July 7, 2025

The SEND U Blog

Reflections and Resources for Lifelong Learning for Missionaries

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Practicing the Way: Living as Apprentices of Jesus in Cross-Cultural Mission
Disciple-making, Spiritual Formation, Resilience

Practicing the Way: Living as Apprentices of Jesus in Cross-Cultural Mission

In the ever-shifting landscape of cross-cultural ministry, sustaining a vibrant and resilient spiritual life is both a personal necessity and a communal calling. As missionaries, we often find ourselves navigating complex cultural dynamics, high demands, and spiritual fatigue. In this context, John Mark Comer’s book, Practicing the Way offers a timely and transformative vision of discipleship—not as a set of beliefs, but as a way of life modeled after Jesus. One of the book’s most practical and powerful tools is the concept of a Rule of Life. It provides a flexible framework for organizing our daily rhythms around abiding in Christ. In this post, we’ll explore a synopsis of Comer’s book and highlight its relevance for missionary teams. I will share some additional resources to help your team craft a shared Rule of Life that fosters unity, spiritual depth, and long-term fruitfulness. Book Synopsis Discipleship as Apprenticeship Practicing the Way… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther6 mins read
Can I Really Do This?
Amanda Benson Serving at Faith Academy in Manila, Philippines.
Leadership

Can I Really Do This?

The following article comes from the May 2025 newsletter of Amanda Benson, a SEND missionary to the Philippines. Amanda has been a teacher at Faith Academy near Metro Manila. She is now being asked to transition into a leadership role as principal of the middle school. The article is used with permission of the author. The Doubt Creeps In A couple of weeks ago, I met with my principal from Faith Academy for a transition meeting. We’ve been meeting regularly for a little while now, but this meeting was specifically to plan for a six-hour leadership team planning meeting that we were going to lead. We ended up talking for over four hours, and as time went by, I started asking myself this question: Can I really do this? A few days later, we had our planning meeting. The principal and I both led different parts of the meeting. It… Read the whole post
Amanda Benson6 mins read
Your Kingdom Come: A Missionary’s Prayer for More Laborers
New Missionaries, Evangelism, Prayer

Your Kingdom Come: A Missionary’s Prayer for More Laborers

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series "Kingdom of God". Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 For years, these words have been a daily staple in my prayers. Like many of you, I’ve recited them, reflected on them, and believed in their profound truth. But recently, the full, disruptive weight of what I was asking for truly landed. This isn’t just a polite request for divine influence; it’s a prayer for an invasion. Think about it. We are petitioning for Heaven’s rule to descend, to permeate, to take over our lives, our communities, our societies, the very nations where we serve. We’re asking for King Jesus to assert His authority, to establish His reign in places where His sovereignty has been ignored, resisted, or unknown. It’s a prayer for a divine intervention of the most transformative… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther14 mins read
Coffee, Conversation, and the Great Commission: Volunteering with Embassy
Evangelism

Coffee, Conversation, and the Great Commission: Volunteering with Embassy

From Support Ministry to Sharing Faith Online For the past 3 years, I have been a part-time volunteer with Embassy. Embassy is a digital media ministry of the Crescent Project. This ministry seeks to give laypeople with a heart for Muslims a way of building friendships and sharing their faith with the unreached. Although I have been in full-time ministry for almost 40 years, I joined Embassy as a way of becoming more involved in direct evangelism. So much of my SEND work is about providing services to missionaries. I thoroughly enjoy what I do. But like Nathan in our previous blog post, I sensed a gap between who I said I was and what I did on a daily basis. I am a missionary committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. Therefore, I wanted to more regularly interact with those who were not yet followers of Jesus. I wanted to… Read the whole post
Ken Guenther10 mins read
When Evangelism is Hard (Even for Missionaries)
Training, Evangelism

When Evangelism is Hard (Even for Missionaries)

This post is taken from the ministry update of Nathan & Brittany Garrett, SEND missionaries in Romania. Nathan serves as the field leader for SEND’s work in Romania. The post is used with permission. Setting Our Sights: A Renewed Focus on Evangelism As our team prepared this year’s Team AMP (annual ministry plan), one of our desired focuses was to seek to cultivate our burden for the lost and to grow in evangelism. This may sound a little basic–like the ABC’s of being a missionary. But it’s not as simple as you might think. Much of our time and energy goes into discipling and building up men and women within our churches. When “It Doesn’t Work Here” Isn’t Enough So, as I (Nathan) approached the end of 2024 and reflected on life and ministry, I saw a major gap in the area of sharing the Gospel with those outside the… Read the whole post
Nathan Garrett6 mins read
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