Excellence in Short Term Missions

1. God-Centeredness

   An excellent short-term mission seeks first God’s glory and his kingdom, and is expressed through our:

   • Purpose – Centering on God’s glory and his ends throughout our entire STM process
   • Lives – Sound biblical doctrine, persistent prayer, and godliness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds
   • Methods – Wise, biblical, and culturally-appropriate methods which bear spiritual fruit

2. Empowering Partnerships

   An excellent short-term mission establishes healthy, interdependent,
   on-going relationships between sending and receiving partners, and is
   expressed by:

   • Primary focus on intended receptors
   • Plans which benefit all participants
   • Mutual trust and accountability

3. Mutual Design

   An excellent short-term mission collaboratively plans each specific
   outreach for the benefit of all participants, and is expressed by:

   • On-field methods and activities aligned to long-term strategies of the partnership
   • Goer-guests’ ability to implement their part of the plan
   • Host receivers’ ability to implement their part of the plan

4. Comprehensive Administration

   An excellent short-term mission exhibits integrity through reliable
   set-up and thorough administration for all participants, and is
   expressed by:

   • Truthfulness in promotion, finances, and reporting results
   • Appropriate risk management
   • Quality program delivery and support logistics

5. Qualified Leadership

   An excellent short-term mission screens, trains, and develops capable leadership for all participants, and is expressed by:

   • Character – Spiritually mature servant leadership
   • Skills – Prepared, competent, organized, and accountable leadership
   • Values – Empowering and equipping leadership

6. Appropriate Training

   An excellent short-term mission prepares and equips all participants
   for the mutually designed outreach, and is expressed by:

   • Biblical, appropriate, and timely training
   • On-going training and equipping (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
   • Qualified trainers

7. Thorough Follow-Up

   An excellent short-term mission assures debriefing and appropriate follow-up for all participants, and is expressed by:

• Comprehensive debriefing (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
• On-field re-entry preparation
• Post-field follow-up and evaluation

My question is this: What do you think makes a great mission trip?