“99 More Questions You Might Want to Ask Your Students” by Michael Essenburg was published in May edition of Christian Education National’s The Christian Teachers Journal.

Two more tutorials have been posted:

1. To enhance your organization's improvement system, take this self-assessment
2. To learn more about enhancing organizational improvement, explore these 6 questions

To see additional tutorials, click here.

“Ask questions about creation-fall-redemption-restoration,” a video by Michael Essenburg, was published in a blog entry in CSI's Nurturing Faith entitled “Timeless truth conveyed through a new tool.” Dan Beerens, author of the blog entry, writes, "I share this post with you for two purposes – for the content that can help us better discuss a Biblical perspective with students and a new piece of technology that pretty easily be used by you or others at your school. You may be more familiar with the content my friend Michael Essenburg is talking about than the web tool he has used to produce it. The tool is Screencast."

Two new tutorials have been posted:

1. How focused are you on your God-given mission?
2. How can peer coaching help your students apply a Biblical perspective?

To see additional tutorials, click here.

“How Organized Are You?” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in Japan Harvest, the quarterly magazine of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association. In the article, Michael writes, “We all want to be organized. We all want to be better organized. The problem is that we might not be clear on what it means to be organized.”

“Use Assessment to Help Students Develop a Christ-Centered Worldview” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in ACSI’s Christian School Education.

In the article, Michael writes, “Help your students further develop a Christ-centered worldview. Use assessment to help your students understand the importance of relating their academic work to scriptural principles and help them become proficient in making those connections. Develop biblical-perspective assessments that SCORE. Then, teach to your assessments, have your students take them, and use your assessment data to modify instruction.”

January 29-30, over 40 staff from Mountainview International Christian School and Bandung Alliance International School learned more about:

• Evangelism
• Christian coaching
• Personal productivity
• Helping students to connect God’s world and God’s Word.

Close the Gap Now facilitated some of the workshops.

Three videos by Michael Essenburg were published in a blog entry in CSI's Nurturing Faith entitled “Connecting what is most important.” Dan Beerens, author of the blog entry, writes, “Helping students to see how all things in this world cohere through Christ is one of the most important tasks of a Christian teacher. In these three short and helpful videos...Michael Essenburg...suggests three practical strategies that all Christian teachers can use.”

This afternoon, SEND Japan ministry teams continued developing team plans. To review progress, teams reflected on the following questions: What’s already been accomplished? What’s satisfying/unsatisfying about planning and implementing a team plan? What do we want to accomplish today?

After reviewing progress, teams worked to further identify goals and action steps. Close the Gap Now facilitated the work session.

On January 18 at SEND Center, 22 staff representing 5 Christian organizations participated in a 6-hour GROWLIFE coaching workshop. During the training, participants discussed Christian coaching beliefs, documented their goals, watched coaching demonstrations, transformed closed questions into open-ended questions, and gave and received coaching.

“Encouraging coaching in your organization” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in The Christian Coaching Center’s Missions Coaching. In the article, Michael writes, "What encouraged you to get coached and to coach others? Figure out what encouraged you and use that to encourage coaching in your mission.”

Today at SEND Center, SEND Japan’s ministry teams developed action steps that target team goals and, consequently, team mission statements. To develop action steps, teams reflected on questions like:

• What are our goals? (What’s it take to carry out our mission?)
• What’s already been accomplished?
• What helps us accomplish our goals?
• What hinders us?
• What are our options?
• What will we do to achieve our goals?

Close the Gap Now facilitated the work session.

“Lead by Asking Questions” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in ACSI's World Report. In the article, Michael encourages the reader to use questions to provoke others to reflect and provides the reader with a self-assessment.

Seven Christian Academy in Japan focus groups met this morning to:

• Build relationships.
• Deepen understanding about school improvement.
• Reflect on data from the school’s profile and survey.

Close the Gap Now helped develop the meeting agenda and provided support for focus group facilitators.

At today's Biblical perspective workshops, teachers at Christian Academy in Japan discussed key questions, including:

• How can you help your students develop a Christ-centered worldview?
• What excites/concerns you about helping your students develop a Christ-centered worldview?
• What’s important about helping students connect what they study and creation-fall-redemption-restoration?
• What Biblical principles connect to what your students study?

Close the Gap Now facilitated the workshops.

“Help potential clients feel good about getting coaching” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in The Christian Coaching Center’s Missions Coaching. In the article, Michael says, “If you want missionaries to feel good about getting coaching, you may need to help them see coaching as a way of getting positive feedback.”

“How faithful are you in using your God-given strengths?” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in Japan Harvest, the quarterly magazine of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association. In the article, Michael encourages readers to identify their God-given strengths and the focus on using those strengths in the Body of Christ.

This afternoon at SEND Center, SEND Japan’s ministry teams continued developing ministry plans.
During the work session, teams:

• Reviewed progress made during the Sept. 4 work session.
• Refined their team mission statements and goals.
• Reflected on progress on team goals.

Close the Gap Now facilitated the work session.

As part of its Bible curriculum review, International Christian School (Hong Kong) invited Michael Essenburg to serve a curriculum consultant. Essenburg reviewed curricular documents and then visited the school for 3 days. During his visit, he facilitated focus group meetings and visited classrooms. Essenburg will compile his findings and submit them to the school.

SEND Japan’s ministry teams worked this afternoon to refine team plans. During the work session, teams reflected on the following questions:

• How has God blessed you?
• What are you passionate about?
• What’s your team’s mission?
• What’s it take to carry out your team’s mission?

Close the Gap Now facilitated the work session.

“How can you help missionaries value growth?” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in The Christian Coaching Center’s Missions Coaching. In the article, Michael says, "If you want to help missionaries value getting coaching, you may need to start by helping them value personal and professional growth. Why? Because coaching is about growth, and if missionaries don’t value growth, they won’t seek coaching."

Christian Academy in Japan staff met in 7 different groups to focus on best practices regarding student learning, program, culture, staff, finances, and physical plant. Staff reflected on what success and failure looked like for a given best practice and considered how effectively the school was using best practices.

Close the Gap Now helped develop the meeting agenda and provided support for group facilitators.

Eleven new tutorials have been posted:

1. How can you improve your planning?
2. To learn more about achieving your mission, explore these 4 questions
3. To learn more about developing student objectives, explore these 7 questions
4. To learn more about enhancing professional development, explore these 6 questions
5. How can you learn to nurture your students’ faith even more?
6. To learn more about targeting Biblical perspective, explore these 12 questions
7. To learn more about using assessment, explore these 12 questions
8. To learn more about using questions, explore these 11 questions
9. To learn more about meeting your students’ learning needs, explore these 12 questions
10. Explore the Biblical perspective teacher training standards
11. How can you pursue a growing relationship with God?

To see additional tutorials, click here.

“How can you help missionaries value getting asked questions?” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in The Christian Coaching Center’s Missions Coaching. In the article, Michael says, “Missionaries have more experience with giving advice than with asking questions. And missionaries value getting advice than more than getting asked questions—which is one reason they don’t pursue getting coaching.”

“Pay Attention to Your Goals” by Michael Essenburg was recently published in Japan Harvest, the quarterly magazine of the Japan Evangelical Missionary Association. In the article, Michael recommends that the reader use a 4-part system for paying attention to goals.