Member care is the term that is used most often in the mission’s world to describe the care for the personal well-being of Goers. There is not a universal definition. Different people have different expectations, and organizations deliver it differently.
How does Reliant view Member Care?
It’s not just important, it’s integral.
Our ministry as believers is a direct overflow of the ministry to us, first from God but also from others. God designed the Body of Christ to be interdependent. International workers will fail to thrive in their own strength alone.
It's not only counseling.
The first thing that comes to mind for many people when they hear member care is counseling. While most cross-cultural workers will utilize counseling at some point, member care also includes things like on-going development, healthy policies, reliable structures, and more.
It’s a team effort.
Stateside churches, field leadership, mission agencies and third-party resources each bring important knowledge, skill and relationship to support you. Holistic member care involves a team.
How does Reliant do Member Care?
Reliant's model of Member Care flows from our commitment to partner well with gospel-centered churches and ministries. Here's how we work together when it comes to Member Care.
Sending Church: International workers are sent from a local church, which has affirmed and prepared them. The church continues to play a primary role in every step of the goer’s journey. By setting and maintaining rhythms for checking-in, the church can continue to minister to the worker while they are overseas. Additionally, transition times like furloughs or re-entry are key seasons where the church is best positioned to step in and provide care.
Team and Field Leadership: Once a goer launches, much of their day-to-day care comes from their team and field leadership. They help the worker acclimate to their new culture and provide vision, ministry development, and Christian fellowship. They will likely be the first ones to know if and how the goer is struggling.
External Resources: Sometimes a goer needs more than their sending church or field leadership is equipped to provide. Resources like debrief programs, counselors, spiritual directors, etc. are important parts of the worker's member care team, particularly in seasons of crisis, transition, or discouragement.
The Goer: Goers must take ownership for their care by maintaining healthy rhythms of rest, utilizing available resources, and being honest with their care team. Typically, you know best when you need help. However, when stress and suffering become normalized, it may be hard to recognize what you need. If others are encouraging you to seek rest or care, receive that as a gift.
Reliant: Reliant’s primary care for the worker is providing reliable employment, benefits, and support-raising structures so that the worker can focus on their day-to-day ministry. In this, we are committed to responding quickly and being readily available whenever workers have a question or concern. But we are more than your payroll processor. Most of us have been in your shoes, so we also have knowledge and experience pertaining to mobilization, development and sustainability of cross-cultural workers. Our policies were designed to give you adequate space to get the care you need without feeling like your job is at stake. We can come alongside sending churches, supervisors, and goers as a trusted resource.
What we do:
- Answer emails promptly
- Read prayer letters
- Pray regularly for our goers
- Make ourselves available for face-to-face calls
- Check-in with workers at key times (post-launch, furloughs, transitions, re-entry)
- Provide personal coaching and support for fundraising
- Stay up-to-date with quality external resources
- Work with counseling providers to reduce out-of-pocket expenses
- Provide counseling subsidies for international workers
- Facilitate coaching/mentoring relationships within the Reliant network
- Provide ongoing monitoring and crisis response
- Maintain people-centered policies
What we don't do:
- Dictate nor maintain a goer’s member care framework
- Assign a specific member care person to each goer
- Require regular care check-ins
- Provide ministry oversight
Visit these links for more information.
International Member Care Network
International Counseling Resources
Supervisor and Sending Church Resources
Roles and Responsibilities for International Partnerships
Shared Crisis Authority and Responsibility in Reliant Partnerships
