Stacie
Serving in Australia, with international impact
Team Support Recipient Code: 5029
(tax-deductible)
Stacie has over 20 years’ experience working in local and international missions. She has recently returned from South East Asia with her family where she was using her International and Community Development training to establish an education program. The program, created alongside Christians in South East Asia, educated visiting teams about how to engage with communities in healthy ways and how to best care for vulnerable children.
As she returns to Australia, Stacie has a heart for helping Christians reimagine what it means to “love their neighbours as they love themselves.” She has a desire to work with schools and churches, through seminars and consultation to ask the following questions:
What is, instead of seeking to ‘bring God’ into a community, we entered a community with curiosity and respect, seeking to learn what God is already doing there? What if we looked for the people living well in their communities and partnered with them to effect long-term change? What if we came to learn rather than came with our solutions?
Scroll down to learn more and partner with Stacie.
“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8
What’s the issue?
Stacie wants to help Christians reimagine what it means to “love their neighbour as they love themselves.”
Multiple studies, along with the lived experience of many long-term cross-cultural workers, have shown that many popular short-term mission models are not as effective as they seem. While visitors enjoy their experience, the people being visited are often not helped in the ways that were intended. Sometimes these models replace long-term change with short-term solutions, inadvertently reinforcing the factors that keep people in poverty.
What if we did things differently? Instead of seeking to ‘bring God’ into a community, what if we entered with curiosity and respect, seeking to learn what God is already doing there? What if we looked for the people loving well, and partnered with them to effect long-term change? What if we came to learn rather than bring our solutions?
The COVID-19 pandemic gives us an opportunity to re-set the ‘new normal’ for short-term missions. This takes time, eduction and community buy-in. It requires reflection and learning new skills. Stacie is excited to explore these ideas with schools and Christian communities in Australia.
What Stacie will be doing
- Learning about the work, thinking and initiatives that are currently being implemented through mission agencies, denominations, schools, churches and tertiary institutions, to see how this vision can grow.
- Delivering workshops and training to schools and churches in the areas of intercultural friendships, interfaith dialogue and ethical community engagement. Learn more about Rok Kern and CHAT.
- Journeying with schools, churches and community groups to review their current programs, suggest different approaches and help them implement partnership and learning models.
What’s the issue?
Stacie wants to help Christians reimagine what it means to “love their neighbour as they love themselves.”
Multiple studies, along with the lived experience of many long-term cross-cultural workers, have shown that many popular short-term mission models are not as effective as they seem. While visitors enjoy their experience, the people being visited are often not helped in the ways that were intended. Sometimes these models replace long-term change with short-term solutions, inadvertently reinforcing the factors that keep people in poverty.
What if we did things differently? Instead of seeking to ‘bring God’ into a community, what if we entered with curiosity and respect, seeking to learn what God is already doing there? What if we looked for the people loving well, and partnered with them to effect long-term change? What if we came to learn rather than bring our solutions?
The COVID-19 pandemic gives us an opportunity to re-set the ‘new normal’ for short-term missions. This takes time, eduction and community buy-in. It requires reflection and learning new skills. Stacie is excited to explore these ideas with schools and Christian communities in Australia.
What Stacie will be doing
- Learning about the work, thinking and initiatives that are currently being implemented through mission agencies, denominations, schools, churches and tertiary institutions, to see how this vision can grow.
- Delivering workshops and training to schools and churches in the areas of intercultural friendships, interfaith dialogue and ethical community engagement. Learn more about Rok Kern and CHAT.
- Journeying with schools, churches and community groups to review their current programs, suggest different approaches and help them implement partnership and learning models.
About Stacie
Stacie has over 20 years’ experience working in local and international missions. She has recently returned from South East Asia with her family where she was using her International and Community Development training to establish an education program. This program, co-created by South East Asian Christians, educates visiting teams about how to do no harm when engaging in short-term missions. Prior to moving to South East Asia in 2014, Stacie worked as a school chaplain for 5 years and has 10 years’ experience in church youth groups and church community outreach programs.
Outside of work hours, you will find her sharing good food with others, enjoying the stillness of nature, or reading books and movies that make you think.
Join in partnership
We invite you to partner with Stacie in this important work through financial and prayer support.
Please pray
- For opportunities to connect meaningfully with schools, churches and community groups
- For people to be brought deeper into new understandings of their discipleship journey.
- For wisdom and guidance in the long-term vision, set up and sustainability of the project.
