Excellence in short-term missions
Anything being done repetitively on a large scale needs to grapple with the idea of "excellence." Short-term missions is no exception. The idea of ...
Anything being done repetitively on a large scale needs to grapple with the idea of "excellence." Short-term missions is no exception.
The idea of standards of excellence that are adopted industry-wide is an idea that I began to push a decade ago. The result is this organization. There are three main reasons for standards of excellence:
1. the line between a STM that changes lives and qualifies as "missions" and one that is just a fun outing is becoming increasingly blurred.
2. we have a biblical responsibility to fulfill the Great Commission and need to be purists about that.
3. as the # of folks in the market increases, a number of them doing slipshod work, the potential for a scandal or a disaster of one kind or another increases. We can either wait for it and get policed from the outside, or we can self-police.
I originally posited the following eight standards - the seven standards our ad hoc committee chose were pretty close to these:
- Design: Mission trips are organized according to a predeterminedplan.
- Partnership: Short-term missions usually should be based upon a partnership between host churches/agencies and sending churches/agencies. Church partnerships should be brokered by a third party and should usually last no longer than three years lest dependency set in. Sending church and host church teams must be educated concerning the dynamics of true partnership.
- Safety: Appropriate safety precautions are taken. To the extent possible, known risks are disclosed to participants.
- Screening: Short-term missionaries must be screened to match their mission.
- Preparation: Sending church teams must undergo thorough and mission-appropriate preparation.
- Setup must be thorough and expectations clarified.
- Leadership: Sending church leadership must be trained and experienced.
- Follow up: Evangelism planning should incorporate a thorough follow-up plan which has been formulated in conjunction with host church partners. New disciples are integrated into the local church. Sending church teams execute a plan for cementing life change.
