Our Purpose
The Red Sea offers counselling, member care services, and training to Christian cross-cultural workers, past and present. We equip people with the skills to lead resilient lives, and support them to carry out their spiritual calling, joyfully and fruitfully. We support our members to stay in the field, or return to the field, towards fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20) and the Great Commandment (Matt 22:36-40). We also support those transitioning back home post service, or into retirement, and any clergy working within the Australian community. We exist to workship God and support his children in sharing the good news.
'As a General Practitioner serving on the mission field in Papua New Guinea, I am acutely aware of the high number of missionaries affected by depression, anxiety and burnout. It is striking how these mental health concerns, that already pose a great burden to many people living in the missionaries’ home countries, are even more common amongst those who serve on the field.
Due to the complexities and challenges of serving overseas, an unhealthy combination of financial burden, logistical challenges and the impossibility to truly extract oneself from the setting one serves in leads to significant delays in getting missionaries the mental health support that they so desperately need. When those services then finally do become available once the missionaries return home (sometimes because they could not continue to work), the help they get may be too little, too late.
I am convinced that, by removing or reducing those obstacles to getting good and appropriate care for mental health needs, by providing that care in a safe, caring and understanding environment outside of the regular mission field, and by providing that care through people who know the challenges of mission work, The Red Sea will be of tremendous benefit to mission work in general. This will see people serve happier, longer and more efficiently in the roles that God has called them to fill.'
Due to the complexities and challenges of serving overseas, an unhealthy combination of financial burden, logistical challenges and the impossibility to truly extract oneself from the setting one serves in leads to significant delays in getting missionaries the mental health support that they so desperately need. When those services then finally do become available once the missionaries return home (sometimes because they could not continue to work), the help they get may be too little, too late.
I am convinced that, by removing or reducing those obstacles to getting good and appropriate care for mental health needs, by providing that care in a safe, caring and understanding environment outside of the regular mission field, and by providing that care through people who know the challenges of mission work, The Red Sea will be of tremendous benefit to mission work in general. This will see people serve happier, longer and more efficiently in the roles that God has called them to fill.'
Dr Patrick Sprau
GP serving in PNG with Wycliffe and SIL