Cross cultural Medical missions can be participatory and reap the benefits of integrated ministry, sustainability, empowerment, phase out. What role can the local church play? What are the advantages. How can that be employed? Cases where it has worked.
There are not enough dental professionals on the mission field and time and time again I have been asked, "What should I do and what can I do to help those in an emergency situation?" Dental needs and emergencies are ubiquitous on the mission field and often a non-dentist is the only one to care for them. Our time together will give you some important insights and guidelines to care for those in great need without hope and without help.
The volume of aid resources doesn matter as much as the implementation philosophy that the aid is being channeled into. The old adage that ideas have consequences is quite true untested and shallow ideas often have negative consequences on those that are being served. This session will explore the difference between a dependency philosophy and an empowering strategy, and these ideas will be shared in such a way to be applied to any aid related work.
This is one of the principle precepts taught in every med school, and is the basis for all emergency medicine. But while we are careful to “do no harm” with our patients, we overlook the harm we do in perpetuating a fallen health delivery system by the way we run our practices. This workshop examines several best practice models of how Christian health professionals have chosen to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, and will challenge us to look at our responsibility as ambassadors of Christ’s Kingdom to transform our practice of medicine in ways that reflect His character and will.
