One of the primary differentiations between Christianity and other religions, is that Jesus, though God, became flesh and dwelt among us. Hebrews 4:14-16 goes even further saying that he is able to sympathize with our weakness and temptation because he has shared our experience. What Jesus did in coming, walking, praying, crying, and laughing gives us great grace to trust him with everything we have and feel. Jesus didn’t come to “get us,” he came to love and redeem us.

The heart of Benedictio is incarnational, to go and be among. We are going to, and living among, to bless, shepherd, encourage, and love teams in their “normal” ministry experience so that they will develop greater humility as a group, deeper intimacy with Jesus, and increased resilience to finish well their task on the field. Practically, here’s how we go about caring for teams who carry the Gospel to the unreached…

• We are a “third” space (outside of their sending organization or home church) so that these teams know we are there simply for them and their relationship with Jesus than their task. While their task is critically important, our Father cares about our relationship with him first and foremost. We cannot be okay with people in ministry doing the task but losing their love for Jesus.

• We foster healthy and trusted relationships with sending organizations. Many organizations do not have the manpower or margin to send people to teams that are “doing fine”, and instead have to concentrate on teams that are in crisis. They would love to do that, but again, the workers are few. We come alongside their teams to help them thrive on the field before a crisis arises.

• We go to the field. For a team that has been identified and desires a relationship with us, we go to where they are and live among them for about a month. During this month we establish a rhythm that will not interrupt the work they are doing but will help us get to know them as individuals and as a team. As we share life, we are able to bless, encourage, shepherd, and love them better. We have a toolbox of resources and exercises that can help shepherd the team in practical ways including team dynamics, grieving well, celebrating well, spiritual rhythms, and so on.

• After the month, we return to the U.S. and for the next 9-10 months be in regular contact with the team, as accountability, direction, and encouragement to work on the things that need to be strengthened. After this, we return to the team for one to two weeks to celebrate what God is doing in them and through them. At that point we discuss what next steps may look like in our shepherding role.