July 26, 2026

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

Tag: dependence

A Lifestyle of Prayer and Dependence
Prayer, Spiritual Formation

A Lifestyle of Prayer and Dependence

Editor’s note: This blog post is republished by permission of the author, Jack Gilbert. Jack & his wife are missionaries with SEND International in Spain. Jack regularly blogs at I’m Listening to GOD. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.(1 Thessalonians 5:17-18) We all live busy lives, juggling responsibilities, challenges, and expectations. And in the middle of it, Paul’s words can hit hard: “Pray without ceasing.” At first, that might feel impossible, or even a little unfair. But what if it’s not a rule to follow, but a way of life to enter? Instead of an obligation, what if we are being invited into something better than just getting by? Prayer is the rhythm that sustains the soul, the connection that shapes how we face each day. And that is what Paul wanted to communicate… Read the whole post
Jack Gilbert6 mins read
Abiding in Christ – Laying the Right Foundation
Church Planting, Spiritual Formation, Holy Spirit, Prayer

Abiding in Christ – Laying the Right Foundation

This entry is part 1 of 15 in the series Church planting Editor’s note: David and Kathy North planted multiple churches with TEAM for 33 years in various-sized cities in the Philippines. In their first few years in the Philippines, the Norths and I (Ken Guenther) served on the same church planting team in Baliwag, Bulacan. David is currently the Church Planting Coordinator for TEAM’s international network of church planters and disciple makers. The Norths are involved in Coaching, Training, Mentoring and encouraging front line workers. These blog posts were copied with permission from TEAM’s Church Planting Blog, Go and Plant. Longing for help For years as a young church planter, I longed for outside guidance and input about my efforts to plant churches. From time to time, an experienced church planter would speak even just a few words into my ministry and it would give me the new thoughts… Read the whole post
David North7 mins read
Set times of prayer – a discipline of preparation and love
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Book Reviews, Prayer, Spiritual Disciplines

Set times of prayer – a discipline of preparation and love

I have recently finished listening to Tyler Staton’s book on prayer – Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools: An Invitation to the Wonder and Mystery of Prayer. I listened to Tyler Staton preach on the topic of the Lord’s Prayer at a leadership retreat a few months ago. Both his passion for and his experience in prayer impressed me.1 You can listen to these same sermons on the Bridgetown Church’s website. I did not expect this in such a young pastor. In his book, I was further intrigued by his emphasis on the importance of daily set times of prayer. He pointed out that both Jesus and the early church practiced regular times of prayer each day. Jesus and his prayer life Over the years, I have noticed that the Gospels (and particularly Luke) often note that Jesus gave himself to prayer. At this baptism, before he begins a busy… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther3 mins read
Character, Hardship, Spiritual Formation, Christ

Christ Went Through the Crucible Before Us

In the preparation of his servants, God uses crucible experiences that test and purify us.   This is no less true of missionaries than of any other servants of God.   In a previous post in this blog, I looked at Scripture verses that speak of crucibles and noted some different types of crucible experiences.   I emphasized that our response to these crucible experiences is critical.  If they are to be transformative, we need to identify and extract from these difficult and often painful experiences that which God has intended that we learn from it. How do we do that?  How do we mine crucibles? I think we need to begin by learning from Jesus.   He not only went through the crucible in order to purchase our redemption, but he shows us how to persevere and learn from these experiences.… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther1 min read
Back To Top