I have been preparing teams for short term mission project for 20 years. Twenty years ago good thinkers and career missionaries saw the benefit of short term teams and began to think through how to best provide quality preparation for teams. Our own staff helped with some of the developmental processes for a group of short term mission leaders developing standards of excellence in STM's.
Now, 20 years after I started preparing teams, there are so many more resources for team prep, so here are just a few more.
First of all let's start with a simple team outline. Thee points that you and the team can refer back to, build session prep around, and lean on before, during and after the short term project. First of all, before I let you in on this simple outline, let me say that this outline is not just a short term mission outline, it really is a life outline. The outline applies to work, and family...and of course the mission project.
Every team leader I have prepared has been sent out with this simple outline, developed by former World Vision staff Doug and Jackie Milam. To go as:
1. Learners
2. Servants
3. Story Tellers
First of all every short term mission team is a group of students. Ask any previous participant in and STM and they will tell you most about "what they learned", "what God taught them". Imagine being a professional block layer going to a different culture with the attitude, "teach me how you lay block", the impact is that a relationship is built. Learners instead of teachers. Will there be opportunities to teach? You may ask. Yes, but step one is be a learner, seek to understand rather than be understood first.
Secondly as servants. Jesus came as a servant of the world. John 13: 3 "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him."
We will work to serve those we have come to serve certainly, and those on our team as well. John 13:35 says, "By this shall all [men] know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." This is a bit radical...if your team were to love one another, all men would know that your team are His disciples. That's huge, and we will talk about how even to prepare a team for loving each other later.
Thirdly your team will go as story tellers. I Alabama, where I grew up, a story teller was a liar. That's not what we mean here. We are talking about having a team member prepared to tell his/her story. The story of what God is doing in his/her life past and present. I came to Christ when Barry Stephens explained God's love to me with a little booklet called "Steps To Peace With God". It was a great pictoral of where I was or actually wasn't in my relationship with the Lord. We are talking about something radically different here. Your story, His story in you, is powerful. It is simply what God has done in you, it is unique and powerful, and has an impact on those who will hear it. Later we will talk about the key elements of story telling, but for now just know that you have a life that is interesting, ever changing, full of drama and waiting to be told!
I'll stop here today, but look for more over time, or feel fee to call me with your questions about team preparation. Love to hear your experience.
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