TCKPFO: Fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission
Daniel J. Egeler, EdD
Vice President, International Ministries, ACSI
ACSI currently has 203 international Christian schools located in more than 60 countries. These schools provide an English-language-based curriculum, and they range from small, fledgling schools to large, mature schools. These schools serve families of missionaries, diplomats, international businesspeople, and host-country nationals who desire a quality, English-language education. Many of the older international schools have existed for more than 50 years, and some were the first English-speaking schools on their continents. In eastern Europe, Eurasia, and the Muslim world, there are younger international Christian schools that followed the influx of missionary families when opportunities arose to present the gospel in countries that were formerly closed to a proclamation of the truth.
Every school faces the major challenge of retaining quality teachers and quality boarding personnel. The lack of retention is due to many factors, and most of these are unique to the ministry of international Christian schools. These unique factors that inhibit longevity of service include the strain of leaving family and a home culture to live in a foreign land, unrealistic expectations of crosscultural life and ministry, the stress of navigating a transition with the energy and effort that it takes to leave well and enter well, issues involving the educational and emotional needs of the children, and spousal dissatisfaction (for the spouse who is not engaged in the primary ministry).
ACSI is uniquely positioned to help its member international schools retain quality staff. This assistance takes place through professional development services and consultations, and one of the most effective professional development services that ACSI provides to address staff retention is the Third Culture Kid Pre-Field Orientation (TCKPFO) program.
The motto of TCKPFO is caring enough to learn … learning enough to care. Jesus thought love was so important that He said loving God and loving others are the two most important commandments. In fact, the Great Commandment and the Great Commission are inseparable. You cannot “do” the Great Commission without living out the Great Commandment. If you live out the Great Commandment, you will live out the Great Commission.
ACSI International Ministries contributes to the missionary effort by continually reminding the mission community of the importance of the Great Commandment as it relates to their kids. Every summer, the ACSI International Ministries department administrates two intense Third Culture Kid Pre-Field Orientation programs in Houghton, New York, and Southaven, Mississippi. These two-week programs provide the orientation and preparation for third culture kid* (TCK) caregivers to effectively love the children to whom they are called to minister.
TCKPFO is unique in that it is the only existing program designed to address the orientation and preparation of professional educators, boarding personnel, counselors, accompanying spouses, and school administrators for serving the needs of the expatriate family. The program focuses on providing an orientation not only to the unique benefits and challenges of growing up as a third culture kid but also to the ways in which caregivers can maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges. The staff members who provide this training are practitioners who are considered world leaders in their areas of expertise.
A second core distinctive of TCKPFO is that it addresses the preparation of the entire family. A children’s program provides ageappropriate orientation and preparation for children through age 18. The staff members of the children’s program are adults who have experience in working with third culture kids and have expertise in assisting parents and children in making the transition to a new international assignment. TCK teen assistants model a joyful and God-centered life to the next generation of third culture kids.
The retention of international Christian educators is especially important in the lives of third culture kids. One of the huge challenges that deeply affect TCKs is that they experience a life of high mobility, a situation that contributes to a lifetime of always saying good-bye. Young, tender hearts struggle with repeatedly having to say good-bye, and these children need adults to serve as role models and mentors in a highly mobile community. These TCKs are reluctant, however, to open up their hearts for fear that these beloved adults will also leave. Thus, it’s doubly critical for a TCK caregiver to serve for an extended time to provide the platform to speak truth into the lives of third culture kids.
The mission of ACSI is to enable Christian educators and schools worldwide to effectively prepare students for life. TCKPFO seeks to support this mission and vision by enabling Christian educators to serve effectively in a cross-cultural context and to effectively prepare their children for life in an international setting.
Note
*A TCK is a person who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other than the parents’ culture, develops a sense of relationship to both cultures while not having full ownership in either. Elements from each culture are part of the life experience, but the sense of belonging comes from relationship to others of similar experience.
TCKPFO 12.2