June 17, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

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Resources

Webinars for Training Missionaries

Another training resource that is available to missionaries are webinars (interactive seminars offered over the Internet).These webinars allow a missionary to receive additional training from experts in a particular subject area without requiring the missionary to trave or experience a significant interruption in his ministry. The best source that I have found for webinars for cross-cultural missionaries is The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA). SEND International became an associate member of The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA), largely so that we could benefit from the learning initiatives provided by this network of mission agencies and denominations.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Resources

Wiki Resources for Missionaries

Last month I asked our SEND missionaries to fill out a simple survey about what roles they thought SEND U should play in our mission organization.  I used the analogy of a campus.  If SEND International was a university campus, what role or roles would SEND U fill on that campus?  Would we be like the classroom where missionaries would receive formal instruction and training from the “experts”?   Would we be more like the faculty offices where missionaries could meet with the “experts” to discuss their questions about what they are learning and doing?   Or should we think of ourselves more like an academic counselling department where you could get assistance if you are struggling to succeed?  All of those options were chosen by a significant percentage of our missionaries.   But the highest number of our missionaries said that one of the roles that SEND U should play is that… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Books, Resources

Free Books for the Kindle

As I travel and talk to missionaries, I see and hear that more and more of them have purchased the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, or are planning to do so in the near future.  With the significant reduction in price to under $140 for the Wi-Fi only version, the cost is no longer prohibitive.   Given the difficulty and expense of first of all shipping the books they own to their assigned field and then purchasing additional resource books in English while overseas, I am not surprised by this interest in the Kindle on the part of so many missionaries. See my blog post a few months ago. But this is only half the story!  Did you know that many books for the Amazon Kindle (electronic book reader) are available for free?  Publishers, including a number of Christian publishing houses, frequently allow e-books to be “purchased” at no cost for a … Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
Coaching

What is Coaching?

As I have been saying, an essential component of SEND U’s training is providing coaching for those who are seeking to grow and develop in their ministry skills and leadership. Based on our own personal experience with coaching, and our understanding of the needs of our missionaries, our International Director and I are convinced that personal coaching is critical to the success of our training programs. But what actually is coaching?  The word “coach” can conjure up in our minds an image of an angry, pot-bellied tyrant who yelled at you every time you touched the ball.   That is NOT what we are talking about. The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”  Our SEND U website gives the following definition of Christian coaching: “Coaching is an ongoing conversation that empowers a… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Coaching

Training and Coaching Hold Hands

I frequently refer to SEND U as SEND’s training department, although I realize that training is also only part of what it means to “equip SEND missionaries and leaders to more effectively mobilize God’s people and engage the unreached in order to establish reproducing churches.”  The other half of what we do in SEND U, and a major focus of me personally is coaching.  The byline of our newsletter says “BY COACHING AND TRAINING, WE EQUIP MISSION LEADERS TO EFFECTIVELY MOBILIZE THEIR TEAMS TO ENGAGE THE UNREACHED AND ESTABLISH REPRODUCING CHURCHES.”  Are coaching and training two separate assignments or are they somehow related?  I see training and coaching as two complementary “hands,” both needed to develop our membership to accomplish our mission.  In fact, training becomes much more effective when combined with coaching.  An article in Public Personal Management analyzes the impact of a managerial training program.  They found that… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther2 mins read
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