Through this initiative, we aspire to build shared foundations for People Care & Development in Western-based sending organizations. We aim to: 

• Add depth and clarity to understanding Member Care/People Care & Development roles

• Provide a starting place for conversations within organizations

• Strengthen the capacity of those who support cross-cultural workers, including cross-cultural workers themselves, so they can move forward with confidence, informed by the best thinking and research in the field

• Create a shared foundation that fosters collaboration, mutual support, and stronger collective efforts to help cross-cultural workers thrive in life and ministry

This initiative was originally launched by the People Care & Development track of the Missio Nexus Leaders Conference in partnership with the John Powell Institute at Mission Training International.

In September of 2025, SFI was officially launched as a stand-alone collaborative effort carried forward by 14 leaders representing over 10 organizations. Since that time, momentum has continued to grow. 

In 2026, we are taking three key steps:  

1. We are continuing to build our first project, The Thrive Outcomes Project. This is an evidence-supported list of outcomes that contribute to the thriving of cross-cultural workers, generated by the People Care & Development community. Find out more here. 

2. We have a launch team that is establishing our core values, digital presence, operations, and a plan for collaborative leadership going forward.  

3. We will continue to build relationships with stakeholders who care about the well-being of cross-cultural workers. This includes a symposium (Sept. 22) and pre-conference (Sept. 23) in Orlando, FL at the Missio Nexus Leaders’ conference. Further details to come.  

Over time, there has been an expressed need for shared foundations in People Care & Development, to improve quality of support for global workers. This has been seen across organizations, global workers, sending agencies, and the leadership of Missio Nexus.   

An increase in resources, including the volunteer research team serving through JPI, offered a unique opportunity to thoughtfully engage the People Care & Development community in this conversation and catalyze SFI.

Though there is a growing need for articulating People Care & Development for all nations, we have made an intentional decision to start with Western-based organizations. This decision was made out of respect for the cultural differences that exist in how Western cultures understand and pursue well-being. It is our hope that once this initiative is established, it could be part of broader conversations with People Care & Development from other cultural backgrounds. With this in mind, it is important to state that we do not assume that what is developed through this initiative would be immediately applicable in all contexts. 

Our aim is to bring the community of care givers, developers, and organizational leaders together to create a unified voice. We believe this is significant and has the potential to greatly increase our effectiveness in supporting cross-cultural workers on the whole. Your voice and contribution are vital to this initiative. We hope you will prayerfully consider participating. 

We sense God is moving us to create this Shared Foundation and is providing opportunities to do so. We are eager to see how He will use this initiative and we invite you to join us.  

Here are two ways you can contribute:  

1. "Thrive Outcomes" is an evidence-supported list that highlights factors that foster thriving for global workers. The goal is not to generate new information, but to gather and share the collective wisdom of those who both offer and receive Member Care & Development. Submissions are being received on an ongoing basis. You can find more details and access to the form to contribute here. 

2. Become part of the volunteer collaborators who are helping the Shared Foundations Initiative move forward. Please let us know your interest by emailing us.