Dr. Larry Frick, Director of Medical Missions for GO InterNational, spoke recently at the national conference on Wholistic Missions in Phoenix, Arizona. 

What is Wholistic Missions?  Larry first points out that the spelling of the word is intentional.  It represents the idea from scripture that Jesus ministered to the whole person.  "There are so many examples of Jesus ministering to the whole person. He often addressed a physical problem such as sickness or hunger at the same time he was addressing a spiritual need," Larry said.  

The conference was attended by nearly 500 people from several different countries and dozens of different churches, mission agencies and ministries. Several keynoters addressed various topics including Brian Fickert, author of When Love Hurts, a recent bestseller on some of the pitfalls of modern missions. There were seventy break-out sessions. 

Dr. Frick conducted a seminar on the importance of training short-term mission teams for cross-cultural ministry.  " I shared some ideas we have developed at GO about training. I was also able to interact with missionaries from many different agencies who are committed to a wholistic approach to missions," Larry said.  

In his recent blog about the conference, Larry explains that this approach focuses on the spreading of the Gospel and meeting people's physical needs. "It involves obedience to both the Great Commission (making disciples in all nations) and the Great Commandment (loving our neighbor as our self)," Larry said.

Wholistic missions is at the core of GO's methodology.   "Our teams and ministries are unashamedly evangelical, sharing the Gospel at every opportunity and training local pastors and leaders for effective disciple-making," Larry said.  The conference was a great encouragement and challenge. We look forward to seeing what God has in store for our medical missions efforts in 2013.