Sending money overseas is not enough. Starting up a church is not enough. In order to bring life-giving transformation to least reached people groups and their communities, we need to emulate Jesus and care for the sick and the hungry, the distressed and bereaved, the spiritually starved. God made us whole people. To minister to only one part of the least reached is tantamount to leaving chances to share the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection behind.

Barbara Block, one of MBMS International's long-term missionaries in India, recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Bethania Home for Children. Through the Bethania Home, orphaned and abandoned children are given a home and an opportunity to receive an education they could not have otherwise had. The home currently supports 35 children as well as 6 families with parents dying of Aids/HIV. We support these families with food and milk, with some gifts of clothing, and through monthly support sessions at Bethania. Most of these families have already lost the father to Aids.

Barbara also serves in a teaching position at the Kodaikanal International School (KIS). This school is dedicated to providing an opportunity for a quality education coupled with the opportunity for deepened spiritual development. At MBMSI we believe that raising up the next generation of Christian leaders is another way to transform a community. This is a focus in our church planting efforts worldwide, including our church plants in other areas of India.

Just as we believe it is important to minister to all facets of the least reached people groups, we believe that the total personal health of all the people God has entrusted to service through MBMSI is paramount to effective mission. We are committed to ensuring the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, relational, and financial health of all our missionaries and staff. We value people as our greatest resource. This is why we recently hosted a Consultation and Retreat for all of our Asian missionaries. Barbara felt that going to the Asia Retreat was a real affirmation to her in many ways. She felt that through this experience the rightness of her role at KIS was confirmed. Another missionary serving in Asia felt called to serve another year because of her experience at the retreat. The effects of valuing people are evident.

The moral of the story is this: we want to bring God's Kingdom to the least reached. To do so means ministering to the whole person as well as their surrounding community. To do so means ministering to the complete health of both missionaries and least reached people groups. Only by following the example that Jesus has set for us can we transform lives in mission.