Short-term missions

Short-term missions

Mixed motives require a bait and switch

We don’t come to Jesus perfect. We come compromised, messy. We have to start somewhere. Whoever really comes to Jesus to die? Usually we’re thinki...

Short-term missions

Contingency planning on a short-term trip

I received an email yesterday asking about contingency planning. In this world of terrorist activity, bird flu worries, and political instability, ...

Short-term missions

Debriefing resources

In my never-ending quest to equip you, my faithful readers, I've come across a good debriefing resource. The IMB has a web-site called The Task fo...

Short-term missions

10 Relationship guidelines on mission projects

One of the ways to head off conflilct on a mission project is to establish some basic relational precepts in advance.  Keep these, preserve the uni...

Short-term missions

Minimizing risk on a mission project

The missions agency I run, AIM, seeks to minimize the risk inherent in any mission venture. We also seek to fully disclose the level of known risk on ...

Short-term missions

Two roles of a mission project leader

On any given short-term mission project, two roles must be fulfilled. Because a lot of leaders have never been trained in either of these roles, they ...

Short-term missions

The future of short-term missions

Last month I wrote this article for a missions magazine on the future of short-term missions: Another good article in the same issue had advice for...

Short-term missions

Why does the idea of a missions cruise turn my stomach?

Here's an idea that I found oxymoronic: a "missions cruise." I received this email about it just now: "Discover the World of Possibilities on a ...