Why Train for Short-term Missions?

Quality pre trip training is absolutely critical to a successful STM trip. Teams and individuals who have not spent at least some time learning about the culture in which they will be serving are 100% more likely to commit social faux pas, 100% more likely to encounter difficulty connecting with the culture and 100% more likely to experience inter-team tension and personality conflicts while in the field.*

On the other hand, a team that has spent time getting to know the culture, has spent time together as a team fundraising and interacting will have worked through many of the cultural differences and personality issues long before they arrive on the field. An added benefit to this time spent together is that the team will find fulfillment in working together for a common cause while bringing people together who under normal circumstances would not have much in common.

Our policy on pre trip training is this; Go and See Ministries will not host any team that has not spent some time in pre trip training, planning and team building.

These are the areas we want to see team training in as well as activities participated in prior to arrival.

1. Cross cultural and cultural studies.
2. The area of "personal rights" vs "the good of the team".
3. The spiritual effects of STM in yourself and others.
4. Quality planning for any project or ministry you are initiating, i.e. VBS, sports, etc.
5. At least 2 major fundraising or home missions projects.
6. As many social "get togethers" as you can manage.

I know that for many people this seems like a huge commitment. And it is! And it should be! This will be an epic event in your life. You will probably be using vacation time and money. Usually many other people will have given generously to help you go. There's an old saying that goes like this, "You get out of something exactly what you put into it." It is my sincere belief that when you put your heart into a missions trip you will reap the rewards in ways you never imagined.

Are you planning a missions trip? We would love to help you in any way we can. There are also ministries whose sole mission is to help train churches for STM. Delta Ministries is one that we recommend and have used before. The Next Mile book and curriculum are excellent resources. This article by Mark Woodward, Standards for Short-term Missions is a must read for any church or individual seriously interested in a short-term missions that produce results.

We believe that whatever we do, it should  be done well and to the very best of our abilities. Join with us in helping make that happen.

*Estimates are my own.

Our First STM Team Training Session

This afternoon my son Mark and I will be in Jacksonville, FL at New Generation Fellowship. We will be facilitating Go and See Ministries' first team training session for our first short-term missions team, Honduras 2013.

Fourteen people ranging from 13 to 80 years old have committed to raising enough money to not only drill a well, but also come to Honduras and help with it. Thank you so much NGF. We are looking forward to working alongside you as you prepare to come to Honduras and when you arrive!

Today's training will focus on team development and commitment to each other, cross cultural studies, a Spanish lesson and a look at the spiritual side of why we do short-term missions. And of course there will be food!!! It's going to be a great day.

Acknowledgement:  Although I am not using Delta Ministries' curriculum or program in our own training, I want to thank Mark Wogaman and Delta for their invaluable assistance in the past. Their vision for strategic, purposeful pre-trip training and a commitment to follow up after the team's return opened my own eyes to this critical need and has fueled my passion for preparing short-term missions teams to serve. Thank you Mark for your friendship and encouragement over the years.

I also want to wish my wife Barbe Happy Birthday today!

Are You a Square Peg in a Round Hole?

I am. If there's one thing I have learned over the past several years it's this; I do not fit into the realm of "normal" or the business as usual mold. Sometimes, truth be told, I'm not sure I fit in anywhere. I'm not as far out as some people I know, but I'm always dreaming, searching, questioning and thinking...usually out side the box. I think it makes some people a bit nervous, maybe even uncomfortable. They're not sure what to think of the questions I ask, the things I question, the status quo I challenge, the things I do and the way I do them. Like going to Honduras, for instance. It used to bother me.

When I first became a Believer, I had some of the most amazing men as mentors. People like J. Vernon McGee, Ravi Zacharias, R.C. Sproul, James Dobson and Woodrow Kroll, but the man who meant the most to me, the one who's exuberance for life, who's love for God and for people challenged me the most, was Charles Swindoll.

In that first year of new life I listened to more inspired messages from Godly, spirit filled men than most people listen to in a lifetime. As I drove across the United States in my semi truck I was able to listen to these men via the airwaves day after day. These were and are men of great faith, who believed deeply in the things they spoke of and who themselves have accomplished much. These men are the ones who shaped me, who mentored me. I am very grateful for that time in my life and to these men.

My wife knows how much I respect Chuck Swindoll and she knows how much I have struggled with square peg, round hole syndrome. Several years ago she gave me, as a gift of encouragement, the article reproduced below, framed. It has hung on the wall over my desk until recently. I have read it often. Thank you Barbe for your love and encouragement and thank you Chuck for the impact you continue to have on my life.

So, here's to all of you dreamers, thinkers and askers of questions, but most of all...here's to you radical doers!