just list some areas we wanted to grow in or things we wanted to accomplish. We headed back to our room and I… Read the whole post
Beth Eckstein2 mins read
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