Charlie S

Charlie Schaefer

Dr. Charlie Schaefer is a psychologist with Barnabas International and serves as part of the Alongside MedTeam, which cares for the needs of global healthcare providers. Charlie has lived in West Africa and served Christian workers there in addition to Europe, Central Asia, East Asia and the Middle East. Charlie and his wife, Dr. Frauke Schaefer, co-edited Trauma and Resilience: Effectively Supporting Those Who Serve God. Charlie provides debriefing and teaching during the MedSend MedRefresh retreats. Charlie loves to go for a run and is always open to a cup of hot chocolate!

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.