Episode 14: Short-Term Mission Trips

Today’s episode is all about short-term mission trips! The $2 billion annual industry that takes 2+ million Americans on national and international trips each year. Why do we do this, and what (if any) are the benefits short and long-term?

At their best, short-term trips are powerful and transformative experiences both for those who are going, and for those who are receiving the team. However, at their worst they can be a tremendous waste of time and resources, and conduits for harm and exploitation. This episode details the differences between terrible and fantastic trips, concluding with nine check-list questions that every short-term leader and team member should work through before planning on going to serve:

1. Do they have a respectful presence in the community? 
2.  Does your work continue when you leave?
3. Are you invited? 
4. Are you actually helping?
5. Who gets to decide the need and the response? 
6. Are you stuck in emergency principles?
7. Are you creating dependency issues? 
8. Are you (or your team) going for the right reasons?
9. Are all levels of leadership employing best practice?