FORMATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW

I. Purpose

The objective of the Formation Program is to prepare people for beginning overseas mission life and work with Lay Mission-Helpers. It also serves as the final phase of discernment on the part Lay Mission-Helpers Association and the candidates.

 
II. Process and Content

We consider the Formation Program to be part of an ongoing process of education and growth. The candidates come with experience and a deep faith commitment. The Formation Program seeks to build on their experience and commitment through a participative process of study, reflection, and community life.

The four-month program aims at opening up areas for further development and seeks to encourage ongoing action and reflection. It provides an opportunity for the candidates to develop a clearer understanding of the important issues and demands of mission in the Third World and some basic skills for cross cultural mission life and work.

The content of the Formation Program is based on our understanding of today's challenge of overseas mission: to live out our faith commitment in community and teams and to become involved in the lives and struggles of peoples of other lands and cultures. In our effort to live in greater solidarity with the poor of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, we focus on the areas of mission theology, scripture, spirituality, social analysis, community living, teamwork, and cross-cultural adaptation.

Our Formation Program includes weekly classes, workshops, area studies, reflection groups, daily prayer, and community life.

A. Weekly Classes

  • Mission Theology
  • Scripture
  • Adult Development Issues

B. 2-3 Day Workshops

  • Faithfulness and Mission: Overview of Mission History, Role of Lay Missioners, LMH History, and the Challenges of Overseas Mission
  • Social Analysis, Bible, and Mission
  • Communication Skills and Styles: Myers Briggs Personality Types, Listening Skills, Assertion Skills, Dealing with Conflict, Implications for Mission
  • Methods of Popular Education (Participative, Problem-Posing Methods/Applications)
  • Mission Spirituality: Prayer, Eucharist, and Popular Religiosity
  • Contemporary Moral Issues
  • Mission in the Context of Social Change and Violence
  • Skills for Cross-Cultural Living
  • Relationships, Intimacy, and Sexuality Overseas
  • Staying Healthy Overseas

C. Weekly Area Studies
D. Daily Prayer, Community Life, and Weekly Reflection Groups
E. Periodic Meetings with Spiritual Director
F. Periodic Meetings with Members of LMH Team
Our History - LMH Program - Where We Work - Meet Missionaries In The Field
Letters From Missionaries - You're Needed - Support Lay Mission- Helpers - Contact Us


Lay Mission-Helpers Association, 3435 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1035, Los Angeles, CA  90010
Telephone: (213) 368-1870 • Facsimile: (213) 368-1871
  E-mail:  info@laymissionhelpers.org