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The Mission Society led two international conferences during the month of September. Dr. Darrell Whiteman, vice president for mission mobilization and training and resident missiologist, the Rev. Dr. Denny Heiberg, and a secure Mission Society missionary led the training.

An International Mission Mobilization and Discipleship Consultation was held in Bangkok, Thailand September 8-12, hosted by the Muang Thai Church with which The Mission Society has a partner relationship. More than 50 Thai people from many denominations and churches attended the training, which was designed to equip them with tools to reach their Thai Buddhist friends and neighbors with the gospel. After 150 years of Christian presence only .003% of Thai people consider themselves Christians.

In India, the Consultation took place in Shillong, Meghalaya in the Northeast on September 15-19. There were 47 participants from six churches and denominations. The teachings were designed to encourage and equip these Indian Christians to revitalize their faith among many nominal Christians, and to reach the Muslim and Hindu areas in their country.

“Many of the participants came to realize that often the biggest barriers to reaching people within their own culture are the barriers of the church culture which often distances Christians from those who do not yet follow Jesus because they inadvertently communicate that Christianity is a foreign, western religion. Many participants thanked us for giving them new insights on how the gospel can connect to their culture and appreciated the tools of storying and discipleship as ways to make this happen,” said Dr. Whiteman.

One woman who attended the conference remarked, "My life was transformed because of the seminar. I was about to give up the ministry before I came. Now I have new life and hope to go back and serve Thai Cambodians in Surin."

International Mission Mobilization and Discipleship Consultations are planned for Bolivia, and Francophone West Africa later this year, as well as a two-week training for more than 100 church workers in Kenya to encourage and equip them to begin reaching the 22 unreached people groups within their own nation and beyond.