The first stage of member orientation for SEND International is led by the sending offices in Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines or the United States. This training focuses on equipping new missionaries to do partner development.

The subsequent levels of Member Orientation are led SEND U, which is part of the International Office of SEND International. MOP 200 courses are done prior to departure for cross-cultural ministry. MOP 300 courses are completed once one is already on the field

The curriculum and objectives of MOP are established by SEND U, SEND's training department. Regardless of whether the MOP is held in North America or Asia, the instruction is all in English although we have provided simultaneous translation into Spanish, Russian and Chinese for previous MOP training.

Intro to MOP

The Member Orientation Program training begins with a 6-week online module. This course takes 5-6 hours per week of work, if English is your first language. It always precedes MOP 202, and generally starts about 6-7 weeks prior to MOP 202 so that the participants finish about a week before the next level of MOP. See the syllabus for the online course here.

MOP 201 is required of all mid-term and long-term members of SEND.

See the rationale of why to take MOP 201 here.

MOP 202/ 202V is required of all long-term members of SEND.

SEND U conducts a 2-week onsite Member Orientation Program two times a year in two different locations. This is called MOP 202.

• The MOP in North America is held every summer. It has normally been held in July. This MOP is intended primarily for those appointees coming from North America (USA and Canada), Europe and Latin America.
• The MOP in Asia has been conducted in Quezon City, Philippines. The curriculum and objectives are almost identical to the MOP in the USA, although the majority of the facilitators are from Asia or have served in Asia as SEND missionaries. The MOP in Asia was initially intended for appointees from Asia who might have difficulty getting to North America. But through the years, a sizeable percentage of the participants have come from other sending areas outside of Asia. The handouts, schedules, announcements and other relevant information for MOPs held in Asia can be found here on the SEND U wiki.

SEND U also occasionally offers a virtual version of MOP 202 which will be entirely completed online over a 6-week period. This is called MOP 202V.

MOP+ is a one-week online course on participant observation that builds on the very basic ethnography training that we provide at MOP online and MOP onsite. Since MOP+ happens after the missionary has arrived in their new culture, this course encourages practical application of cultural learning principles studied earlier in MOP. Participants receive an email reminder to take the course about 6 months after they arrive on the field. The course takes about 4-6 hours of work sometime during the first year on the field.

MOP-Recap is a review of what was taught in MOP onsite and a self-assessment by the participant, looking at how well they have been able to implement the principles learned in the pre-field training. MOP-Recap is a 3-month assignment made by the field leadership, at a time when the new missionary has been on the field for about 2 years (or after 1 year if no language learning is required). During these 3 months, MOP-Recap is estimated to take about 2-3 hours/week and involves 6 coaching calls to help people review MOP. Lisa Redell works with the field leader to determine the right timing for MOP-Recap, and then she chooses a coach to help the first-term missionary through the MOP-Recap review. See more information about MOP-Recap on this wiki page.

If you went through MOP more than 10 years ago, you may feel at a loss when you hear about what new members are learning about in MOP today. MOP Refresh is a great opportunity for you to participate in an overview of SEND's core cross-cultural training material.

MOP Refresh provides a description of the core cross-cultural training received by new SEND members. The material is a collection of readings, videos, and reflections from various facilitators currently serving with SEND International.

It is an asynchronous online course through Grow2Serve that will update you on MOP training that has been developed over the last 15 to 20 years. The course consists of about seven hours of material, but this can all be done at your own pace. We recommend trying to complete the course within a month of registration. Course cost is $40. If you are interested, you can register at: https://www.missiontools.org/resources/mop-refresh/. If you have any question feel free to contact SEND U staff member, Alfie Mosse at amosse@send.org.

Register for MOP Refresh

MOP exists to equip missionary appointees and their children for effective transition into fruitful intercultural ministry with SEND International. To accomplish this purpose SEND seeks to:

• strengthen the participant’s commitment to the regular practice of nurturing one’s relationship with God and living as a disciple of Jesus
• further equip the participant to address the challenges they and/or their family will face in a cross-cultural context
• deepen the participant’s understanding of SEND’s values, mission statement, and strategies in ministry.

Training time in MOP is limited and will focus on that which is first needed when one arrives in their place of service. Because likely it will still be a few years before participants in MOP will begin full-time ministry, the program will only introduce participants to ministry strategies, skills, and tools. Additional ministry training will be provided on the field after the completion of language and culture studies. In fact, ministry skill training will continue throughout one's ministry career.

See this wiki page.

MOP Training Topics and Objectives

• found on this wiki page
• as a Word document

• Feb 28 - Apr 9, 2022 - MOP 202V - A 6-week Member Orientation Program by videoconferencing for those who have completed MOP 201.
• Feb 22 - Apr 3, 2021 - MOP 202V - A 6-week MOP by videoconferencing on Teams. Scheduled for 6:00 pm, Michigan time.
• Jan 11 - Feb 6, 2021 - MOP 202V - A 4-week MOP by videoconferencing for those who went through mini-MOP by Zoom in March 2020. Scheduled for 12:00 pm - 4:30 pm, Philippine time.
• March 19, 24, 26 & 31, 2020 mini-MOP by Zoom

• MOP 202 July 2024 > Ward Church in Northville, Michigan
• MOP 202 July 2023 > Ward Church in Northville, Michigan
• MOP 202 July 2022 - Ward Church in Northville, Michigan
• MOP 202 July 2021 > Ward Church in Northville, Michigan
• April 19 - May 1, 2020 > Quezon City, Philippines (Cancelled)
• August 19-30, 2019 > Kansas City (Crossworld/Avant mission headquarters)
• July 8-20, 2018, Farmington (with Safety & Security Training beginning on July 5)
• July 9-21, 2017 in Farmington, Michigan
• February 26 - March 10, 2017 > Quezon City, Philippines
• July 10-22, 2016 in Farmington, Michigan
• Feb 7-19, 2016 in Farmington, Michigan
• July 5-17, 2015 in Farmington, Michigan
• February 8-20, 2015 in Quezon City, Philippines
• July 6-18, 2014 in Farmington, Michigan
• Feb 16-28, 2014 in Farmington, Michigan
• July 8-19, 2013 in Farmington, Michigan
• January 14-25, 2013 in Quezon City, Philippines (handout can be found here)
• January 2012 in Quezon City, Philippines

This reading must be completed before the missionary leaves for the field. There are two parts to the MOP reading list:

• General reading list (for all MOP participants)
• Field-required reading list - Field specific reading is to be completed by appointees before their first departure for the field. From the list provided appointees should complete a minimum of 400 pages of reading. See Individual country reading lists