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Short-term missions - STM

Short-term missions - STM



hculbert@snu.edu

Parable: Society for the Picking of Apples

10/40 window

Missionaries needed

Seeking God's will?

African martyr's commitment

Praying for missionaries

PowerPoint presentations

John Wesley's self-examination questions

Nazarene Missions International resource pages
 
"All mission trips have the same themes: Love the people; sweat; love the people; spend money; eat weird food; love the people. . . ."
   —Dave Bucher, missionary to Saipan

Planning and preparing for a Christian mission trip . . . and enjoying a successful one

Short term mission experiences are those cross-cultural missionary assignments ranging from one week to up to two years.
From a handful of people who were involved annually a half century ago, short-term missions now draw more than a million Americans each year.1 Is this a good thing? What can you learn on a missions trip?
Why short-term missions? "I support short-term missions," says noted author Philip Yancey. "Despite their drawbacks, such trips provide two distinct cultures a taste of the harmony that exists between members of the Body of Christ." Mission trips also give prospective future missionaries a taste of life on the field.
Every organization has a title for its short term missions program. Within the Church of the Nazarene, for example, thousands of people go on one- to two-week "Work & Witness" trips which may be focused on construction projects or evangelism events or medical service. Two hundred or so people serve each year as Mission Corps volunteers in assignments ranging from 90 days to two years. (The old acronym NIVS stood for Nazarenes In Volunteer Service.)
You should prepare yourself spiritually, mentally and financially for your short term missions experience. Here are resources for your short term mission preparation.

Short term mission mobilization and recruiting

  • Testimonial: Summer ministry miracles [ read testimonial ]
  • Exodus 24 and its implications for short-term missions [ read article ]
  • News story on the first Nazarene short-term construction team (1966) [ read news story ]

Some opportunities

Short term trip training: Preparing to go on an STM (short-term mission)

  • Raising money

    Planning: Travel issues

    Team and group dynamics: Being a short-term mission team member

    Crossing cultural barriers

    Spiritual preparation for short term missions

    Coming home: re-entry

    • Personal experiences
    • Don't forget to say "thanks" to your supporters: Mission trip follow-up thank you letters
      • Sample thank you written by a student who spent 8 weeks in the Caribbean (original had color photos printed on it; they are reproduced here in black and white to reduce file size) [ see letter ]
      • Thanks written on African-looking paper [ see letter ]

    Practical issues

    1Statistics for the Church of the Nazarene alone indicate that in a recent year almost 790 short-term Work & Witness mission teams had more than 10,000 participants who served from one to three weeks. That same year, there were almost 300 Nazarenes serving as Mission Corps volunteers from 21-90 days on mission fields and another 250 people serving from 91 to 365 days. In addition, there were nearly 500 Nazarene university students worldwide who gave part of their a summer to volunteer service in various cross- cultural missionary efforts around the world.

    Links to Internet resources on short term missions

    • Online management of trips
      • Missionminder.com -- lets churches and team leaders manage everything from online applications, fundraising and prayer teams to group discussions, calendars and FAQs
      • Missionmakr.com will help you set up a trip web page, collect funds and allow supporters to follow the progress of the trip as it unfolds
    • Missions-trip.com lists lots of trip opportunities plus has helpful articles
    • How do you judge if your mission trip was a success? [ mission trip standards ]
    • An upcoming opportunity: Family oriented short term mission trip: Resources for Southern Nazarene University's annual "Commission Unto Mexico" trip over the New Year's holiday [ get info ]
    • Requests from mission fields
  • Larry Webb, retired missionary, forms Work & Witness teams from people all over the U.S. and Canada. Each year, he takes some of these "maverick" teams to Bolivia. For dates and information about his upcoming trips, call him at: 626-285-1011 or e-mail him: ljwebb@juno.com
  • Missiontrips.com
  • Web sites promoting other opportunities
  • Project reports from local churches and districts
    • Dave Edmonds of PK Ministry Webs will help people in your home church see photos of your trip and read reports while you are actually on the trip. [ more info ]
  • Resources
  • Philosophy and strategy
  • Fund raising
    • Bill Dillon's "people raising" resources [ more info ]
  • Speaking through an interpreter: Did he really say what I said?
  • Learning about your target country: Fodor's Travel Guides
  • Health issues and concerns
  • Emergency or crisis consulting
  • Tax information — IRS deductibility for U.S. taxpayers:
         What mission trip participants from the U.S.A. pay for their expenses while they are serving as volunteers with a non-profit organization is considered a tax deductible contribution. The Internal Revenue Service has allowed people to deduct out-of-pocket expenses directly related to voluntary service (including lodging and meals when an overnight stay is involved). To be sure you are getting the right tax deduction, check with your professional tax attorney or preparer.
         The monetary value of your time is not deductible.
  • Insurance and medical issues
    • LinksResources on witnessing, personal evangelism and conflict management

    Printed STM resources

    Nazarene Missions International has published a number of small paperback books on short term missions. In chronological order, these include:
    • Ambassadors to Latin Lands by H. T. Reza (1965)
    • Ambassador diary by Paul R. Orjala in collaboration with John Smee (1967)
    • Discovery: Student Mission Corps by Franklin Cook (1969)
    • Work and Witness: One of the great success stories of Nazarene missions by James Hudson (1983)
    • A dozen who dared : Trading comfort zones for mission fields by Jeanette D. Gardner (1996)
    • Just Cause : How Nazarene students are changing their world by Frank Moore (1998)
    • Through his eyes : The story of Youth in Mission edited by Ken Couchman and Jason Vickers (1999)
    While these are all out-of-print, they can be obtained through used bookstores.Interested in long-term missions service?
    Short term mission service is one component of how the church works to complete the Great Commission. However, the planting of clusters of churches and the development, nurturing and mentoring of local leaders is usually done most effectively by a career, long-term missionary force. [ read more ]

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