Larry Sharp explains the realities and misunderstandings of the Business as Mission model.

ABOUT LARRY W. SHARP, PHD

Larry W. Sharp is the Founder and current consulting specialist with the consulting firm, International Business and Education Consultants (www.ibecventures.com). He served 21 years in Brazil and then 20 years as Crossworld VP of Operations and as Vice President of Business Partnerships. He is currently a VP Emeritus and consultant with Crossworld. Since 2007 he has devoted energies toward Business as Mission (BAM) and currently is a consultant on BAM and education themes.

He holds degrees in Bible (Prairie College), business (BA Seattle Pacific University), and education (MA Azusa Pacific University) and a PhD (University of Calgary, CANADA) in comparative sociology of education and administration.  His career focus has been in business, education, and supervisory roles.  While in Brazil he served as teacher and headmaster of the Amazon Valley Academy (15 years) and President of the Missao Crista Evangelica do Brasil (MICEB) for six years.

He travels within North America speaking and teaching in conferences, colleges and churches on themes related to Business As Mission (BAM, B4t).  His travels abroad relate to BAM, crisis preparation, management, and team building. He writes a weekly blog on www.ibecventures.com/blog and blogs on other sites occasionally.  He serves on four boards including the Freedom Business Alliance where he serves as chairperson; and is working with two university curriculum teams developing the integration of business with missional faith.

Larry and Vicki live in Washington state and have been married for 51 years and have four grown children and eight grandchildren.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

Websites:

Books:

Dr. Laura Mae Gardner, a pioneer and expert in Missionary Care shares some of the key distinctives of effective care.  

ABOUT DR. LAURA MAE GARDNER: 

I have served in WBT and SIL International for 60+ years, most of that time with my husband, Dick. My contributions or roles included: translator, candidate assessment, trainer, counselor, developer and director of International Counseling Department, creator of Member Care for missions, International Vice President For Personnel, and International Personnel Consultant and Trainer. I have traveled, trained and consulted in 65 countries, done a lot of crisis work, interventions and debriefing. I am also an author including the book Healthy, Resilient and Effective in Cross Cultural Ministry which has now been translated into Indonesian, Korean, Chinese, Ukranian and Russian. I co-authored with Dr. Lois Dodds the three-volume series on Global Servants. Other writings include chapters in books, and probably 500 articles. I have a theological diploma, two undergraduate degrees and two advanced degrees, including a doctorate from Denver Seminary. I am an adjunct professor at Columbia International University. I have served on a number of boards. My husband, Dick, preceded me to heaven a few months ago thus I continue on alone reading, speaking, teaching, consulting, and serving as requested.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: 

• Global Member Care Vol 1*: The Pearls and Perils of Good Practice by Kelly O'Donnell

• Global Member Care: Vol 2*: Crossing Sectors for Serving Humanity by Kelly O'Donnell & Michele Lewis O’Donnell

• Doing Member Care Well*: Perspectives and Practices From Around the World (Globalization of Mission) by Kelly O'Donnell

• Global Servants Cross-cultural Humanitarian Heroes Volume 1 Formation and Development of These Heroes by Lois Dodds & Laura Gardner

• Global Servants Cross-cultural Humanitarian Heroes Volume 2: 12 Factors in Effectiveness and Longevity by Lois Dodds & Laura Gardner

• Global Servants Cross-Cultural Humanitarian Heroes Volume 3 The Art & Heart of Agency Care by Lois Dodds

• Healthy, Resilient, & Effective in Cross-Cultural Ministry: Electronic Version by Laura Mae Gardner

Tammy Sharp gives her perspective as an adult TCK and as an MK care specialist into the needs of young adult missionary kids.  

ABOUT TAMMY SHARP: 

Tammy was born and raised in Brazil where her parents served as teachers and administrators at Amazon Valley Academy. She attended Wheaton College to become a history teacher at a MK school somewhere in the world. She ended up teaching back in Brazil after 5 years at a school in Alaska. Tammy then finished her Master's in Education and planned to head back overseas, but instead worked at a missions agency for 17 years as the MK Coordinator serving MKs ages 0-80.  In January 2018 Tammy joined Barnabas International as a TCK Consultant and Director of MuKappa. Tammy is excited to serve on the Board of Sanctuary Inn to continue caring for Global Workers and their families.  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: 

•  MuKappa

MK Transition Seminars: 

•  Interaction International Overview

Books: 

•  Third Culture Kids 3rd Edition: Growing up among worlds by by Ruth E. Van Reken, Michael V. Pollock, David C. Pollock

Scott Shaum from Barnabas International shares about God’s heart for Sabbath rest in our lives today.

ABOUT SCOTT SHAUM: 

Scott Shaum, along with his wife Beth, have served with Barnabas International for 18 years, where he is currently Associate Director.  They have lived in Asia and Scott has been a pastor at two local churches. They have 3 married sons and two granddaughters. Scott loves long conversations over well prepared meals, a stack of books, and long walks in the forests near their home in Colorado. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: 

• Subversive Sabbath by A. J. Swobod

• Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

• Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest by Lynne M. Baab

• Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by Walter Brueggemann

Rob Lloyd shares from his expertise the impact a Crisis Debrief can make in the life of someone who has experienced a powerful event.

ABOUT ROB LLOYD:

Rob Lloyd is the founder and CEO of the Responders Resource Center, a senior chaplain and the Lead pastor of Freedom Community Church. He created the vast majority of the courses in our chaplaincy training program and is a certified instructor of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) through UMBC. He holds a certificate of specialized training in Schools & Children Crisis Response from ICISF and UMBC, is a member of the SMART team for public school incidents and leads the CISM ASSIST team for private school incidents. He is also the clinical director of the SW Washington CISM team and is trained in the FEMA Incident Command System and National Incident Management System. It is Rob’s passion to provide excellent training for those who have a desire to assist people who have experienced events that have the potential to overwhelm them.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

• Hope for the Heart Series by June Hunt

• ICISF online training - Psychological First Aid

• Responders Resource Center (RRC)

Dan Abbott, Development Director at Sanctuary Inn, shares what God has taught him on the journey of support raising.

ABOUT DAN ABBOTT:

Dan Abbott comes from a YWAM ministry background, enjoys teaching and preaching, and graduated from Western Seminary with a Masters in Biblical Studies and Theology. He has been working at Sanctuary Inn for the last five years and currently is the Development Director. Dan and his wife Anna are the parents of three young sons.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

• A Spirituality of Fundraising (Henri Nouwen Spirituality) by Henri J.M. Nouwen

• The Treasure Principle Bible Study: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn

• The Sower: Redefining the Ministry of Raising Kingdom Resources by R. Scott Rodin and Gary G. Hoag

Rebekah Strangarity shares with us some of the blessings and challenges of life as a single missionary.

ABOUT REBEKAH STRANGARITY:

Rebekah Strangarity grew up in Lancaster County, PA and attended Lancaster Bible College (B.S., in Bible and TESOL), Western Seminary (M.A. in Ministry Leadership-Pastoral Care to Women), and Tel Aviv University (M.A. in Trauma and Crisis Studies). She has been teaching at LBC since August 2020. Prior to that, she served for five years in Israel where she helped start and run a shelter for prostitutes, start a counseling center, and teach Bible studies. While living in Portland, Oregon, she helped direct a ministry for trafficked teenagers. Her passion is seeing women walk in wholeness, to find freedom and healing from abuse, and grow theologically strong. Rebekah has also been a champion of the ministry of Sanctuary Inn since it’s beginning; she now serves on the Sanctuary Inn Board.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

https://www.azmera.net/retreats

https://velvetashes.com/

Karen DeGraaf shares from her life experience and perspective as a Counselor and Missionary Care provider in West Africa.

ABOUT KAREN DEGRAAF:

Karen (M.A., Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (NC), SIL Africa Area Counseling Coordinator) joined Wycliffe Bible Translators when she was 22, and met her husband David as they were both training to do translation and linguistic research in French-speaking West Africa.  They spent 11 years in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, and had 3 children there. They were forced to leave in 2002 when a civil war tore the country apart, and Karen made the not-so-obvious shift from language work to counseling and member care. In 2006 she received her MA in Counseling from Western Seminary in Portland, OR. She served as a counselor at the Wycliffe JAARS Center in North Carolina for 8 years, then relocated to Cameroon, Africa to take the assignment of Africa Area Counseling Coordinator.  Karen’s areas of specialization include depression, anxiety, trauma recovery, stress/burnout, relationships, transitions, grief and loss. She is a facilitator for Strengthening Your Interpersonal Skills workshops, Trauma Healing workshops, and has training as a Life Coach. She works with adults, couples and adolescents. Karen loves to help both individuals and teams discover how to live and work with grace and resilience.

Dr. Carmen Imes unpacks material from her book “Bearing God’s Name” and helps us understand how our view of God impacts our life in ministry.

ABOUT DR. CARMEN IMES:

Carmen is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Biola University. A graduate of Wheaton College (PhD), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (MABS), and Multnomah University (BA),

Carmen has also taught at Prairie College in Alberta, Canada. She and her husband were missionaries with SIM for 15 years, having served in church planting in the Philippines and administration for a multi-country ministry called Sports Friends. Carmen is the author of Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters and editor of Praying the Psalms with Augustine and Friends. She's passionate about equipping Christians to read the Old Testament well and embrace their identity and vocation as people who bear God's name.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE:

Bearing God’s Name: Why Sinai Still Matters

This interview with seasoned missionaries Dennis Beck and Mark Downing explores how missionaries can prepare for their retirement years.

About Dennis Beck:

As an international missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ (branded as Cru in the USA) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for 38 years, Dennis was asked to move from student ministry to administrative roles as the 20 countries devolved in 1991.  As Area Financial Manager his challenge was to bring order out of the post-communist chaos introducing financial systems, western style accounting and auditing skills across the 20 national ministries involving 800 staff.  He introduced retirement savings plans for those same CEE staff, starting with Poland in 1994.  He continues to teach retirement seminars and to facilitate individualized sessions with his missionary colleagues.

About Mark Downing:

He is currently enjoying retirement after serving 26 years in Brazil with the Baptist General Conference, now called Converge. After language school, he began teaching Greek and New Testament courses in a seminary in Campo Grande, near the middle of the country, training pastors and missionaries. After doing that for 10 years he did some retooling to help start a missions degree at the seminary. After directing the Missions Department and teaching missions for another five years, he then transferred to Rio de Janeiro to help launch the world missions training center of the Brazilian Baptist Convention where he served as one of the coordinators for another 10 years. He and his wife helped to train more than 350 Brazilian Baptist Convention world missionaries. Mark has been married to Helen for 54 years and they have three children and four grandchildren.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE: 

• Dave Ramsey 

• Ron Blue “Mastering Your Money”

• Ron Blue “Raising Money Smart Kids” 

• Randy Alcorn “Money, Possessions, and Eternity”