TEAM Christian Missions Blog

Exploring cross-cultural ministry around the globe.
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October Prayer Focus: Ministering Peace in the Midst of Trauma
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We’re Here, We’re Ready, We’re Waiting: Mobilizing the Latin American Church
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Farmhouse Turned Sanctuary for Ukrainian Refugees [Photo Journal]
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A Call to Prayer for the Global Church and the Future of Missions
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On the Same Wavelength: Meet the Thompsons
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A People Highly Prized by God
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Prepare to Launch: Praying for Missionary-Kid Graduates
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Missions Vocabulary 101
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Nabin’s Story: Healed and Redeemed by Christ
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Women Reaching Women as the Global Church Grows

October Prayer Focus: Ministering Peace in the Midst of Trauma

Refugee woman crying.
Millions of people around the world suffer the effects of trauma brought on by war, human trafficking, natural disasters, and more.

“Can I come back where everyone loves me?” This was the plaintive cry of a young mother, traumatized and displaced by the war in Ukraine.   In the safe harbor of a neighboring country, Nadia (name changed) met TEAM global workers who provided temporary shelter and cared for her and her children. She soon left for another European country, prepared to make a new life there. In this new location, however, Nadia felt disturbingly unwelcome – a stranger in a strange land. In desperation, she called TEAM workers weeks later crying, and asked “Can I come back where everyone loves me?” …

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We’re Here, We’re Ready, We’re Waiting: Mobilizing the Latin American Church

Guatemala city at night.
God is raising up missionaries from all over the globe, especially in Latin America.

Julieta Murillo sees change on the horizon, and she’s not alone. As a TEAM board member and the Director of SIM Latin America, Julieta is a witness to the amazing work God is doing in her home country of Ecuador and other Latin American nations.   “In the last decade, [global missions] is a topic that has been taught in Latin America,” Julieta explains. “There is a genuine interest to know more. We are ready to be connected to the world and to know how we can participate as global missionaries. This is something that is recent in most of Latin…

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Farmhouse Turned Sanctuary for Ukrainian Refugees [Photo Journal]

Volunteers in front of the farmhouse.
Matthew and Sara Titus led a diverse team in this amazing project.

Since Day One of the Ukraine war, TEAM’s Matthew and Sara Titus have worked tirelessly to provide shelter and support to refugees. Their initial efforts included visits to Poland as well as renovating a series of apartments and other buildings in Prague, Czech Republic.  Now about an hour outside of Prague, the Tituses’ latest project is renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse to provide housing for displaced families as they struggle to find a new normal.                                                    …

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A Call to Prayer for the Global Church and the Future of Missions

Group praying on a beach.
We all have a part to play in the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and it starts with prayer.

For over 130 years, TEAM’s passion and priority have been to partner with the Church as it equips and sends individuals to share the Gospel of Christ with unreached and underserved nations.     In today’s globalized context, TEAM’s focus remains the same. Yet, it is pivoting toward more of a supporting role of serving and assisting the global Church as it fulfills God’s call to make disciples among the nations. This shift is something God is doing. TEAM’s future fruitfulness depends on serving and following global leaders with whom we can link arms as we serve Christ together. It also explores…

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On the Same Wavelength: Meet the Thompsons

Retirees then and now.
“We walked with spiritual giants.” Steve and Cindy Thompson share their journey of 35 years in ministry with TEAM Italy.

They were two all-American kids growing up in the 1960’s. She was a little girl with a big heart to reach the unreached. He was a Michigan kid with a knack for radio broadcasting. Their journey translated into 35 years of faithful TEAM ministry and serves as encouragement of God’s faithfulness.  “God has a real sense of humor”  Steve grew up in a Christian home with parents who loved the Lord. As a teenager, Steve says, “I wasn’t as close to the Lord as I should have been. I accepted Christ as Savior, but I didn’t have any idea what…

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A People Highly Prized by God

Group walking up a hill in Papua.
Holistic community development enables people to see that God cares for them and the issues they face each day.

James didn’t mince words in his epistle to the early Church. “Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food,” says James. “If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16 NIV)  The effort to address both physical and spiritual needs is often referred to as “holistic ministry.” When these principles impact an entire community, the result is holistic community development or “transformational development.”   Michael Cochran, his wife Susan, and their four young children know first-hand that transformational…

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Prepare to Launch: Praying for Missionary-Kid Graduates

Group of graduates
For graduating missionary kids, a new adventure awaits! Join us in praying for this year’s TEAM high school grads and their families.

If you’ve ventured into an American WalMart or Target recently, you know that “Back to School” time is upon us here in the U.S. But even in TEAM ministry areas around the world, “missionary” kids are preparing to launch into their next adventure after high school. Some plan to attend college or university in the U.S., Canada or abroad. Others will enter the workforce or begin a new missions journey of their own. Regardless of the chosen path, change is both exciting and challenging.  For this month’s Prayer Focus, we invite you to lift up TEAM’s MK high school graduates…

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Missions Vocabulary 101

Missionary vocabulary 101
Learn the language of missions with this quick reference glossary.

If you’re just beginning to explore what it means to be a missionary, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by words and phrases in the “language” of missions. Some terms are used the same way across various missions agencies and audiences, while others are specific to a given mission organization. So what does it all mean? Here’s a quick and easy guide to “Missions Vocabulary 101” to bring you right up to speed with the latest in missions lingo.    Key Terms in the “World” of Missions  Of course, we can’t speak for every partner in the international missions community, but…

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Nabin’s Story: Healed and Redeemed by Christ

Man with walker and assistant in southeast Asia.
Nabin is a living testimony, but the journey hasn’t been easy.

In a dark, cramped room in southeast Asia, a young man lay paralyzed and in despair. On the wall next to him sat a row of Hindu idols, collecting dust and unable to help him see any purpose or hope ahead. Yet today this young man, healed and redeemed by Christ, proclaims the Gospel to his friends and neighbors. The journey to this happy ending was not an easy one, but it is one marked by the faithfulness of the God who heals and redeems…  Two Friends on a Walk  The story began on a typical February day in 2020….

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Women Reaching Women as the Global Church Grows

Five women sitting together in a tent.
God is building His global Church through creative and impactful women-focused ministries.

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” We probably all recognize the words from Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi (Ruth 1:16 NIV). How amazing it is to realize that the bond between Naomi and Ruth played a role in the lineage of Jesus! The relationship between these two women paints a beautiful picture of how God knits women together for His purposes.  As the global Church grows, so does the opportunity for women to reach other women with the Gospel. Just as God…

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