You want to engage with the work God is doing in the world.
We want to help you do so with excellence when it comes to caring for vulnerable children and families.
Mission Wise curates today's best practices and principles to give you clarity and confidence to take the next step forward in your mission strategy.
Mission Wise
Scripture, Science, and Serving the World’s Most Vulnerable
With its Christ-centered perspective and research-informed approach, Mission Wise equips churches, mission teams and organizations to serve vulnerable children and families with greater wisdom and care. It highlights how well-intentioned efforts can lead to meaningful good or unintended harm, and offers guidance for engaging in ways that strengthen families and communities.
Through practical examples, key principles and insights from both Scripture and global research, Mission Wise helps readers understand how short-term missions and global engagement can contribute to lasting impact. It brings together what we’ve learned across global child welfare to support approaches that prioritize relationships, local leadership and long-term outcomes.
Whether you are leading a mission team, shaping your church’s global strategy or seeking to serve more thoughtfully, this resource provides clear, actionable guidance to help you move forward with confidence and care.
This short book will help you develop a local and global missions strategy. It will help you as you evaluate current and new partnerships, as you seek to equip your church and think holistically about how to actually serve children, families and their communities well!
Missions Pastor, Mosaic Church
What's included in the book?
Clear Guidance
Clear Guidance
You’ll find evidence-based guidance, moving beyond theory and opinions to show you what really works.
Visual Explanations
Visual Explanatations
Infographics that present and explain complex concepts will simplify and accelerate your learning.
Practical Steps
Practical Steps
Clear action steps will help you implement learning to improve your practice.
Free Resources
Free Resources
A curated list of relevant resources will allow you to dive deeper into your areas of interest.
Meet the Authors
Location:
Texas
One place I’ve always wanted to visit:
Doc’s house in Back to the Future.
Favorite pastime activity:
Construction projects around the house.Coffee or Tea?
Coffee. Lots of coffee.
More about Jason:
Jason and his wife Emily met their senior year in college and were married just after graduating. They have four daughters and a long story…and anyone who’s been in the world of foster care and adoption can relate to that…it’s a long story! 🙂 After growing up in a ministry home in Dallas, TX Jason attended Texas A&M University (where he Emily met…Gig ‘Em!) and began working at a church during his time there. After graduating in 2002 he began his pastoral ministries studies at Dallas Theological Seminary while working in ministry. In 2008, alongside a core team of people in the North Houston area, Jason and Emily had the privilege of planting and leading a church. It was here that many, including their family, became involved in foster care. The church then founded a non-profit committed to serving, supporting and equipping foster and adoptive families in the city of Houston. In 2013, combined with 14 years of church-based ministry and leadership experience and their family’s foster and adoptive journey, Jason began working for an organization helping church leaders implement structures and strategies of ministry within their churches and developing resources to encourage and support foster and adoptive parents along their journeys. This ultimately led to his current role as the Director of Church Mobilization and Engagement with CAFO. In his work he speaks and teaches at churches, conferences, forums and workshops on church and nonprofit ministry strategies and best practices as well as encouraging families that are in the trenches and those that are considering getting involved. Much of his time is also spent coaching and consulting with church and organizational leadership teams around the country on how to start, lead and grow ministries within their church or build the most effective church engagement strategies within their organizations. Jason is the author of ReFraming Foster Care (for families and support groups), Everyone Can Do Something (for church and ministry leaders), The ALL IN Curriculum (small group based study for those considering), Effectively Engaging Churches (for organizational leaders and advocates) and blogs regularly at Jason Johnson | Blog. Jason and Emily and their four girls live in Texas and enjoy whatever it is they’re doing, as long as it’s together. If you are a pastor, ministry leader, advocate, organizational non-profit leader, foster or adoptive family or potential foster or adoptive family, Jason would love to connect!
Location:
Peru
One place I’ve always wanted to visit:
Thailand
Favorite pastime activity:
Hiking
Coffee or Tea?
Tea
More about Nicole:
Dr. Nicole Wilke serves as Director of CAFO’s Applied Research and Best Practice Initiative. Prior to this role, she worked as a child and family therapist, missionary, in juvenile detention, and with children with special needs. Through her professional and personal life, she has gained extensive experience with foster care, adoption, residential care, trauma recovery, transitioning to family care, OVC research, and cross-cultural ministry. Nicole has degrees in Psychology, Family Studies, Marriage and Family Therapy, and Permanency and Adoption Competency. She lives with her family in Peru, where they work to see vulnerable children raised in families.
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