10 reasons you should attend the medical missions conference 2020

Content Resources 10 reasons you should attend the medical missions conference 2020
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Will Rogers

Sep 25, 2020

Many healthcare workers struggle to find their next step and learn the best practices involved with living out their calling. That's why we created the Global Missions Health Conference (GMHC) 25 years ago. It’s also why we're shifting to one amazing virtual event this year.

When you engage in the GMHC, your heart is called to something greater, your skills are refined, and you find amazing connections to help you continue your journey.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Global Missions Health Conference.

The conference started with just a few doctors gathered together in a room at Southeast Christian Church. It has now grown into an event with an average of 3,000 attendees who come together for a weekend of encouragement and growth. It is a unique event that is designed for healthcare professionals from all backgrounds who want to use their skills to serve others.

We want to encourage folks from medical, nursing, allied health, dental, ophthalmology...(the list could go on!). We are here for you and want to give everyone the opportunity to learn about how they can take their next step in missions.

Here are 10 reasons people love the Global Missions Health Conference. Or, why you should attend!

Reason #1: It’s the largest gathering of healthcare missionaries in the world.

The GMHC offers a unique time of connection with other people that share a passion for healthcare missions. Our in-person event has always offered time for renewal and challenge, and our virtual event will do the same. You will walk away from this time together knowing you are not alone and ready to take the next step in mission.

Reason #2: People attend from all over the world.

This reason doesn't need to be explained, does it? It’s always amazing when you get to see God’s work in other people across the globe. This year will be no different.

Reason #3: Exhibitors are present to help attendees figure out their next step in missions.

This year, we have a virtual exhibit hall! You’ll have access to over one hundred organizations to help mobilize you to missions. You’ll have the ability to live-chat, enter a video room, schedule a 1:1 meeting, and share your contact info. You’ll have guided recommendations and connections to the most significant organizations in healthcare missions today.

Reason #4: Plenary sessions that are inspiring.

The GMHC offers some of the best biblically-based teachings on healthcare missions you will find. Our committee always works diligently to look through every submission, develop a framework, and ensure that every relevant topic is covered. Most importantly, we pray for you and all the speakers throughout the year. And as a side note, you’ll gain immediate access to one hundred percent of the plenary and breakout sessions following the GMHC.

Reason #5: Worship and prayer that challenges and encourages attendees

There’s something powerful that happens with a group of people from all across the globe, united in Christ, come together to worship and pray together, and be encouraged and challenged in their relationship with the Lord. Worship and prayer throughout this two-day event will allow attendees time to go deeper into where God is calling them.

Reason #6: Networking with new colleagues and catching up with old friends.

The virtual event will allow us to uniquely match you with the sessions, organizations, and mentors that most fit your needs. Because you don’t have to navigate a physical space, we can guide you directly to the most helpful resources.

Reason #7: Sessions that feature groundbreaking research and best practices.

You’ll have access to the four main plenary sessions (with worship) and over 150 breakout sessions. These breakout sessions will feature some of the best and brightest minds in healthcare missions today. We can’t wait for you to join us.

Reason #8: In-depth immersion experiences on various topics such as field hospitals, the refugee crisis, opioid epidemic, and more.

This year may be different. But, you can still take a deep dive into the experience. For instance, we’ll have live chats with speakers. You’ll be able to engage in real-time with speakers and other session participants. You’ll have 1:1 meetings with exhibitors, and the unique experience for this year: A four-part documentary "The History of Global Pandemics: The Church's Response".

Reason #9: The closing session where attendees are challenged to identify what their next step in missions will be.

When you come to the GMHC, we expect that you will walk away changed. It is not just the speakers, not just the worship, and not just the immersion experience. It is the way God speaks to you throughout your time and that won’t change with our virtual conference. We fully expect God to speak through every virtual experience you have during our time together.

Reason #10: What I’m calling “a bunch of cool other stuff”...

There is so much more stuff that’s part of attending GMHC. Here are just a few things we’re doing to make this year different—but still special:

Special edition 25th anniversary t-shirt
Chances to win sweet gear - like great gear you can use on your next mission trip
Continuing education - we plan to offer continuing education credit once all approvals are complete
Poster presentations - explore attendee-submitted poster presentations and interact with those individuals
Access to even more free stuff: like the 4-part documentary “"The History of Global Pandemics: The Church's Response" (small group curriculum), session bundle, 10-part BluePrint eCourse created to help you find your next step in mission, 25th Anniversary elements like a special edition Elements Magazine that will be twice the size with new content and resources.

All of these features will still be present in the 2020 conference! Yes, we will be virtual, but we will still gather, encourage, and challenge. We will still have exhibitors that will be present and available to talk with and help you take your next step in missions. We will still have breakout sessions by some of the best doctors, nurses, and missionaries in the world. We will still have times of corporate prayer, worship, and a closing session for you to identify where God might be calling you.

Without a doubt...sitting in front of a computer for two days has its challenges. That's why we're making this so much more than something you sit and watch. This is an experience that will engage you in so many ways, keep you involved, and certainly shift your ideas for what a virtual event can look like.

Want to learn more about what all will be available at this year’s virtual event? Visit our Global Missions Health Conference 2020 page for more details.

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A medical missionary you’ve never heard of—but should.

Let me tell you about a medical missionary you have probably never heard about. But, you should know about this missionary. My sincere hope is that reading about this woman’s life will encourage, challenge, and inspire you to take your experience, skills, and passions and use them for God and others like this woman. Remember, medical missions is constantly changing. In a recent post, we covered the history of medical missions. The enterprise of medical missions has brought physical, emotional, and spiritual health to the world—and opened the doors for the gospel in countless countries. Medical missions is the term used for Christian missionary endeavors that involve the administration of any kind of medical treatment. Medical missions connects your skills with your calling. We see from reviewing Scripture, in the New Testament for example, that Jesus called for His disciples to heal the sick and serve the poor. He also calls them to "make disciples of all nations". In trying to obey Jesus’ commands, Jesus called for His disciples to heal the sick and serve the poor. He also calls them to "make disciples of all nations". As someone who works in healthcare, your life should be spent doing those exact things. You heal the sick, you serve the poor, and you make disciples of all nations. It's what being a medical missionary is all about. There are so many avenues for missionary work. We’ve talked before about some popular ways many missionaries serve God. We’ve covered short-term, long-term, marketplace, domestic, international, and medical education as some of the top ways believers find practical avenues to serve God. Today we want to take you back in history to look at a woman who served as a medical missionary in India. Her name is Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder. She was born into a medical missionary family in India in 1870. Her grandparents, her father (and seven brothers) were all medical missionaries in India. She went to school in the US at the Northfield Seminary in Massachusetts, then came back to India to visit her parents. She didn’t want to be a missionary. In fact, one article reads that she, “determined never to become one of 'those missionary Scudders'.” But, one evening while she was in India, she witnessed three women die during childbirth because there were no doctors available to women. This happened in 1894. She would go on to call that situation her, “three knocks in the night.” During those days, there were no gynecologists or women practitioners at all, so women were not getting care. She went back to the US and went to Cornell Medical College in New York City, and was part of the first class that accepted women. She returned to India and started a small practice for women in Vellore. Shortly after she returned, her father died, but she treated over 5,000 patients in just two short years. In 1902, Dr. Scudder started the Mary Taber Schell Hospital in Vellore. She also began to realize that she couldn’t serve all the women of India alone, so she started a medical school for women only. During the first year, she had 151 applicants to her school. Eventually, the school became co-educational so that she could get the support of more churches in the United States. Mahatma Gandhi visited her school in 1928. She went on to raise millions of dollars for the school and hospital. The Vellore Christian Medical Center has been one of the largest Christian hospitals in the world. Today, the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore still honors Dr. Ida Scudder and her determination to serve populations of people that were not being served. According to the website “One of the top-ranked educational, healthcare and research institutes in the country. CMC’s network of primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care teaching hospitals spread across six campuses in and around Vellore, is, together, a 3,000-bedded multi-specialty medical institution of international fame. The Christian Medical College Vellore, located in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, is an unaided minority educational institution established in the year 1900. Started as a single-bedded clinic, under the leadership of Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder, the only daughter of second-generation American missionaries, it grew into a full-fledged medical college imparting education in medical, nursing and allied health sciences.” I encouraged you recently to keep the continual pursuit of a lifestyle of missional living. A missional life isn’t something we wait to do “one day”. No, the Great Commission tells us to “Go” and we understand this means you live your calling “as you are going.” In case you missed my last post, I encourage you to, every day, take another intentional next step toward your own mission-focused life. Is that serving at your church? Is that networking and connecting with someone in your field? Is it the next step in education or training? Do it! Take that next baby step. Review Dr. Scudder’s life and learn from her. Get on a mission with God. God’s will is that we serve Him and love others. It’s that simple and complex! Dr. Scudder’s life is an example and an inspiration to us all. She is one woman who didn’t even think she wanted to be a missionary. But, over her years of faithfully serving God and loving others, she has changed the healthcare system of South India forever. Scudder dedicated her life to the challenges of Indian women and the fight against bubonic plague, cholera, and leprosy. I hope that looking in detail at Dr. Scudders’ life will encourage and inspire you to press on in your calling to God. Often, you can get lost in the daily grind and forget the bigger picture of your life. I hope that in reviewing Ira’s life, you’ve been encouraged and inspired to live out your calling. Like Ira, let’s aim to live out our faith with our entire lives.