Going on a short-term missions trip can be a life- and faith-transforming experience. It can enrich the way we view the world. It can cause us to rely on God more fully. It's an opportunity to develop deep relationships with our team and the people we serve. A short-term missions experience can also involve weeks of physical and spiritual challenges. An unprepared team can wreak havoc on each other and the people they intend to serve. To get the most out of a missions trip, we need to go prepared. Whether we're going on our own or with a team, the keys to preparation are here in this workbook. In this ten-week course, you will find a concise summary of crosscultural principles help in facing spiritual warfare tips on avoiding a tourist mentality spiritual preparation through individual or group Bible study questions for individual reflection and group discussion This revised and expanded edition includes updated content throughout and new chapters on facing risks, fears, and suffering, and making the most of the trip after returning home. If you are planning to go on a short-term missions trip, don't leave home without working through this book!

How can you prepare for a short-term missions trip? What are the hazards to avoid and the opportunities to embrace? Veteran trip leaders Mack and Leeann Stiles offer practical advice, hard-won lessons, and hilarious stories to help you know what to expect as you get ready to see God in action in new ways.

Everything you need to know to plan a successful short-term missions trip from an authoritative source. Packed with comprehensive, down-to-earth, practical information.

When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation with over 300,000 copies in print. This stand-alone resource applies the principles of that book specifically to short-term missions. Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: Participant’s Guide aims to train and debrief team members, preparing them to do short-term missions as effectively as possible. To do this, it provides practical examples and guidelines for team members, and it creates interaction and reflection opportunities through questions and journaling. With eight units, six of which are built around free online video content, this book equips teams to avoid harming materially poor communities and to translate their experience into lasting and mutual engagement with missions and poverty alleviation. In conjunction with the separately available Leader’s Guide, it is an ideal resource for churches, Christian colleges, mission agencies, and missionaries.

This book represents the single most ambitious effort to date to understand and improve upon patterns of ministry in short term missions (STM). In six sections, the authors explore topics such as the links between STM and older patterns of long-term missions; engagement with people of other cultures; international partnerships; specialized ministries such as medical missions; legal and financial liabilities and, finally, the impact of STM on participants. The goal of Effective Engagement in Short-term Missions is to improve the ways in which STM is carried out and to develop the understandings needed on the part of all who engage in the ministry. In short, this book attempts to provide a knowledge base for those who provide leadership within the STM movement. Among the authors are anthropologists, sociologists, missiologists, and representatives of various other fields, such as education, law, business, and medicine. Six authors are women. Two are Chinese, one Korean, and one Peruvian. The authors in this book consistently adopt an approach which is positive and constructive. While there are criticisms in the book, these criticisms are not directed against STM per se, but against particular ways of doing STM. Youth pastors, mission pastors, lay leaders, college and seminary students, and missiologists will all find information that is helpful and relevant to their concerns.

Short-term mission trips are great ways to impact the kingdom. Yet they can lack effectiveness because of mistakes or naiveté on the part of participants. In this insightful and timely book, David A. Livermore calls us to serve with our eyes open to global and cultural realities so we can become more effective cross-cultural ministers. Serving with Eyes Wide Open is a must-have book for anyone doing a short-term mission or service project, whether domestic or overseas. Foreword by Paul Borthwick.

Holding the Rope gives an insightful look into the preparation, philosophy, and application of short term cross-cultural ministry. Archer addresses the issues with candor, humor, and most importantly, grace. He provides viable solutions to common problems, and encourages churches, pastors, and volunteers to adopt a biblical and practical approach for engaging in short term missions. “Holding the rope” is more than a catchphrase. It articulates an entire philosophy of ministry. Christian missions is too daunting an enterprise to attempt alone, but the synergy of combined efforts can accomplish untold advancement for the kingdom of God. This book is a tool for those serving the servants, a guide and celebration of those who hold the ropes.