Understanding Burnout Recovery Among Native-Born Korean Missionaries
- Evangelism & Missions
- Counseling, Grief & Mental Health
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2020
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Publisher's Description
In this timely book, Cho provides mission scholars, sending churches, and mission agencies with an understanding of Korean missionaries' burnout recovery process. Her study of Korean missionary burnout recovery included thirty-nine research participants who had experienced burnout in missionary service and who subsequently recovered. Participants reported a variety of physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms, as well as relational difficulties experienced during burnout. Cho describes how their self-help approach, characterized by independent, religious self-effort, brought only temporary relief. Through self-care, however, they experienced genuine recovery. Self-care that leads to lasting recovery is holistic and grace-based, characterized by a correct understanding of the roles of God and others in their lives and engagement in authentic community for interdependent care. This study also gives insightful recommendations to missionary member care systems, mission agencies, and other sending organizations in an Asian cultural context about how to care for Korean missionaries. It is also intended for counselors of home churches so that they can provide better member care for burned-out missionaries. Lastly, this study advances research into contextually appropriate paradigms and strategies helpful to cross-cultural missionaries in the area of both Korean missionaries and non-Western studies in missionary member care.
Endorsements (2)
“Hannah Cho’s work on Korean missionary burnout recovery flows from personal experience, love for missionaries, and solid scholarship. She knows what she is writing about! She goes beyond describing a problem to propose a path to healing. While Dr. Cho focused on Korean missionaries, her findings are not just helpful to Koreans. Her insights into burnout recovery transfer well to other cultures and contexts. Missionary member care workers everywhere would do well to read this book.”
“Dr. Cho posits the importance of holistic self-care and interdependent communal care as opposed to independent and individualistic self-help approach in member care for missionaries. This book emphasizes that quality member care demands commitments of missional communities as well as committed individuals and specialists. It is a must read for those who are concerned about caring missionaries, especially in a context of the majority world.”
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