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Mark Powell

Mark serves as both a spiritual director and a counselor in Malaga, Spain. He and his wife, Susan, have lived overseas for the past 16 years. Mark’s work is grounded in feelings work and one’s experience of God. He believes healing happens by risking greater intimacy and living confessionally with self, others and God. Because of his work before moving overseas, healthcare workers hold a special place in Mark’s heart. Mark will be serving as a spiritual director at the Retreat and would welcome those interested in direction or more informal spiritual conversations.

Flourishing by Design: Imagining Medical Missions for 2040

Our predecessors faithfully built institutions that have served for generations. Our challenge is different. We have inherited those institutions into a world they could scarcely have imagined. Population growth, urbanization, changing disease patterns, financial pressures, conflict, climate shocks, and technological change are reshaping healthcare across low- and middle-income countries.

Drawing on new data about the Christian health ecosystem, strategic consultations with global and African Christian health leaders, and field experience across Africa and Asia, this session explores what it will take for Christian health ministries to flourish by 2040.

Together we’ll imagine what it will take for Christian health ministries to flourish by 2040, strengthening resilient institutions, cultivating exceptional local leadership, and mobilizing a broader range of Christian expertise from medicine and nursing to governance, education, engineering, finance, data science, and technology.

How can Christian health ministries become indispensable partners in building resilient health systems that reflect the compassion and hope of Christ? The legacy of the next generation of medical missions will be measured not only by the number of missionaries sent, but by the resilience, flourishing, and Christ-centered witness of systems they strengthen.