Barry Ewy:
We are so excited for you to get to hear what Will Rogers with Global Missions Health Conference and Southeast Christian Church shared.
Laura Berry:
And gosh Barry, I really enjoyed this podcast. I mean, Will brings so much wisdom, interesting observations, trends in missions, but something that is going to be so interesting for our listeners to hear is, when he talks about this missions maturity model. It will be something that you all could chew on and think about. I'm just excited for this episode to air.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, I think there's gonna be some real good takeaways that you guys are going to really enjoy as you listen to this episode. So let's get started.
…
Barry Ewy:
Welcome. Glad that you could join us.
Will Rogers:
I appreciate you all having me here. It's nice to see you all.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, it's good to be with you too. Thank you very much. So obviously, you're with Global Missions Health Conference and very, very involved in missions in general. So, where have you served in medical missions and kind of what are some of the capacities that you've served in?
Will Rogers:
So I have an interesting background. Most of my background is, I studied economics in school. and most of my work has been in international business development and capacity development. When Southeast Christian Church invited me in to help out with the conference two decades ago, it was honestly a comical conversation because like I just I need to be really clear that I'm not medical. I've never served overseas, and I've never run a conference. And they said, “Sounds great.” So hey, if this sounds great to you. Sounds great to me.
Barry Ewy:
You're the perfect guy, right?
Will Rogers:
So I really have learned medical missions, healthcare missions, through the conference and through the partners like you all and others. But most of my background internationally— I've had the blessing to work in fifty-seven different countries with nonprofit organizations doing business development to help them build out their strategies. So I've loved the seasons of life that I've had to work overseas. And that's been mostly healthcare, but then it's been a number of other things too.
Barry Ewy:
So can you take just a moment and explain what you mean when you say capacity building?
Will Rogers:
Sure. I think one of the easiest ways to define capacity development and capacity building is—and this is me—but I think one of the best ways to look at organizational development is thinking like a child that's going through school. And truly, organizations have a lifecycle and it and they have like a season of infancy, a season of adolescence, and a season of maturing. And it seems as if it is kind of an untouchable realm of knowledge, but it really is I can get in and assess specifics around that. So when you look at an organization and think you're building out your leadership capacity and your board capacity and your financial capacity. There's about thirty different areas of capacity within an organization. And at any given point, you can assess that and see where you're strong, maybe where you're weaker, what's kind of the bubble in the middle. And the work that we've done is really trying to help organizations shore up the areas where they need to have some growth by bringing in tools from the outside. So that, just like in school, like if you're going from fifth grade to sixth grade, you really are gonna hope that all of your math, science, English, all your different skill sets are progressing in a similar fashion. Very similar. That's the way I think about capacity development for organizations.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah. And if you are in that life cycle and you're at that maturity stage, you're going to roll into the decline or dying stage if you can't somehow get back to the early maturity or even the adolescent stage, right?
Will Rogers:
Right. Yeah. So to kind of geeking out on this, but an organization that is in prime needs to have infancy within it. You know, so typically it's like how much of what's happening within your organization looks like the infancy in the startup organization. And it's not the whole organization because it couldn't function that way, but you need that high entrepreneurial spirit in kind of like your skunk works or your just your different areas that are that are really kind of testing and piloting. Otherwise it does die. I think it's a biblical means by which— It feels like a stretch, but I say I think it's a biblical means. I believe that God has created us obviously as image bearers and to be creative. And I think that the methods that we put into play, they all go stale on purpose. And I think God's designed the system we live in so that we are constantly being creative. And when we fall in love with our methods and we stop being creative, I think things grow stale and that's just kind of what you're going to expect to see.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah. Well, I can already tell you, I think we're gonna try to have you back at some point to talk about organizational structure and control. Because I think there's you know, I think there's a lot of organizations that don't understand that. And if they're in a decline, they're they don't really know why they're there. I like that topic as well. So I'd love to have you back and let's talk about that again. But we really want to talk about missions today. Sorry, I got you off track with that, but Global Missions Health Conference does so many great things that we want to be sure that we get to talk a good bit about that. So can you share a little bit about what the Global Missions Health Conference is and kind of why it got started?
Will Rogers:
Sure. So now I wasn't around in the early days, but about thirty years ago, a cardiologist from Southeast Christian Church was on a trip to Africa, David Daggerford. And as the story goes, he was there with Dave Stevens—he used to be the CEO of CMDA—and a few other physicians. And truly, as the story goes, they're sitting around a fire one night in Africa and saying, wouldn't it be great if medical professionals could get and gather together to hear stories about what's happening around the world, to hear stories and see what God's doing, share best practices. So they kicked off an event, and the first year was a couple hundred people. And that's what's grown to be what we now know as the Global Missions Health Conference.
So David Daggerford was the driver here at Southeast that led that for the first ten years. And when I look at every element that we look at foundationally on why it is what it is, like I go back to seeing the work that that he did and tremendous blessing and guidance from the Lord.
Barry Ewy:
It it's amazing how really great things can just develop out of a small conversation.
Will Rogers:
True.
Barry Ewy:
And that's what sounds like GMHC, the whole concept for it came out of something that was probably pretty simple at the moment around the campfire.
Will Rogers:
Right. And I think the I appreciate that what they started with was to meet a real need. It wasn't a dream of let's go do a conference. And so I think when you meet needs, I think it's a great way to address it. So I'm trying to meet the needs like you know that there are Christian healthcare workers that have a conviction that truly, the kingdom could use my skill somehow. Can someone just show me what that might look like? And I think that's really what the vein of what's gone through the conference for thirty years has been.
Laura Berry:
Will, as the executive director of GMHC, you have this incredible high level vantage point over the entire ecosystem of healthcare missions. When you look at medical missions and how it's changing today, compared to, let's say a decade ago, what are the biggest shifts or macro trends that you're observing?
Will Rogers:
You know, we live in a season where we're seeing a lot of trend shifts in missions. And I don't know that— I guess there's some that are probably specific to healthcare missions, but I think the trends that we're seeing really are global across all the things that we're seeing in missions. And I was thinking about this and if I were to sum it up, I think where we are now is we are moving more and more into the necessity to be strategic and to have a focus. And I reason I was I was thinking about that question, I'm careful to use this because I'm sure it's gonna be offensive to somebody, but I think we've had seasons where you could be a little sloppier and it's like, that's all right. There'd be a lot of grace and like there you could get in different places. And I think the way that we're refining and looking at where things are heading, I think that we're having to be a lot more buttoned up. And maybe for an example on that I would use, you know, people use the word tent making a lot. But I think that when I look at it, a lot of people are really tent faking. Like they really didn't have a skill that they went into a country with. I think one of the amazing things about healthcare missions is that it has a skill that it has gone in with. And I think the rest of the missions world, in many ways, is catching up to what healthcare missions has been bringing to bear for decades. I think that's really a significant thing for healthcare missions. I just see that we're getting a lot more focused and strategic.
The other thing I think is really significant about where we are now is it feels as though for the first time we are moving into a world that we are actually looking at a dashboard of the Great Commission. And I know that isn't true, but even the way that we look at missions here at Southeast Christian Church, when you break down the verse of every tongue, tribe, and nation, there those three words are not synonymous. Each one means something different. So if I look at and say there's about 200 nations, there's about 700 languages, and there's about 17,000 tribes of those 7,000 languages. We kind of look at the scorecard and be like, well, we are 100% complete in every nation. We're about 92% complete in every tongue. And we are about 60% complete in every tribe.
Back to strategy, it feels like we're even trying to be more strategic about really trying to run after those, those last remaining people groups that are out there. So that would be the main word I would use. I just really feel I see things becoming more and more strategic, which is exciting. And to bring that back to healthcare missions: healthcare missions, just over and over, is such a strategic means to reach the least reached places of the world. Because everybody needs it. It seems like it's absolutely a need every place in the world and especially the places that are the least reached today.
Laura Berry:
It sounds like you're bringing in excellence and best practices into missions and strategy around best practices is so critically needed. Are you seeing changes in where people want to go? The types of specialties that are in the highest demands, or even perhaps how younger healthcare professionals are viewing long-term versus short-term missions.
Will Rogers:
Yes. I think there's a whole litany of trends that we're seeing, especially when you talk about next generation. A big one, when what we used to think is long term really is more midterm, right? You know, so it's like, “I'm gonna be a long-term person for two years.” “Really, what? Hold on a second. That's not long.” So, a decade ago, the terminology just meant something different.
But I think there are more known obstacles that we are seeing now. I think you could easily go in a negative spin and be like, “Hey, look, it's more expensive to travel, it's more difficult to get into places.” You're seeing a different generation. There's less people that are walking in faith in the United States. There's less birth rates. I mean, I kind of stack ten things up. But I think what I'm seeing in the midst of that is that God is moving in the next generation with a very defined, purposeful calling and a real desire to connect where they go and serve. The thing that we are working on quite a bit in our church and through the GMHC, is— Twenty years ago, we lived in a world where we spent so much energy trying to move people to mobilization. And we were thankful that we could rest on the foundation of their biblical knowledge or truth. I think now, you're looking at a world where you have a generation that wants to go. I don't have to spend as much energy for the mobilization and the motivation, but there is a significant deficit in the biblical knowledge to be able to step into that in a way that is as a Jesus follower. To draw a very definitive distinction in that to go and serve someone without bringing the gospel with you, as John Piper would say, it is essentially to hate you. It's like I haven't really brought you the true healthcare that that's needed there. So I think there's some pieces that are sweet about the quote from Francis of Assisi of “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” I think it's a kind thing to say, but it's not how we would commission people because I think that's actually a failure in the way that missions is being done. It is not humanitarian work. It is for the purpose of you taking the gospel with you.
Barry Ewy:
So on the mobilization side—and I think we'll get back to probably having a question or two about truth and about sharing the gospel in a moment—but on the mobilization side, are you seeing any trends toward—I'm gonna call them the older generation for lack of a better word, although I may well be in that—but compared to the younger generation after COVID, it seems like, at least from our perspective here at Blessings International, we've seen less goers than we did pre-COVID. Are you all seeing that same thing? And then part two to that would be, how do we get that younger generation to fill the gap of where that older generation is maybe backed out a little?
Will Rogers:
Right. Yeah, we are absolutely seeing that trend. I mean, COVID just did a wipeout on short-term to long-term [missions], at least in in a lot of the contexts that I've been in. And so again, it can feel like a negative. I think the blessing that is coming that though is to really have the opportunity to almost entirely rethink how do we vision cast and how do we call people into the Great Commission? Here's some I think is really significant for anyone that hopefully is at a church, but especially church leaders: missions, if you—man, don't miss this one—missions is likely the only thing in your church that transcends all age groups.
So the opportunity for missions— You have a children's department and then a student department and a college-age department. And it's great what they're doing, and they typically have some type of a handoff, but are they building their entire strategy set and thought process together? Where missions, and in a church, has that opportunity.
So what we're really trying to do is cast a vision for parents of toddlers, and then moving it into “What is the church,” “What's our engagement point for elementary?” And then, “What's the engagement point for middle school?” And what we call our missions maturity model. And I think the churches are really going to have to be a lot more disciplined on the overall journey.
I've seen stats that say that most people that serve as long term missionaries felt their first call into missions when they were eight or nine years old. So for us to put all of our eggs in the basket of a college ministry, I don't think that's the right thing to do. I think that's one of the places that you engage, but it really is something that's a long game and it's a way of maturing people. And I would encourage churches to be thinking that missions is one of the pieces that you can have a consistent thread through the life cycle of people that are in your church.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah. I really like that missions maturity model. I like that terminology. And then you mentioned eight or nine years old is where a lot of them get their first calling. Is it because maybe they were introduced to missions as a goer with a parent at that age? Or is it more somebody came and talked to their Sunday school class that is a missionary? And so they got that, or is it maybe both?
Will Rogers:
Yeah, I think it's a little bit of both, but I do not have the research study side-by-side on what affected the other. But you will hear quite often that it's a relationship. They've met someone that is serving and that makes sense. God made us as relational. Go back to the conference. We love the conference. It's in large part a system of gathering people. The success of the conference is in how well it helps get you connected interpersonally with other people. And I think the same thing for an eight and a nine-year-old when they can have personal interaction.
So back to us as a church, when people come in from overseas, we should be trying to get them in front of younger children to vision cast and tell stories about what they're doing.
There's a show on right now media and I think you can go straight to their site, but there's a family, the Wild family, that served in Indonesia and they created a whole video series that the kids did as four boys telling about their story of growing up there. Those are the resources that we need that hit. You know, you’ve got a nine-year-old boy that's like, “What is this?” Is just enamored. And it's not National Geographic, that I can't ever be whoever that is, but it's like this other kid, that’s nine years old doing something and they can see themselves in it.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, somebody they can really relate to. I know Laura's taken her kids on mission trips. I think I took my son… was maybe seven or eight and my daughter was twelve or thirteen when they went on their first mission trip outside the US with us. And you know, they've had a heart for serving now ever since. And so yeah, it's that early introduction to those things.
Will Rogers:
Yeah. It's so good.
Barry Ewy:
So, after managing Global Missions Health Conference for a lot of years, what challenges and changes have you observed or learned about how the church can better support and care for the highly specialized and intense pressures that medical missionaries face? So, you know, this is certainly more medical related than just general. Because I think there's a different skillset with medical missionaries than there is with general missionaries. Not to say that general missionaries are aren't doing an amazing thing, but it's just different. And so they face different pressures. How do you see challenges or changes with that?
Will Rogers:
Well, what does it look like for a church to be able to support them and engage them well? I think to recognize that it is different is your baseline. And I think the key way that I would define what that difference is: most missions work doesn't have someone that you're serving dying. Healthcare missions has like that; that's just the reality of what it is. You're dealing with situations that are a lot more dire and that can take a toll.
So what we did as a church, we took a step back and said we need to do two things. We need to first, understand the deficit of what they might not be getting from their sending agency. And then second, we need to build out a model for what we mean, what it means for us to be able to support them. And it almost became our promise. Like, hey, here's our contract with you. And what we want to say is, “We want to pledge and promise to you that we want to invest in”—we actually came up with eight different areas—“we want to invest in these eight areas.” And it was spiritual development and cultural development, financial development, relational. I forget the eight different areas that there are. And then out of that, we were able to come and sync up with them each year and be like, “Hey, can you tell us like how you are in these different areas and how we can serve you in those areas?” And we have resources in those areas.
So having a framework for that really helped us to be able to know how to step in, and it helped the missionaries that we're supporting know what to expect of us. So it moved it from this weird, like, “Do you need anything? I don't know what I could give you,” to, “Hey, here's a framework for it.” And they could give context to it. So that's been something that's been really helpful for us.
Laura Berry:
Yeah, having that framework is so critical.
You've spent a lot of your time focusing on how to help organizations manage the massive logistics of global serving, building sustainable systems. And now, as you mentioned, the platform that's so intentional in medical missions specifically, where patient care and local clinical relationships are so delicate. How do we build systems that ensure that our short-term medical trips are genuinely serving a sustainable long-term kingdom strategy rather than just a one-and-done or a one-off event?
Will Rogers:
Right. Yeah, there's a few pieces here, but the one thing that is most important when you step into any type of kingdom work is the word dignity. And I think if you step into it, you really need to evaluate whether or not you have a hierarchical perspective that I'm better, I'm coming to serve you, you're lesser than, and it's kind of scratching my back to get a serving itch out of the way. As opposed to a world where you're like, no, we are we are all image bearers of our king.
And I think the question to ask is, “How would I want to be served if I'm that person?” And maybe I'll say it like this: again, probably frustrate some people with this comment, but for the most part, I do see many Christians that will have a deep problem with American welfare systems. I think we can say it's a broken system. It's not yielding what we hoped it would yield. And because largely, it isn't dignifying. Now, here's the thing that's wild about missions work, is how many people will have a disdain for American welfare and turn right around and do missions as welfare? There's so many of these questions that the head turns off or shifts off, and you really need to step back and have that.
I think the piece that transcends time in how we do missions isn't the specific methodologies. I think it's the biblical foundations and the biblical philosophies that we step into. So understanding that we are made in God's image and that we want to do work in a way that's dignifying to them.
And then I think the second piece to that, and thinking from like long-term impact, I've always appreciated the philosophy of “Think steps, not processes.” So a short-term trip should always be viewed as a springboard to what's next. The short-term trip is a step. It's not an end in itself. And as you see people that go on a short-term trip, I would celebrate more what they do after in their return than I would simply that they went on a short-term trip. And what is that? And that's where I think things like a maturity model really come into play.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah. So can you explain that a little bit more, if you would. What do you mean when they get back? Like, what things would you be looking for?
Will Rogers:
I think one good thing is research has shown that the majority of people that go on a short-term trip, they don't end up becoming missionaries to another country. That'd be great. I mean, like, we want to see more people do that. But more often than not, they come back really excited to serve in their church back home. So churches really should be leaning into, like, they just had a kingdom moment, a kingdom week. And more often than not, the Lord will reveal significant things to them in that time period and to really kind of capitalize, if I could use that word, on their on their trip. When they come back, to connect them with coaches and connect them with specific next steps and to have their team leader sit down with each of them and say, “Hey, here's what I see in you and the thing I'd like to encourage you on to this.” And picking out people that could be leaders or picking out people that could serve with youth or picking out someone that like, “Hey, I want to let you know about this other local serving opportunity.” But that gets back to dignity and recognizing that every person is made different. So I think a well-equipped team leader should be well equipped to have a unique conversation with each of the people on their team on what those next steps might look like.
And then you get into, How do you manage that from a system? And we haven't figured that out yet.
Barry Ewy:
Well, and I was gonna say, it's almost like there needs to be some sort of post-trip team that just focuses on post trip. Because—and this is a very simplistic comparison—but I know going with students on a spring break mission, they don't get to have their phones, and they come back and they don't want their phones and they are really fired up about what they've done. But then two or three weeks later, now they're getting back into their phone and they're using it all the time and they get back into life. And you know, with short-term missionaries, people get back into life as well, and you kind of tend to forget what happened on that trip. And we need better tools to keep people engaged once they get back. I think that's kind of what you're saying, right?
Will Rogers:
You do. And it's tough. I'm not gonna deny it. This is a really hard thing to do.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, it is. But it's great to have that awareness and potentially move it to a focus where we can work more with that kind of thing.
So let me ask you a question about Global Missions Health Conference. When you look at the thousands of attendees that have gathered there, what is your message to the person who feels completely drained by their day job and isn't really sure what or even if they have the capacity left to do anything to offer in global missions.
Will Rogers:
That's a tough one. And a good one. I think I would say on this, we all have to manage this. We all have to manage a tension of commissioning and rest. So you look through Scripture, you see a God who rested. Does he need rest? I don't think he does, but he modeled it. So he modeled it on purpose and set it out as a command. One of the reasons that you read through the Old Testament for why God created rest was for the world to see something different in his people. And there is something about when we as followers of Jesus set time aside to rest; it’s different. There's something weird, for the most part, for people in Chick-fil-A. Like, why would you shut down on a Sunday? And yet they have revenue that far surpasses anybody else. And so I think there's that on one side. And then on the other side, you've got the commission, the Great Commission to go. And I don't think you can deny that as well. So I think what I would encourage in that is twofold. And it sounds like a paradox, but like you gotta find rest. We all just have to find the discipline to find rest. Go read Hebrews 4, the whole chapter. It says rest a dozen times in it and it gives a great worldview. But rest and step into something. Jump into a trip and see what the Lord might do through that. And you might be physically exhausted at it, but there is a difference in having your soul refreshed in ways that missions allows the opportunity for. If you waited for all the check boxes to be perfect, you might never go. So I would encourage people at the same time of seeking to find rest, sign up for a way to go serve somewhere.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, I think that's a great point that you're you can be physically exhausted but mentally very refreshed. And those two things can coexist. And certainly they can coexist through participating in missions and offering something, like the gospel, to people that don't have it. And that can be very mentally refreshing, even though physically serving and seeing the patient and the complexity of patients can be very physically exhausting.
So we talked a little bit earlier about the younger generation. And so I want to follow up with a question about that. What do you think churches and organizations can do to get more people in that younger generation involved in serving on missions?
Will Rogers:
So here's my thought on this one: we have created, I think, wonderful brand tools. I think we've created great curriculums. The absolute most effective piece, thing, resource, whatever, in strategy for vision casting and calling people in the kingdom work is just straight scripture. And I think those that can really well unpack what God says about the commissioning. And so with that, then I would zero into the one of the teachings that has been so pivotal for us and is really convicting for me and convicting to those that we will teach this through, is we will talk about the Great Commission as if it's this thing that Jesus cooked up and he sent his people out on. And yet God commissioned Adam and Eve in the garden in a very similar model. And in both of them, you have, I think, two things are really unique to see. The first is that both the garden and the disciples were given a model. Adam and Eve were given the model of the garden and told to go make the rest of the world look like it. The disciples were given the model of discipleship and it says, go use this to change the world. And second, they both were called out of that environment to go take it to the world. And that narrative is, and I think it should be, extremely convicting to us that we're we are stepping into a commissioning that has been a thread through all of Scripture of what God has intended for his people to go and to do. And that should be exhilarating. It's like I am stepping into a calling that is from Genesis to Revelation and it's the thread throughout. I believe the best way to call people into action is better Bible teaching and Bible education.
Barry Ewy:
That's great. Because I think so much of the time we think about, okay, if we want to get the next generation to go, we need to build a new rock wall and get them into youth so then they'll want to go serve in missions, but we forget to share the gospel deeply with them because we think the rock wall is going to be what really gets them interested.
Will Rogers:
Yeah. Well, and here's another thing that people can argue and disagree with me on, but today, we live in a world where we might spin up a bunch of things about missions and we kind of wait and see who's gonna step up, what the Holy Spirit's gonna do, and who might knock on our door to say, I think God's calling me to be a missionary. What's this look like? Yet, if I'm reading it right and I go back and look at the book of Acts, in large part it was the elders of the church that were praying those prayers, and they were seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance to shoulder tap people in their church to go. So I think there's a twofold piece to this. Like, yeah, we should be teaching in a way that especially younger people are leaning in and knocking on our door, but I think leaders and elders of churches should also be individually in prayer and active in shoulder tapping those that the Lord might be leading to go as well.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, because I think that's a great point because some of these younger people may not know the doors to knock on. And if they don't know the doors to knock on, then they're they remain lost and locked out.
Will Rogers:
Right. Exactly.
Laura Berry:
Yeah, that's really helpful. I think how you've answered the how we sort of encourage the younger generation, I think is really helpful that better Bible teaching, you know, unpacking the Missio Dei, you know, going on mission as a result of being made in his image, you the Imago Dei. And I think that's so helpful for our listeners to hear because that really translates to even the older generation. And so, you know, church leaders that might be listening to this podcast, you know, this information may help them to help mobilize their congregation from being passive to active.
And I'm just curious what have been some of the biggest breakthroughs or the biggest friction points that you have seen in getting everyday people out into missions.
Will Rogers:
I'll tell you what we're working on. And I'll tell you some that we are seeing working. And it comes back to what you just said, the whole idea of Imago Dei and being image bearers and that dignity. We've been trying to really lean in, at our church, to walk people through a process we call the unleashed process. And we really are trying to mine out of them an understanding, and it's really simple. It's a process of is, be, do. Who is God? Who has he made me to be? What's he calling me to do? And if you're a really good American Christian, you do this backwards. It's like you start with like, okay, God, what are you calling me to do? It's like, wait, wait, wait, wait. First, we need to start on “Who is he?” And then once you wrestle and spend time with who he is, then you see, like, “That's who he's made me to be.” And then out of that, you can discover the calling.
So what we're really trying to do is spend time with people in this process to give them space to encounter who God is, and then to see the uniqueness of who He's made them to be. And those are things like, what are your spiritual gifts and what are your strengths and what profession are you in? What are your service skills? Do you have any specific passions and things like social issues that you're passionate about? And any people groups or even geographies that that really excite you?
And then in that mix—it's really a mosaic—then I think you shake that up and you sit down with them and really hash through it and see what might God be calling you to do out of that. And some people are all in in, like, healthcare. Like, “I'm all in on what my professional skill is.” And great, let's see about getting you connected. And there's other people that might be like, “Look, I spend all day as an attorney, but what I really love to do is woodworking. Can I do something with that?” Like, yeah, let's figure out what that looks like.
And we had an instance where we needed to put together a committee of people to review financials from hundreds of organizations. And so we went through the database, we found six CPAs. We called them and said, “Hey, we'd love to ask if you'd volunteer your time to help us do this.” And every one of them, every single one of them, was like, “I am shocked you're calling me and inviting me to use my skills for something for the kingdom.” But that's how we should be doing it. We should be leaning into the uniqueness of who God [made us to be], but it takes more time. It's not a cookie cutter. I can't make one big proclamation for everybody. And this is where it's so unique for healthcare: it's a real blessing that we can come together annually—speaking from what we see the fruit of—and be able to see the connection of, “I'm a nurse, I this is what I can do with it.” “I'm a dentist, so this is what I can do with it.” Drawing those connections.
So I would just sum all that up to say, the two things I think are the most magical is when it's relational and when it's helping them make a connection. And when those things can happen, it seems like really kind of the magic somewhere in that. I may say it like this: it's all up to the Holy Spirit, right? But I think there's environments and there's ways that you can at least have the data on the table that helps them connect the dots to what the Holy Spirit is leading them to do in their life.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, that's great.
Laura Berry:
Having that relational component and those connections available are so critical for someone really just considering, you know, how do I go on my first mission trip? And so specifically for medical missionaries, what advice would you give them as they're considering it and you're meeting so many different backgrounds each day, each year. What would you advise to someone who's specifically skilled within in medical mission field work? What kind of advice would you give them as they're considering going out on their first first mission trip?
Will Rogers:
Well, first you shouldn't ask me this question because the first thing I say is you come to GMHC and connect with other professionals that are doing this. But I think the first thing I'd say before those that haven't made a commitment to do something yet is to just go. Just jump on, like sign up for something. Walk through the exhibit hall, find who's got an opportunity for you. Just go. That's the first thing I'd recommend to people.
And then the second is to study and to grab books, either missionary biographies or other books, just to connect. Like, spend the time for your head. So it's really this combination: let your heart go somewhere on a trip and let your head dive into Scripture and some studies about what missions is and what medical missions is, and let God just do the rest.
Laura Berry:
That's such a great way to put it. It really is. I know each time that Barry and I have been to GMHC, we come back just refreshed, renewed, and the Holy Spirit's shown us something, something that we just didn't know prior to being part of this incredible organization.
Barry Ewy:
Well, and there's so much with the relationships that have developed over years and those connections that are built, and that's again what kind of helps and refreshes.
And so we've mentioned Global Missions Health Conference a few times. It's a great medical conference that's held at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Usually it’s, I believe, the second weekend of November every year.
Will Rogers:
That's right.
Barry Ewy:
We love going there. We love the people that we get to work with. There's a lot of great seminars that are put on and plenary sessions, where there's just some fantastic information that's shared and some great teachers, and it's just a great conference overall.
Laura Berry:
A lot of great wisdom walking around. It's so neat, you know, to encounter an individual who's been there, done that, and can, again, speak life into that generation that's coming up. But then, like you mentioned a little earlier, if they’d never gone— And the beauty of, you know, participating in GMHC is God's gonna show you something and you can't walk away from that conference without learning something about yourself and what God's got you doing next. So really grateful for your leadership there.
Will Rogers:
Well, and thanks for all that you all have done to be part of this. You know, we'll have people that'll call us directly at Southeast and be like, “Can we come learn about medical missions from you?” And like, “Yeah, you're not gonna get a lot out of us.” We just wanna be the container and what the Lord has done through that event. You're not coming to that event to learn the Southeast model of missions. You're coming to learn from the best in the business from around the world. And I think close to wrapping up here, but one thing I want to say and just kind of throw in for closing on some things is, when you go look at Ephesians 4, and it reads, “He gave to the apostles, prophets, evangelists…” You see people that are they're called by God to be speakers and conveyors of God's Word. And then it says, “To equip the saints for the work of ministry.” So I would actually argue for those of us that are in what's “North American full-time ministry,” you serve in a church, you serve in an organization, I would actually say you're not in ministry. We are equippers for those who are in ministry, i.e. the healthcare workers and the business leaders—that we're here to equip them. We look at the conference and the joy that we get to take in it is, we have two, three thousand ministers of God's word stepping in to be equippers of them to send them out into the world. So that's such a great joy for us as a church to be part of this.
Barry Ewy:
Yeah, that's great. I love that.
And so just as a as an encouragement to our listeners, a Bible verse that's kind of our theme Bible verse here at Blessings is, “Surely blessing, I will bless thee.” You know, we like to share that. But we also like to hear from those that we're visiting with if there's an impactful Bible verse or something that's really important to you and why that is.
Will Rogers:
The one I just referenced is a huge one for me. And that's Ephesians 4:11-12. And I'd go back and reference again, and it's not a piece of it. I'd go back and look at all of Hebrews four and study. I have no doubt that if you are in healthcare, that you are tired. Like it is the hours, the type of work, the mental demand, the growing of the generation that's out and needing healthcare. I'm like, it's like I get it. So the best thing for our weariness is what God has for us. And I would encourage really going to take a look at Hebrews 4 and reading through that.
