Living and serving in cross-cultural settings has unique joys and challenges.
Here you will find communities, resources, counseling and debriefing services, conferences and retreats, as well as recommended reading and listening.
Care Resources for Cross-Cultural Resources
“I will give you a full life in the {seemingly} emptiest of places.”
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. ”
May your heart, soul, and mind find nourishment as you explore opportunities for care, resources, and connect to the thriving communities highlighted here.
Community & Resources
Velvet Ashes is an online community for women serving overseas. They cultivate community through blog posts, a book club, Connection Groups, and an annual online retreat.
GlobalTrellis develops cross-cultural workers so they flourish and grow through online workshops, articles and an extensive list of books and organizations serving cross-cultural workers.
Barnabas works with third culture kids to create safe spaces where they can share their stories and process transition. They offer conferences, curriculum and community.
Thrive’s mission is to journey with women ministering overseas by providing spiritual resources, transformative experiences, and authentic one-on-one relationships to replenish them as they invest in Kingdom work.
Headington Institute Resources works with aid organizations to support those assisting victims of war, political violence, disease, and natural disasters around the world. Their materials include handouts, articles, videos, and self tests created to build resiliency.
Missionary Care Resources, an archive of missions and mental health resources from Ron & Bonnie Koteskey.
Counseling & Debriefing
Barnabas International, is dedicated to the spiritual and emotional health of workers all over the world through On-Field Visits; Regular Video Meetings; MK & Family Services; Retreats & Conferences (see a list in the section below); Debriefings and Counseling.
The Rest Initiative is a member care and support organization partnering with those who serve in clergy, missionary and humanitarian positions. Through immediate, one-on-one coaching, individual assessing/debriefing and experiential educating, TRI restores confidence and capability to those serving others.
Sent Well provides preventive and responsive care and resources for sending organizations, teams, and individuals. They are multidisciplinary, developmental and holistic in their practice.
Oaks Counseling provides emotional support and counseling at little or no cost both on the field and during re-entry (Georgetown TX).
Conferences & Retreats
Barnabas offers various events and conferences around the world to meet the unique needs of global servants. Here are some of the events they offer ELIM Retreats; Come Away, My Beloved; MK Transition Seminar; PTM Conference; Interlude Debriefing Retreat.
Field Life, A ministry from the field to the field helping global workers stay healthy and fruitful. Retreats, a guest house in Southeast Asia, and personalized coaching for individuals and teams. Also hosts the Momentum Men’s Conference, a six-day retreat for men serving full-time cross-culturally.
Azmera impacts cross-cultural global workers through their Haven Retreats held in various countries around the world.
Alongside is a professional counseling ministry in a retreat format for missionaries and pastors desiring renewal and restoration. They offer 3-week retreat programs specifically designed to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of Christian leaders who find themselves going through a difficult season of life and ministry.
Emmaus Encounter - Serving those who serve others provides a safe place for men and women of the Christian faith to process events of the past, so that they may grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually, and move forward in health.
Blogs
A Life Overseas (comes highly recommended) At this site, you will find honest conversations about the role and realities of international missions, practical advice from others on the foreign field, and faith-based inspiration for the days when you’d just rather go home.
Beautiful Upheaval provides practical wisdom for life’s transitions. This blog is designed to be a resource in bite-sized chunks for people in transition. The insights shared here come from the years of wholistic care given at Sent Well care center in Southern Spain which provides counseling, training, healing prayer, and spiritual care for global workers.
Rocky Re-Entry, an archive of blogs about the realities of life after living overseas. Although it is no longer being updated, this is a great collection of thoughts, encouragement, and resources for those transitioning off the field from those who’ve been there.
Podcast
Taking Route Podcast, focuses on conversations about living abroad, expat to expat. They unpack what it means to fully take root while en route.
Third Culture Thriving, join host, Karli Von Herbulis — cross-cultural worker in Rwanda, each week as she has short, practical, encouraging conversations about living and thriving abroad.
The Navigate Podcast with Tim Austin offers personal, insightful and practical conversations designed to take the guesswork out of transitions. In each episode, Tim brings you strategies and tools you can use to effectively navigate seasons of change. Learn how to leverage change towards the growth and development of yourself and your team.
Member Care Media, (MCM) is a media ministry of TWR especially prepared for Cross-Cultural Workers around the globe whose obedience to the Great Commission has taken them to difficult places. Their goal is to encourage, enhance and enable these workers in their places of calling so that they will stay effective and fulfilled.
Map Talk recordings from the 2019 New Wineskins Conference:
“Nooks and Crannies: Partner Care Melted like Butter into all the Nooks and Crannies of Your Ministry” by Susan Higgins
“What Is Home?" Let's Talk about Missionary Kids by Sarah Golder
Books
Spiritual Survival Handbook for Cross-Cultural Workers
by Dr. Robert Miller
You serve--or are preparing to serve--in the spiritually desolate areas of our world. What can you do to prepare for the challenges? Dr. Robert Miller presents a preparedness strategy for surviving the wilderness of ministry that is helpful for the new and the experienced alike.
Single Mission: Thriving as a Single Person in Cross-Cultural Ministry
by Dr. Debbie Hawker & Rev. Tim Herbert
Single Mission aims to encourage and equip single mission personnel, and to help them be strong in their faith, effective in their ministry, resilient and content with their lifestyle. Chapters have been contributed by over 30 women and men from six continents.
The Mind of a Missionary: What Global Kingdom Workers Tell Us About Thriving on Mission Today
by David Joannes
Author David Joannes draws upon history, psychology, life experience, and powerful storytelling to reshape your perception of God’s unique plan for your life.
Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility by Duane Elmer
Elmer gives Christians practical advice for serving other cultures with sensitivity and humility. With careful biblical exposition and keen cross-cultural awareness, he shows how our actions and attitudes often contradict and offend the local culture.
Godly Servants: Discipleship & Spiritual Formation for Missionaries by David Teague
Godly Servants helps evangelical missionaries to deepen their Christian spirituality. While many books are available about spiritual formation, little has been written specifically for missionaries. Missionary life presents its own unique challenges that require a specialized approach.
Returning Well by Melissa Chaplin
Returning Well invites you into a guided conversation with your Creator that will reveal and apply invaluable insights as you reflect on your recent season of cross-cultural service. By using Returning Well, you will discover how this season influenced you, how to re-integrate well, and what moving forward in faith means for you.
Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael V. Pollock
In this 3rd edition of the ground-breaking, global classic, Van Reken and Pollock have significantly updated this must read with an emphasis on the modern TCK. They address the impact of technology, cultural complexity, diversity & inclusion and transitions. Also includes new advice for parents and others for how to support TCKs.
Third Culture Kids: A Gift to Care for by Ulrika Ernvik
TCKs are Global Nomads who have moved inbetween cultures many times and therefore are a part of many cultures. Their beauty and challenge in life is to integrate and embrace all their experiences into a life story that reflects who they are.
Raising Up A Generation of Healthy Third Culture Kids by Lauren Wells
Wells has gifted us with a gentle guide and a preventive health primer, unique in the field of third culture kid literature. This book is a goldmine of wisdom, organized in a practical and readable format.