There’s quite a bit out there regarding short-term missions, including quite a bit right here on this blog. Here are the best posts:
Organizations like Standards of Excellence in Short-term Mission are indispensable forces for helping the church do short-term trips well (check out their Resources section for book recommendations and such). Similarly, this post helps our thinking about short-term trips in general so we can do particular short-term trips well.
Oddly enough, this post quickly suggests four reasons you should do a summer missions trip. If you’re convinced going is good, but you still aren’t going, check out Global Programs’ What’s Stopping You? for content specifically about addressing your fears and concerns (or your parents fears and concerns).
As you look for a trip, be sure to ask these questions of the opportunities you’re considering to make sure you’re picking a good one. You might also want to reference the Standards of Excellence’s 7 Standards.
Right about now, you’re ready to go, you’ve found a trip to go on, and you just need to know what to pack. You’re in luck! We made a list for you, broken down into “the essentials” and “the negotiables.” This list is about more than what to bring, though. It will also help you prepare spiritually and emotionally for the trip.
Scott Bessenecker developed six Bible studies to help you get ready for your short-term trip. This is the first one (subtitled Letting Go). Parts 2-6 (with subtitles like The Struggle of Association, The Full Picture, and The Greatness of God) are linked to at the end of the study.
This is Michelle Kao’s story of how her short-term trip lead to her moving into a slum. It's a beautiful piece. If you want to read more stories from students like you, check out the Global Urban Trek blog.
If you’re afraid of messing up on a short-term trip, made reticent by books like When Helping Hurts, it’s time you read this post by Urbana 15 speaker Steve Colby. “We are not commanded to get it right, we are commanded to go.”
So you go. Chances are, you’ll come back. And if the trip has been the kind of transformational experience short-term trips can be, you’re going to experience some dissonance when you get back home. That’s normal. This post helps you know what to expect and how to make the most of re-entry. Also, tell your parents about our Reentry Guide for Parents. It will help them help you.
So you don’t go. Which means you won’t be coming back. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have a transformative summer. This post will help you approach your summer job as a… well, you can read the title.