Designed For Missionaries, Pastors & Church Leaders
REVIVE is designed with Cross-cultural Messengers of the Gospel, Pastors and other Church Leaders in mind.
Most frequently, their time in life and ministry has been spent doing many good things, but their pace has oftentimes been unsustainable–lacking the regular rest, readjustment, and re-calibration they need. The good news is that REVIVE will help address these unique challenges that they face.
Going Through A Transition
REVIVE is especially for those:
- who are unsure of what to do next and feel confused, discouraged, and restless
- are over committed and overstretched, but don’t know how to slow down when their ministry world says to speed up
- on a sabbatical
- on an extended leave assignment
- engaged in a significant ministry role change
- repatriating to the USA/ assigned to another church,. or
- who simply need rest, readjustment, and re-calibration
Unpacking Your Ministry Backpack
REVIVE will help you ‘unpack’ your experience. Much ‘baggage’ is often gathered through the stresses of either living and serving in a foreign culture or the 24/7 walking alongside your church community. The accumulated effect of coping with the pressures and challenges of the mission field or pastorate can result in stress fractures — cracks that may go unnoticed and multiply if they are not looked for.
A Safe & Confidential Environment
REVIVE will provide a safe and confidential environment for you to unpack and reflect on the highs and lows of your ministry experience. In so doing, you’ll continue to bring a measure of closure to this season of your mission/pastorate journey and integrate those experiences you had in your host culture/local church into your life as you prepare for what is next.
The “Best & Worst” of Your Ministry Experience Put in Perspective
It’s an understatement to say that transitions are very significant shaping times. They are often described by cross-cultural workers and pastors as seasons of life filled with paradox; a mix of “the best of times and the worst of times.” Some of these servants of God exclaim: “I loved my ministry experience!” Others dejectedly confess: “I’m overwhelmed by living abroad!” Regardless of outcome, transitions are often clouded by confusion, discouragement, and restlessness necessitating someone guide you toward a sober and healthy perspective of life’s turning points. Robin &or Heather, who are skilled and empathetic facilitators, will help you process the good and bad of where you have been, empowering you to find meaning and purpose in your transitional journey.
Revive Will Empower You to Effectively Serve With Resiliency And Vitality
- Are you tired of merely surviving in life and ministry? Are you more than ready to flourish?
- Do you sincerely believe that your Heavenly Father has specific purposes for every transitional season in your life?
- Would you love to be more effective in navigating the inevitable high’s and low’s of cross-cultural living?
- Do you long for more contentment in the midst of hard circumstances?
- How about experiencing growth in those areas you struggle with during difficult moments?
- Do you long to have someone who understands your situation and who will equip, guide and empower you to reach your God-given potential?
The support and resources that Revive offers will equip you to navigate the challenging seasons of your life. It can make the difference between navigating through transition effectively with resiliency and vitality or merely surviving transitional seasons.
Our Hope and Goal
Whether meeting in person or on-line, our commitment is to ensure that you receive the best personalized equipping, pastoral care and support. Our hope is that your soul would be nourished and revived. Seeing you beginning to thrive as you express a renewed sense of purpose and meaning, in the midst of your life transitions, challenges and unavoidable losses, is our goal.
You’ll Gain Much Perspective
More specifically, as you examine your ministry journey, you’ll gain perspective on how you got to where you are presently. This will make way for you to answer the questions about your next steps, “Where am I headed?” and “How will I get there?”
You’ll Discover God At Work
This process will most importantly lead you to greater revelation of God’s providential care and His design for your life. The Holy Spirit will reassure you of your unique giftedness and your unique heart’s desires, passions and burdens for your Father’s world. This in turn will enable you to move forward into the future with a sense of renewal and hope.
You’ll have opportunity to “keep company with Jesus”
Most importantly, REVIVE will offer you space to “keep company” with Jesus”; bringing to Him what you feel and think in your heart about your recent cross-cultural/pastoral ministry highs and lows.
You’ll have opportunity to reflect on your values, thoughts, words and actions. In a nutshell, your processing throughout REVIVE will pave the way:
- for you to reflect on the impact that life and ministry has had on your soul
- for you, in the light of the Holy Spirit’s leading, to gain a more accurate knowledge of your motives, drives, joys, fears, strengths and weaknesses that had a bearing on your journey;
- for your interacting with Father God and allowing Him to show His grace during both your current and anticipated pains and joys;
These are positive descriptions of your expected growth in self-awareness and your relationship with the Lord and others. They are words of hope. They reveal that God is committed to you gaining perspective, your healing and character development. In addition, He is committed to your spiritual vitality, your endurance and enjoyment as well as your continued effectiveness and satisfaction in all you are called to do and be. In short, God desires to REVIVE every area of your life.
Relevant Transformational Content
As we navigate through this content, we will provide you with support, encouragement and accountability as you process:
- Personal issues
- Single/marital and family issues
- Team dynamics and conflicts
- Church experience
- Authority issues
- Ministry successes and failures
- Life in community
- Your joys and heartaches
- Gifting and calling
- Your personal values, ways of thinking and drives, and
- Your life purpose and vision
While we will work through the prescribed material that will be contained in your binder, our real goal is that what we share in our time together will strengthen and renew your heart. Our prayers are that at the end of our time together, there will be an assurance that God has brought you here for a purpose and that you will leave refreshed.
Duration
REVIVE spans a 6-day period that focuses on debriefing the past and re-imagining the future.
Arrival & Departure
| Start – Monday |
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| Final Day – Saturday |
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A Typical Day
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Why Prep Work Is Important
A series of pre-session assignments will help you think about your current state of being in all areas of your life (personal, family, church, vocational, and community). Taking stock of your unique makeup and circumstances will help prepare your heart and mind so that we “hit the ground running” when we meet together.
You will be sent electronic versions of some of the tools used during Revive. These will be completed and returned to your Revive Facilitator by email. A calendar of due dates will help keep you on track in a timely manner.
Revive’s Facilitators
Mission Lyfe Will Empower You to Develop a Focused Plan to Where You Want to Go
If you are ready to invest your time, treasure and energy in real change, Mission Lyfe’s experienced facilitators, Robin & Heather Allen, who not only share your Christ-centered faith and values, but understand the many unique challenges of working cross culturally and pastoring, will walk alongside you. They will provide perspective, support and encouragement as you process where you have been and empower you to develop a focused plan to where you want to go. Robin &/or Heather will graciously offer what’s needed for you to personally dig deeper and discover the riches of this significant season while enabling you to effectively move forward.
The Allens steward The Refuge, a retreat center that is set apart for hosting those wearied by their Kingdom endeavors.
Robin (South African/Naturalized US Citizen) and Heather (Canadian-American) have four daughters ranging in age from 28 to 14. The Allens have served in missions these past 30+ years. Most notably making an impact in Sierra Leone and Nigeria as well as Australia, England and the USA. Other ministry ventures included Thailand, Japan, China, Uzbekistan, Cambodia, Pakistan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Having earned their stripes through being bruised and battered on the mission field, they then spent 12 years training and debriefing missionaries through Mission Training International. In addition, Robin has served for several years as a pastor in rural Colorado.
Over the past six years the Allens have spearheaded Mission Lyfe that equips cross-cultural messengers of the Gospel, pastors and church leaders to effectively navigate life’s challenging transitions so that they will thrive in life and ministry whether on the mission field or here in the USA.
