We are at the start of our last
week before leaving for our next mission trip. It is always exciting, but with
all those last minute details the excitement can be swept to the back giving
way to a host of other emotions. It is not the things we plan that become the
pitfalls of the last week, but those things not planned for, that make us
crazy. Today I made a list of to do’s and this evening I tried to find it and couldn't so now I can start it all over again.
This team is made up of many
different personalities and I am sure that God has a use for each one. Although, I am not worried about their actions, I do wonder about what
they will take away from this trip, and how it will affect the rest of their
lives. It is the mission that will not only be their teacher, but also the
potter which will shape each of us for a lifetime of use. With such a life
changing event just over the horizon it is important to understand we did not
arrive here by accident. And with so much at stake we must not forget the
training and preparation we have endured during the past weeks. And maybe the
most important aspect of our journey so far is those who have worked so hard to
provide all that we need to do the ministry before us.
During the last six years I have
led mission teams on several types of short term missions and each one has been
an incredible learning experience for me. If I think about it enough I can
begin to feel a bit of pain due to the mistakes I have made along the way. Not that any of the trips were a complete failure
in any sense of the word, but there were many ways that they could all have
been better. A mission trip should be a life changing experience for each team
member even if that team member has made multiple trips to the same place before. That
is why long ago I started searching for the answer to the hard questions about
Short Term Missions and how to apply the solutions for past mistakes. I believe
one of those answers is a more intentional approach to team training which
requires the team to invest several weeks into training before leaving home.
Last fall I met a man in Georgia
who had designed a training program for Short Term Missions. His organization
is called Culture Link and their
approach is to train team leaders to lead Short Term Mission teams through a
curriculum and series of team building exercises created to prepare them for the
mission field. After listening to Larry Ragan speaking at First Baptist
Woodstock I was convinced that he was holding a very valuable tool needed for
helping to make a mission trip an experience of a lifetime. It wasn’t long after that I traveled to
Pennsylvania to attend one of Culture Link’s training sessions where I learned
to use their material in team building and preparation. All this took place
just in time for me to bring a condensed version to our team and start team
building for this trip. What I have found is pretty exciting and although I
don’t believe any training can cover everything completely it has made a
difference. Our team has given some great feedback about the experience so far
and from a team leaders perspective I just keep noticing improvements with the
team responsibilities.
Before you go on line and sign up
for the next Culture Link conference I need to add something to the mix. Part
of the training is based on the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians: More
than once when I needed help in Thessalonica, you sent it to me. It is not that
I just want to receive gifts; rather, I want to see profit added to your
account. (Php 4:16-17 GNB) This
teaching is centered on the sender rather than the missionary (or goer) The idea that we can be guilty of withholding
the blessings of God from those He has chose to be part of the mission is
driven home early in the team building process. For that reason I decided to
recruit a sending team who would meet regularly to pray for the team and the
mission. This sending team has sent cards with encouraging words and scripture
inside and they ask for prayer requests from the team weekly. The team is also taught to create their own
sending team who will help fund their trip and pray for the team member. This
is not just a hit and run solicitation of funds, but rather a team effort where
the sender and goer are working together on the same mission.
Will this mission trip be a life
changing experience for this team? If it is will that mean that
the culture link material is the answer to the hard questions? Is the sending
team and their intercessory prayer that much different than the approach we
have used in the past? Of course I won’t
know until we have completed the mission or maybe I will never know for sure,
but I do know that we are in the last week and I feel really good about what’s
next.
Thanks
Sandy you have been the gift from God that has helped me stay focused on the
mission. I’m sure all of it has been
credited to your account.
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