Burnout isn’t the end of your mission. It’s a new beginning.

When you go, you go prepared. You have resources, plans, and you have a call from the Lord to lift Jesus high among the nations. You are excited, you've counted the cost, and you find yourself away from a place you have called home. It’s worth it for Jesus.

Then, you hit the wall. The work doesn’t resonate anymore, conflict comes easy and often, and you don’t know if you have it in you anymore. It feels like the mission is too much. Maybe you are second-guessing the call or your fitness for the work. Maybe, you also feel alone in the struggle.

These experiences are the tell-tale signs of impending burnout, a kind of ministry-related issue that feels like it begins in the work and bleeds into everything else. And here’s the good news: you aren’t alone.

Burnout, as hard as it is, presents a unique opportunity to pause, engage with God and others, and experience renewal. God wants to work with you through it, and we are here to help.

At TRAIN International, we believe this experience can be a time of incredible potential for renewal and re-ordering in Christ.

Our team of missions coaches have worked for the last year to develop a cohort-based experience that can help you walk through your burnout, arm-in-arm with other global workers, and come through the other side. Thanks to generous grants, we are able to run a pilot for this experimental program for an incredibly low cost in order to gather information on how it helps people just like you.

God values the mission, and we believe he values the missionary too. He values your story, your experience, and your healing for the sake of the nations, sure, but also for the sake of your formation.

Apply to be part of the first pilot group to walk through this material, gain momentum in your journey through burnout, and help shape this offering for more global workers just like you.

What you can expect:

  • Structured Support in Community

    This isn’t just another Zoom call. It’s a guided, six-week group coaching process that gives you the space you need to reflect, heal, and grow alongside others who understand the weight of cross-cultural ministry, all with the help of expert facilitators.

  • Tools You’ll Actually Use

    No busywork, no fluff. From the first session, you’ll work with holistic frameworks, reflection tools, and practical exercises that will help you build a rhythm of life in ministry that works. Each of these tools are valuable things you can use again and again, even after this season.

  • Designed for Your Season and Context

    You don’t have to uproot your life to recover your center. The digital format allows you to engage deeply from your context, at a pace and with a posture that honors your limits and life in this season. No need to overburden or depart early to find healing, hope, and momentum.

Pilot Cohort Details

Mission Resilient Pilot - $100 (a $1600 value)

This includes:

  • Six 90-minute Group Coaching Sessions ($900)

  • “Your Next Six Months” Tool ($100)

  • Customized Rhythm of Life ($200)

  • Access to Main Session Recordings ($200)

  • Access to a PDF Worksheet Bundle ($200)

On top of all this, your pilot group has the opportunity to help us engineer a better future not only for you but also for other global workers. The feedback and evaluations from this program will help us develop an affordable and flexible option for people like you all over the world. This cohort, underwritten by a generous grant, will help us change the burnout story in missions.

Dates and Times:

  • Group Sessions will be held throughout August and September on Thursday mornings (CST). Upon admittance to the pilot group, you will receive specific meeting times, video conferencing links, and details about your facilitator team.

If you have questions please contact us at 417.625.1400 or coaching@traininternational.org.

FAQs

  • This program is designed for cross-cultural workers who are experiencing some level of burnout, whether that’s full-blown exhaustion or a slow loss of joy, clarity, or capacity. It’s especially for those who sense that something needs to change but don’t know where to begin. For a good description of what burnout in ministry might look like, give this helpful article from the Lausanne Movement a read and see if you resonate: https://lausanne.org/global-analysis/burnout-among-missionaries

  • Not at all. Many participants will join because they’re on the edge of burnout or noticing early warning signs. Others come with a sense of disorientation or weariness, even if things look “fine” on the outside. If you’re longing for clarity, renewal, or new rhythm you’re welcome to apply.

  • Over six weeks, you’ll meet once a week for a 90-minute session via Zoom. Each session includes live teaching, guided reflection, small group breakout discussions, and take-home exercises. Over the size weeks, your work will culminate in a tool that will help you move forward from burnout to resilience in ministry for the next season.

  • That’s okay. All sessions will be recorded and made available to participants. You’ll still get full access to the tools and weekly prompts, so you can stay connected even if you miss a week. However, the power of this process is “the wisdom in the room”: working with a team of facilitators and a community of other people experiencing the same thing is what makes this model work. Missing out on group sessions will mean the tools aren’t nearly as powerful.

  • This is a group coaching program, not therapy or clinical counseling. It draws on principles from spiritual direction, positive psychology, resiliency research, and burnout research but stays squarely within a coaching format. It’s future-oriented, focused on taking next steps towards a healthier, more holistic season of ministry.

  • We have estimated that the total value of the process is about $1600, but it is also experimental! As part of the pilot process, being a part of this cohort will only cost you $100. If you think that’s low, you’re right! Through a generous grant, we have been able to open this pilot to up to 20 people for that price.

    Note: Some sending agencies and churches may be willing to sponsor your participation, so ask them!

  • Cohorts are typically mixed-gender unless otherwise noted. However, there will be men’s and women’s breakout groups to allow for deeper levels of processing and safety.

  • All you need is a device with Zoom access and a way to open PDF files. All other materials (workbooks, prompts, reflection tools) will be provided digitally.

  • That’s a great idea, and we’re here to help! We have a highly skilled team of expert coaches and spiritual directors who can walk with you in a more focused way. As part of the cohort, you will have access to a discounted rate to work with someone. For more information, email us at coaching@traininternational.org.

  • We are an independent and unaffiliated training organization.

    We have the privilege of serving a great variety of agencies, churches, and denominations.