Month: January 2017

In this Issue:

1. VIDEO: Seven Things Not to Do on a Mission Trip
2. LINKS: Mission Trip Resources, Curated
3. VIDEOS: Prayercast Prayer Plans
4. BOOK: For Your First 30 Days Living Abroad
5. EVENTS: Upcoming Conferences, Courses, and More

Greetings!

With Christmas break and back-to-school frenzy behind us, this is the time of year when many college-aged Christians (and others) are thinking about short-term mission trips. Summer trip application deadlines will arrive over the next few months. A colleague at Mission Data International, the ministry behind ShortTermMissions.com, tells me that January is that site’s busiest month for web traffic. (They also say that the preferred search term nowadays is “mission trips” not “short-term missions.” Did you know?)

If you’re preparing for or promoting a mission trip of some kind, today’s edition may point you to some tools you can use. See also our five-minute guide to choosing where to send your church’s short-term teams.

Blessings,
Marti

P.S.: Thanks for all the fan mail in December. We’re encouraged to hear how much you value this resource! Year-end donations also covered nearly all the direct expenses we anticipate for 2017. Much appreciated.

Source: TEAM

Whether you’re going on a mission trip to Thailand or Guatemala, there are a few universal best practices you should know.

» Watch the video for a comical look at the blunders short-term missionaries have been known to make. Then read on for practical tips that will help you avoid these common mission-trip mistakes.

» TEAM has also produced a helpful downloadable resource with 20 questions to jumpstart your cultural learning. Looks like they will work with audiences from a variety of cultural backgrounds (not just Americans).

Source: SEND International

Short-term trips done right can change lives. These resources explore how to do them right.

Some of our favorites:

Identifying Cross-Cultural Gifting: Seventeen characteristics to look for during a short trip that can indicate a readiness for ongoing cross-cultural ministry (from Catalyst Services).

Debriefing Questions: Insightful queries that can help someone think through a cross-cultural ministry experience and evaluate next steps.

Three Standards of Excellence for Short-term Missions: Video that presents three standards to help ensure that short-term missions are built on healthy, God-honoring principles.

» Read more about resources SEND has gathered on this topic and others.

Source: Prayercast

Prayer is a core spiritual discipline. And yet few people truly thrive in this vital work.

Prayercast Prayer Plans exist to activate world-changing prayer for the sake of the lost by providing structure, direction, and accountability. Just as a Bible reading plan helps us to be intentional about our time in scripture, these plans are designed to help us be intentional in our time spent in prayer for the lost around the world.

Each plan will guide you through a series of daily prayer topics over the course of days, weeks, or months. Each day, simply watch the listed Prayercast video, then pray as God leads.

We encourage you to keep the plan with your Bible and make it part of your daily time alone with God. Or use it to guide times of corporate prayer in small groups, prayer meetings, Sunday school classes, etc.

» Learn more and browse Prayercast’s great collection of videos.

» See also Seek God for the City, the annual 40-day prayer campaign scheduled to begin again on March 1. Thinking globally? You could pray through this country-by-country assessment of the need for church-planting efforts (Global Church Planting Network).

Source: Upstream Collective

First 30 Daze: Practical Encouragement for Living Abroad, by Larry and Susan McCrary. Upstream Collective, 2016, 200 pages.

Whether you’re a missionary, an international student, or just a Christian living and working in another country, your first 30 days matter. “The sooner that you can get out the door, learn the culture, meet people, build relationships, and discover what God has in store for you, the sooner you will feel at home and love your new environment,” say the authors of this recent book.

First 30 Daze covers 30 topics, pairing scripture with simple, practical assignments to help you succeed in the “daze” of adjusting to a foreign context. Each entry includes a place to make note of things you’ve done that day and reflections on what your experiences are teaching you. Though this is a quick read, the real value is in doing the exercises (and that could make a real difference in your adjustment).

Co-author Larry McCrary, leader of The Upstream Collective, also co-authored the more extensive book Tradecraft. Our friend Ellen Livingood included this book (and others you might want to check out) in a feature on Best Mission Books of 2016.

» Learn more or purchase from Amazon (or elsewhere) at US$9.99 for the paperback, US$4.99 for the Kindle (though the paper edition would probably work better for journaling).

Source: Missions Catalyst Events Calendar

February 3-5, Missionfest Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB, Canada). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.

February 4, Bridges Seminar (Arlington, VA, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

February 6 to March 4, COMPASS Prefield Training (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Provided by Missionary Training International.

February 9-11, Target Hardening and Resilience Seminar (Peoria, AZ, USA). Travel and relocation security training from Morton Security Solutions.

February 12-17, ABIDE (Joplin, MO, USA). Re-entry and debriefing for singles, couples, and families provided by TRAIN International.

February 12-18, Recalibrate! (Santa Rose Beach, FL, USA). Five days of group and personal missionary debriefing.

February 15-18, International Conference on Computing and Mission (De Betteld, Netherlands). An annual event.

February 16 to March 16, Foundations of Media Strategy (online). Five-week course from Mission Media U.

February 17-18, Midwest Conference on Missionary Care (Golden Valley, MN, USA).

February 18 to March 10, Business as Mission Course (Chiang Mai, Thailand). This three-week training will give you tools you need to take the next step in BAM.

February 19 to March 3, Second Language Acquisition (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

February 21-24, Thrive Retreat (Penang, Malaysia). For North American women serving cross-culturally.

February 22 to March 22, Story in Ministry (online) Five-week course from Mission Media U.

February 24-25, Without Borders Women’s Conference (Austin, TX, USA). Training for ministering among Muslim women. Provided by Crescent Project.

February 24-25, Global Missions Health Conference West Coast (Riverside, CA, USA). Medical missions event.

February 24-26, Missions Fest Alberta (Edmonton, AB, Canada). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.

March 1 to April 9, Seek God for the City (global). Annual 40-day prayer campaign. Materials available from WayMakers.

March 1 to May 10, Great Commission U (Chiang Mai, Thailand). Ten-week Bible school for fulfilling the Great Commission; provided by SVM2.

March 4, Bridges Seminar (Houston, TX, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

March 24-25, The Journey Deepens (Richardson, TX, USA). A weekend retreat for prospective missionaries.

March 24-26, Jesus to the Nations (Halifax, NS, Canada). Free, annual, community-based mission festival for all ages.

March 25, Bridges Seminar (Phoenix, AZ, USA). Building bridges to reach Muslims. Provided by Crescent Project.

March 26 to April 21, Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry (Union Mills, NC, USA). Provided by the Center for Intercultural Training.

March 27 to April 22, COMPASS Prefield Training (Palmer Lake, CO, USA). Provided by Missionary Training International.

» View the complete calendar. For additional information about a specific event, please contact the organizers.