Since 2010 Excelling Leaders has focused on walking alongside, encouraging, and equipping missionaries and missionary families. Our heart is to create a safe place for missionaries and their families to share their story with other missionaries who understand the dynamics of overseas living and missionary family stresses. For many, a key step is to be part of our 9 day Radiant Life Retreat –an intentional time to step out of their routine and into a quiet place to process the past season in order to gain His perspective.
Sometimes encouraging might be more like coaching. Our missionary staff coaches are great listeners who understand the unique challenges of cross cultural living, homeschooling, writing ministry plans, leading a ministry, and transitioning as a single, couple, or family because many of us have faced the same challenges ourselves.
God’s heart is that we thrive, grow and are resilient wherever He has planted us. Just like certain plants grow in different regions, this might look different for each person but we believe that there are some key areas that contribute toward well-being. We focus on six key areas in our wellness training: spiritual, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and occupational. All of these are important for equipping and that's why we spend so much time in our 9 day Radiant Life Retreat on sharing tools that will encourage resilience. Additional ways we encourage missionaries is through missionary member care courses and in the many resources we offer.
One of the key verses God gave us at the beginning of Excelling Leaders was Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that our God reigns.” Since the start we have had the privilege of walking alongside missionaries from many missions agencies and from almost every continent of the world, helping to put shoes on their feet.
Sometimes encouraging might be more like coaching. Our missionary staff coaches are great listeners who understand the unique challenges of cross cultural living, homeschooling, writing ministry plans, leading a ministry, and transitioning as a single, couple, or family because many of us have faced the same challenges ourselves.
God’s heart is that we thrive, grow and are resilient wherever He has planted us. Just like certain plants grow in different regions, this might look different for each person but we believe that there are some key areas that contribute toward well-being. We focus on six key areas in our wellness training: spiritual, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and occupational. All of these are important for equipping and that's why we spend so much time in our 9 day Radiant Life Retreat on sharing tools that will encourage resilience. Additional ways we encourage missionaries is through missionary member care courses and in the many resources we offer.
One of the key verses God gave us at the beginning of Excelling Leaders was Isaiah 52:7 “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that our God reigns.” Since the start we have had the privilege of walking alongside missionaries from many missions agencies and from almost every continent of the world, helping to put shoes on their feet.
Founders
Kevin & sue prins |
In 1996 Kevin and Sue Prins and their four young kids moved to Barbados where they both trained and staffed with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Prior to that, Kevin had spent 20 years in business as a custom home builder and also was involved in the political sphere. Sue worked part time as a Registered Nurse.
In 2000, four years after leaving their West Michigan home, Kevin and Sue launched a YWAM ministry in Trinidad and Tobago. Pioneering and running a ministry, especially in a foreign country, is a challenge. Kevin recalls many times in Trinidad thinking, I wish I had someone I could ask, “How do I do this?” |
During those years I was faced with leading, meeting the needs of our staff, and directing programs to reach the people God called us to reach all while raising a family in a culture that was not our birth culture.
In 2009, after having experienced a major traumatic event in Trinidad and Sue’s illness, the YWAM Caribbean Leadership Team asked Kevin and Sue to pioneer another ministry with a special focus on leader and ministry development and care, namely Excelling Leaders (EL). From our experience, we really saw the need.
One ministry leader said, “Kevin, you and Sue and your team understand us because you have been there and we trust you. I know I can come to you because you have walked the same kind of road.”
In 2009, after having experienced a major traumatic event in Trinidad and Sue’s illness, the YWAM Caribbean Leadership Team asked Kevin and Sue to pioneer another ministry with a special focus on leader and ministry development and care, namely Excelling Leaders (EL). From our experience, we really saw the need.
One ministry leader said, “Kevin, you and Sue and your team understand us because you have been there and we trust you. I know I can come to you because you have walked the same kind of road.”
