We are passionate about two things:  Growing in intimacy with the Trinity and inviting others to the same. We long for an extravagant devotion that embraces intimacy with God as the foundation for all things vibrant, joyful, and enduring.

Learn more about our current Staff & Board 

Workers can be so focused on working FOR God that they lose sight of their lives IN God, becoming disconnected from Him and the people they serve. This obscures the Gospel message and limits their capacity to love people well.

Therefore, our VISION is to CULTIVATE spiritual communities which REVITALIZE the global worker and VALIDATE the Gospel message around the world.

Learn more at Why Soul Care

Our MISSION is to JOIN Christian workers in their journey of faith, CHALLENGE their assumptions about God and life and IGNITE a deeper hope in Him.

Learn more at Our Mission Explained

Put simply, we are about providing ESSENTIAL SUPPORT to the whole global worker ‘til Christi is formed in them. Our METHOD then, is to GATHER workers together in community, BUILD truth and love into them so their relationships with Christ and others are DEEPENED.

Learn more about our method at What We Do

Because of the faithful support of many donors, Ministry Essentials Staff were able in 2022 to JOIN the journey of 988 Global Workers living in at least 80 countries who serve with more than 161 Churches & Agencies. 

Countries Ministry Essentials served in 2022 are in green.

Ministry Essentials, Int’l (MEI) began in 1996, as a means of getting David and Jeanni Shepherd overseas so that they could fill a gap they saw in the care that was offered to global workers.

As children of parents in full-time ministry, David and Jeanni learned early that people in ministry have few people to talk to and few places to go when they hit hard times. They observed that workers would get so caught up in their work for God that they would often neglect their own life in God. The Shepherds longed to provide nourishment for people’s souls so that when a crisis did come, internal resources and a thriving walk with God were in place to help them weather the storm. After “pitching” this idea to several agencies, most everyone agreed that such a ministry would be more effective as a separate entity. The Shepherds could assist agencies in caring for their people. This “outsider” position made trust and confidentiality issues much easier for everyone. So, in 1996 in Dallas, Texas, Ministry Essentials was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

From there, God took the Shepherds to Hungary to develop a model of proactive care. After five years, David and Jeanni left for Hong Kong to explore China, and finally on to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to start a work in Southeast Asia. In 2008, the Lord brought like-hearted families to serve alongside them, strengthening, deepening and expanding His work.  As the MEI Staff has grown to now 19 families in 2021, our energy, ideas, passion, and reach have grown, too. We’re excited to see what He will bring to us next!

• We believe that there is one God eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of all things. The doctrine of the Trinity forms the foundation in our understanding of what it means to be relational and that we are not fully ourselves apart from community. (Gen 1:1; Jn 1:1; Mt 3:16–17; 2 Cor 13:14)
  
  
• We believe in Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, who came to this world to die for our sins and who was bodily raised from the dead. (1 Cor 15:1-8)
  
  
• We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Living God, who draws people to Christ and who lives in every person who has received Christ. (Jn 16:8–9; Acts 2:38; Eph 1:13–14)
  
  
• We believe the Bible is the only infallible, inspired, and authoritative Word of God. As such it is our final authority for all matters of faith and Christian practice. (2 Tim 3:14–16)
  
  
• We believe that man, created by God, willfully sinned and as a result, is lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. (Rms 3:23, 6:23; Acts 4:12)
  
  
• We believe that salvation—the forgiveness of sins—is available only by the grace of God through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This free gift of salvation is offered to all who receive Christ as Lord and Saviour. (Jn. 3:16; Eph 2:8-9; Col 2:6)
  
  
• We believe the Bible clearly teaches the pattern to receive Christ is to believe in Jesus as God’s Son and Saviour of the world, repent of personal sin, and confess Christ publicly. (Rms 10:9; Acts 2:36-38, Mk 16:16)

• We believe in one holy, universal, and apostolic Church. Its calling is to worship and witness concerning its Head, Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel among all nations and demonstrating its commitment by compassionate service to the needs of human beings and by promoting righteousness and justice. Its central purpose is to become a spiritual community where people profoundly connect with God and each other. (Mt 16:13-18; Acts 2:14-47)

•  We believe in the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit for the individual’s new birth and growth to maturity, and for the Church’s constant renewal in truth, wisdom, faith, holiness, love, power, and mission. The resources of the New Covenant provide salvation and empower personal growth. (Jn 14:25-26; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:11-22)

• We believe that death seals the eternal destiny of each person (Heb 9:27). Those who are forgiven will spend eternity with God in heaven; those not forgiven will be eternally separated from God in hell. (Jn 5:28-29; Dan 12:2; 2 Cor 4:14; Acts 17:31)

• We believe in the personal return and victorious reign of Jesus Christ, who will judge in equity and justice all people who have ever lived, giving over those who were unrepentant to eternal condemnation but receiving the redeemed into eternal life. (Acts 1:11; 2 Pe 3:9-10; Rev 19:11-16)