Passing the Torch: Farewell and Welcome at the AGM

Mission Interlink's AGM on Thursday, 28th November, was a momentous occasion. It marked the end of an era with Jay Matenga stepping down as Director of MI and his wife Pauline concluding her role as Administrator. Jay's farewell message was a stirring challenge to prepare the next generation of missionaries from and to Aotearoa New Zealand for the "new era" realities facing cross-cultural ministry alongside a maturing world Christianity. You can read the full transcript of his inspiring message here: https://jaymatenga.com/pdfs/MatengaJ_Missions2Purpose.pdf

In addition to bidding farewell to Jay and Pauline, MI welcomed their new Director, Chris Ponniah, and the new Administrator, Ben Poulton.  A new Council was also elected, featuring representatives from WEC, Eastwest College, Pioneers, Asian Outreach, ECM, Laidlaw College, Wycliffe, World Vision, NZCMS, GC3, Beacon Partnerships, Interserve, Arotahi, Bible Society, OMF, MotiVate, SIM, and Jon Horne. The Executive team now includes Joseph Bateson (Chair), Rebecca DeJong (Vice-Chair), Jon Horne (Treasurer), and Johan Linder (Secretary). This dynamic new team is looking forward to leading MI NZ into a new season, building on the achievements of the past leadership.

The Council expressed their thanks to Joseph Bateson for his excellent service as Interim Director of MI over the last few months. 

From the Director’s Desk

I am thrilled to share my first Editorial with you. It is both a privilege and an honour to serve as your Director. After over 30 years in pastoral ministry, I now see my role as shepherding the mission community in Aotearoa, with the hope that it will raise mission awareness and mobilization across our nation.

In this edition of MI Link, we are placing a special emphasis on Member Care. Member care is essential in missions, as it ensures that mission leaders, their boards and staff, and missionaries receive holistic support—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. By implementing effective member care practices, we can help prevent burnout, foster a sense of community, and promote sustained effectiveness in our mission efforts locally and globally. Prioritizing the well-being of all mission workers enhances their ability to fulfil their calling and make a meaningful impact for Christ in our nation and beyond.

Here’s what you can expect to explore:

• Debriefing - Lynda Thomas in her article on Member Care, discusses the significance of debriefing and encourages us to take opportunities for debriefing to sustain our spiritual and emotional well-being. In this edition, you will also find some resources for debriefing opportunities.

• Psychological Assessment – Jenny Manson, a psychologist, emphasizes the importance of psychological assessments in member care. 

• Spirituality in Mission - In their article, Wendy and Martyn Baker highlight the significance of staying “connected to our Source, experiencing His presence, and trusting the only One who loves us eternally.” This truly resonates with me. During my years in pastoral ministry, I have found that having monthly debriefs with my spiritual director or supervisor has been immensely helpful. These sessions allow me to refocus on God and His presence, particularly during challenging times.

• Personal Story - We also feature a personal account of how someone reached out for member care and found the strength to persevere through challenges faced in the field.

As I wrap up my first editorial, I want to express my commitment to supporting and nurturing the missions fraternity here in New Zealand. Should you ever wish to have a conversation, address a concern, or just need someone to listen, please don’t hesitate to contact me. If I’m unable to provide the assistance you need, I will be more than happy to connect you with someone who can. You can reach me at chris@missions.org.nz or on my mobile at 021 528821.

I pray that as we celebrate the gift of God’s Son, you will experience His overwhelming joy and peace and as we approach 2025, may we find His hope and purpose being fulfilled in and through us as we work together to extend God’s Kingdom in the world.

Blessings

Chris

Director

Member Care

Lynda Thomas, YWAM Oxford, Member Care: Oasis House    www.ywamoxford.org/

“Member Care is insuring that our workers feel cared for and supported by their agency and church, that they have the resources they need to work effectively, and to care well for themselves and their family. It is comprehensive- the ongoing preparation, equipping and empowering of missionaries for effective and sustainable life, ministry and work.” Global Member Care Network, 2008.

My first experience of Member Care was in my first term as a missionary to Turkey, I was on a team where there was no real member care, at the end of my third year I was going through a crisis of faith and didn’t know where to find help. I had nearly given up on finding help when a visitor from my UK missions training centre visited our team. Talking with them I experienced someone who really seemed to care about me personally and how I was doing on the field Emotionally- Spiritually- Physically.

As a result of their visit I took time off the field. I returned to the UK for a year and was part of a team that really practised Member Care, surrounded with people who invested and supported me on my journey.

This inspired me so much that it sparked something in me for Member Care. This grew stronger as I returned to Turkey a year and half later and joined a new team. After I married and my husband and I returned again to Turkey we were very much aware of the needs of our fellow missionaries and started to support them by giving them space and time to talk and off-load. It was such a privilege to show Member Care to our fellow workers who had given up so much to serve God in a foreign land.

Now we are living in another land not our own and do Member Care full-time for mission workers. One of the most affective tools we use in Member Care is debriefing.

Debriefing is a key way mission workers can keep healthy, whether its before being sent out or when they return after a time of service- be it after two years or twenty years.

Debriefing is an amazing tool that allows the person to process all they have gone through and unravel things in their mind.

A quote I heard recently:

“Debriefing allows the person to be heard so they can hear. “

Hear from God and also listen to their own inner thoughts. Reflection helps us learn from our story therefore helping us to move forward in our journey

Another reason debriefing is so powerful is because debriefing validates the experiences people have gone through, it shows honour to the person and says to them you are valued and heard.

Eternal benefits of Debriefing...

Psychological assessment in member care

Jenny Manson, Psychologist, on behalf of the Go Well group in NZ.     jenny.m.manson@gmail.com

Member care in missions has long been on my heart, having served as a missionary with my husband and 4 children with SIM and then working in the sending office, helping people prepare to go. Member care starts before a person leaves, through to after they finish, and all the comings and goings in between. Having lived through the processes of transition, language learning, and re-entry I know how challenging it can be and how helpful it is to have self-understanding and the support of a caring organization who has ‘got your back’. Psychological assessment has been used by many mission agencies in NZ since the 1990s as part of their whole member care package.

Some may have concerns that this addition to the application process might be an unwelcome extra expense, might be intrusive and might even seem dismissive of a person’s sense of call. It has been helpful in the last year or two that Dr Katherine Thompson, working out of the Melbourne School of Divinity has been researching and writing on the purpose and value of psychological assessment for cross-cultural workers. She identified the main reasons and purposes that a psychological assessment hopes to meet...

Spirituality in mission is not about our efforts to appear ‘spiritual’, to do all the right things, and impress others. It is to stay connected to our Source, experiencing His presence and trusting the only One who loves us eternally. It is also to stay true to the heavenly calling which is our ‘mission’.

There is a pattern in the Bible of God’s people being called and experiencing the Lord’s presence as they walked in that call... 

A personal testimony of Member care:

The first country I went to as a long-term missionary was Burkina Faso. When I went there I thought I’d be there for the rest of my life, so set about learning one of the trade languages and was making good progress with it. However, I then fell ill, and in 3 months had malaria three times and typhoid once. I was really unwell and lost a lot of weight. Unfortunately, my physical health wasn’t the only thing that suffered – my mental health did too. I’d been on anti-depressants since my twin sister took her own life 7 years earlier. I’d been doing pretty well, but it turns out that tropical diseases can affect mood. Unsurprisingly my mood got pretty low.

Poor internet access made contact with home difficult, and unfortunately I didn’t have much insight into how physically and mentally unwell I was, so didn’t disclose much to people back home.

One day a concerned teammate encouraged me to go home for a while and get well, but I wasn’t keen. However, God convinced me through Psalm 23’s description of green pastures, still waters, and the promise of restoring my soul. Going home was definitely the right thing to do.

Once home, my family, friends, church, and my agency rallied around me. My agency arranged and paid for me to have a week’s debriefing, which was very beneficial. My pastor was supportive, and church paid for me to have several sessions of counselling and then I decided to continue paying for it myself. It took me about six months to recover enough to be able to start working again, but I still needed counselling due to childhood issues which I’d thought were already resolved. Time went on, and God was true to His word – He gave me green pastures, still waters, and restoration of my soul. He met me beautifully in deeply personal ways, and after about 18 months of counselling I was able to start weaning off the anti-depressants. During that time, I was closely supervised by my counsellor and had input from my GP. I took a year to wean off them, and haven’t had a problem with depression since 😊

Somewhere in the weaning off period, God quite suddenly told me that He didn't want me to go back to Burkina Faso. That really shook me. I asked Him about it, and being the good Father He is, He explained why. That helped me accept it, and I knew that He wasn’t saying no to long-term missions, just Burkina Faso.
After a few years nursing in New Zealand and serving in various roles in my church, I began to get itchy feet again. I spent the last six months of 2020 seeking God about where to next...