Bringing Health Education to Indigenous Populations

As a medical professional, you know the power of a healing touch. You also understand that you can make a huge difference for God’s kingdom right in your own backyard. There are plenty of people who need your help in your own hometown. But global health mission trips can open new doors for you, doors that you may have never considered in the past. These medical mission trips just might be God’s way of speaking to you about the plan He has for your life and ministry.   What's Your Role in Global Health? In some ways, the definition of “global health” is exactly what you might think. It relates to health concerns and issues in different parts of the world. And mission trips that focus on global health strive to meet those needs to some degree.  But these trips can also take a wide variety of forms. For example, you could serve in a hospital or clinical setting in an underserved nation. Or, you could work with community and national leaders to create healthcare initiatives. You can even minister as a teacher in a classroom or as a disaster relief responder. You could be a medical doctor or a dentist, an optometrist, or a physical therapist looking to serve global health missions around the world. In other words, global health issues cover a broad spectrum, and global health mission trips allow you to plug into regions and specialties that resonate with you. You can work where your greatest calling meets some of the world’s greatest needs.   The Source of Global Health Missions One of the amazing things about global health mission trips is how God uses them to transform lives. You might set out determined to make someone else’s life better. Yet, as you pour your life into them, you find a greater blessing than you ever could have imagined.  Of course, mission trips focused on global health also include other, more tangible, blessings. Here are five practical reasons a global health mission adventure might be a great idea for you. Jesus said to go. Jesus’s Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is foundational to the life of a Christ follower. After all, He told His people—including us—to go and to share Him with the world. A global health mission trip is one way to fulfill that command. If you’re wondering how to get started, you could explore our “Get Started” page or even attend the Global Health Missions Conference.   The need is great. As mentioned, many medical professionals find ways to minister closer to home. But you can be a tremendous blessing to doctors and other health workers across the globe. Plus, many mission sending organizations have missionary roles ready to be filled (Browse our list). You can stand in the gap and provide encouragement and support for medical missionaries who could use another pair of hands and another willing heart. The opportunities are there. You just need to find the one God is pulling you toward.    You can gain experience. Of course, ministry and obeying Jesus have rewards of their own. But a global health mission trip will also allow you to learn about medical procedures and practices that you could never learn anywhere else. Beyond that, you’ll also get the chance to work in a different culture, which will make you more sensitive to people’s needs wherever you serve. These global health mission experiences will make you a better healthcare worker and a stronger Christian.    See things with your own eyes. If you want to know what’s going on with global health issues, you can read and research the facts. You can even talk to missionaries who are in the trenches every day. But nothing compares to the kind of firsthand experience a global health mission trip can provide. You will see for yourself the pain that people are experiencing and the victories that God is orchestrating. It’s a perspective you cannot get any other way.   Use your gifts for the gospel. As a healthcare professional, God has gifted you in unique ways. He’s wired you to change the world one person at a time. A mission trip focused on global health gives you a priceless opportunity to use your gifts and talents to be Jesus’s hands and feet in the world. You will get the chance to work in your strengths, sharing Him by offering hope, help, and healing to people in need.   Find Your Global Health Mission Trip God has given you a heart for health care. He’s also given you a heart for missions. Those two passions don’t have to be an “either/or.” They can combine to be a beautiful “both/and” through global medical mission trips. Medical Missions serves to connect your professional skills and biblical calling to the largest database of healthcare mission organizations, professionals, and thought leadership. Join us at the Global Missions Health Conference to find your Medical Missions calling. Or, browse our full list of partner organizations to find the right mission for you.

Have you longed to integrate your Christian faith into your patient care—on the mission field abroad, in your work in the US, and during your training? Are you not sure how to do this in a caring, ethical, sensitive, and relevant manner? This “working” session will explore the ethical basis for spiritual care and provide you with professional, timely, and proven practical methods to care for the whole person in the clinical setting. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qpah9kh1lttg6cm1jjop9/Bob-Mason-Ethics-of-Spiritual-Care-revised.pptx?rlkey=0emve2ja8282nv8xc4uinq1hg&st=9033htwx&dl=0