Effective Short-term Missions

An estimated one-million people will take a short-term mission trip this year. From these short-term jaunts will come some long-term results — some of them, you may have never considered.

Stroll through the lobby of most airports during spring break - or just about any time during the summer - and you’re likely to bump into eager groups of travelers heading out on the adventure of a lifetime. No, they’re not planning on partying in Daytona. And they’re not traveling with Elderhostel in search of a new learning experience. They’re short-term missionaries. And these days they are making their way to the four corners of the globe to touch the world for Christ.

Some are young people. Others are just young at heart. All of them want to make a difference. They want to change the world, or at least a little piece of it. Whether they know it or not, they’re about to be changed themselves.

The short-term missions phenomena isn’t exactly new. After all, Paul recruited and welcomed short-termers during his missionary ventures. But with the ease and speed of travel today, the short-term movement has taken off like a rocket.

Tabulating the cost of today’s short-term mission phenomena is just about impossible. But it’s safe to say that the collective time and finances ploughed into short-term missions represents an enormous investment. How can we be sure it’s also producing eternal dividends?

Keys to maximizing short-term team effectiveness:

1. Prayer – Discovering God’s heart for the world and His appointment for your team require prayerfully seeking God’s guidance and listening for His direction. Focused, intentional prayer should permeate every phase of your short-term project, including:

2. Partnerships – Short-term projects are best done in the context of long-term relationships. Your short-term projects should be fully integrated into the ministries and projects that comprise your church’s overall global outreach plan. Rather than looking for somewhere “new and exciting” to take your teams each year, focus your short-term projects in those areas and with those missionaries among whom your church already has ongoing involvement. You’ll discover many benefits to such a strategy, including:

3. Discipleship – The short-term experience is not just about what your team is doing in God’s world. It’s equally about what God is doing in your team members’ lives!

Short-term teams provide an optimum environment for dynamic spiritual growth. Team members will discover God working in their lives in unexpected – and sometimes dramatic – ways. Team leaders must be sensitive to what God is doing in the lives of their team. Wise team leaders will help their team process what they are experiencing and will encourage team members to build on their experience through an increased commitment to missions. A sound short-term strategy focuses on discipling team members.

4. Preparation – Whether at home or abroad, short-termers want to be effective. The vast majority of short-term teams are engaged in cross-cultural ministry. Preparing your team for their experience - and especially for cross-cultural adaptation - is vital. 

Preparing team members to do the work they will be assigned is important, as is making sure the materials and resources needed to do the job will be on hand. However, the more critical aspects of preparation have to do with team members’ attitudes and hearts. Three characteristics are essential to a short-termer’s effectiveness:

5. Focus on people, not tasks – We Americans tend to be very task-oriented. For us, a successful short-term team is one in which the task is accomplished. However, for the people among whom your teams serve, relationships are often more important than “getting the job done.” Look for ways to work with people, not just work for them, on your project. Realize that the relationships you build with them and the witness you bring have the potential (for better or worse!) of outlasting whatever you build or teach while you are there. Keep the “main thing” the main thing: sharing Christ in the power of the Spirit. If in addition a foundation is poured, a wall is painted or a tooth is pulled, that’s just gravy!

6. Debriefing and follow-up – The only thing worse than not preparing a team before they start is not debriefing them during and after the short-term experience! Team members will benefit greatly from opportunities to “unpack” their experience. Several key elements of debriefing include: