In El Derramadero, one of our translators was a Mexican national, named Mercedes, who was a student from Rio Grande Bible Institute. In our first morning in the village she tried to discourage us from meeting the people or attempting to share Christ with them. She said we would be wasting our time and it would do no good.
Her overall attitude toward us was bitter. We were there to build relationships with the people and share the gospel. Maybe, I told her, we won’t make a difference. But we must at least try.
At the end of the trip, Mercedes handed me a note just before she stepped on the bus to leave. In the note she apologized for her initial poor attitude toward us. But, she explained, she had spent the previous three weeks translating for American teams that didn’t care about the people they had supposedly come to minister to. These other teams made fun of nearly everything and everybody they saw in the villages. In her eyes, they cared nothing about the people of Mexico.
“I just assumed your team would be the same,” she wrote. “But I was wrong. God really used your team to make a difference for Christ. Thank you for loving my people. If you come back next year, I would like to be your translator again.”
Was it true that the previous three teams had no love for the people? I doubt it. They most likely returned back to the states to report back to their churches how much they loved the people and their time there. Yet, from one translator’s point of view, she didn’t see the love. There was a stark difference between this team from the cornfields and the previous teams. The difference boils down to how the teams were prepared before the mission trip. The other teams were in summer missions to have a cross-cultural experience for Christ. The cornfield team was a part of an Acts 1:8 discipleship program determined to be a gospel-proclaiming witness for Christ.
As we begin this explanation on how to develop an Acts 1:8 disciple-making summer missions program, I will continue to point out the shortcomings of the typical American summer mission team. This does not mean I think that such trips are a waste of time. Any summer mission trip can be used by God and will be more life-changing for the participants than if they stayed at home. However, the local church needs to set its sights higher for the role of summer missions as both a means of producing Acts 1:8 disciples and proclaiming the gospel even to the remotest parts of the earth.
As explained in Chapter 4, the discipleship goals for the team will play a big part in what the team does on the field. Then, even with good discipleship goals, how well the team does will depend upon the preparation process the team leader puts the team through. You must remember, you are not just preparing for a summer missions trip. You are making an Acts 1:8 disciple. Taking the disciple on a mission trip is just one of the steps in the process. Let’s think for a moment. What spiritual components, or disciplines, must an individual have to become a spiritually healthy, growing Christian?
The most obvious is that the individual must first be saved. There was a time in his life where he recognized he was a sinner who couldn’t save himself and put his personal faith in the resurrected Christ to be granted forgiveness for his sins and the free gift of eternal life. You cannot make a disciple of Christ unless he is born again.
I know not every congregation uses the term “born again”. To some, it conjures up visions of Southern hypocrites with slicked-back hairstyles from the 50’s. I grew up in a church that never spoke about being born again. But, we still knew it was another term for being saved. Jesus did, after all, say, “unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3). All Christians, in the biblical sense of the words, are “born again.”
The first thing to find out from your potential summer missionary is whether the person is saved or not. For some team leaders, this can be a rather awkward thing to ask about. If you can’t think of a way to do this, let me recommend a way. This works very well with people, particularly youth, in churches that don’t use the “born again” term. Get together with your prospective summer missionary, one on one, and ask, “Susie, are you born again?” You don’t need a special appointment to do this. Just catch her after Sunday school or other time at church.
This question will probably catch Susie off guard. If she knows her Bible well, she may rephrase the question in terms more familiar in your church setting, such as, “Do you mean have I ever trusted Christ as my personal Savior?” If she does that, admit that is what you are asking. You’ll get your answer quick enough.
On the other hand, Susie, whether she is saved or unsaved, may not be sure what you are asking. She may fumble about trying to answer or even say, “I don’t know.” This will be a good opportunity to open to John 3 and say, “Let me show you what I’m asking.” Show her verse 3 and then go to verse 16. Those that have eternal life will see the kingdom of God. Those are the ones born again. How does verse 16 say one receives eternal life? Susie will see the verse says it is through believing in the Son of God.
Now Susie will know what you are asking and can tell you whether she has ever put her faith in Christ or not. If Susie is still not sure if she has done that, it is now your opportunity to invite her to do so right then. Susie may be like a great many who have grown up in Christian homes and attended church all their lives. She may remember repeating a prayer with somebody when she was a small child, but has no idea what it was suppose to really mean. She has been told all her life she is saved because of that prayer, yet she doesn’t even understand the gospel now. If she was asked to give her testimony, she would use Christianese clichés and might even include a disclaimer like, “but it really didn’t mean much to me,” or, “I really didn’t understand it.”
Attention disciple-makers! The story of a prayer of salvation, that admittedly didn’t mean anything to the one praying it, is not a testimony of saving faith in Jesus Christ. People cannot have placed their faith in the Son of God and not know that’s what they were doing. While some children know exactly what they are doing and do get saved, others are repeating prayers to please family members or teachers at church. Fortunately, many with such testimonies recognize the early prayer meant nothing and, years later, make a “prayer of recommitment” to having a personal relationship with Christ. Still, others are hanging in limbo, wondering why they still feel so spiritually dead. Asking if they are “born again” often leads them to discover they are not. Then you, the team leader have the privilege of inviting them to make that day their spiritual birthday.
Assuming your disciple is saved, baptized, and takes part in communion when it is offered at your church, what spiritual disciplines need to be there to develop into a healthy servant of the Lord? It’s a fairly short list:
Worship
Fellowship with other believers
Prayer
Bible Study
Meditating on the Word
Serving/Ministering
Involved in Evangelism
We could always add “sanctified living” or a longer list of individual duties to perform. However, the sanctified Christian lifestyle will not be reached if these disciplines are ignored. Meanwhile, one could perform various outward works to give the appearance of the sanctified life, yet, be still wallowing in spiritual immaturity because of neglecting the spiritual disciplines necessary to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Worship and Fellowship: These two disciplines are often exercised in the course of regular involvement in the local church. As with any discipleship program, there is the expectation that the Acts 1:8 disciple will be active in the local church. We wouldn’t send out a full-time missionary that has not been active in the local church, nor should we send out summer missionaries whom are delinquent from local church involvement. At a minimum, we would expect them to be regularly attending the worship services and Sunday school or other small group. For youth, this would also mean regular attendance at youth group activities. While fellowship is not guaranteed by being a regular attendee, it’s impossible to maintain fellowship with sporadic or nonexistent attendance. Worshiping and serving together also helps develop fellowship. Worship and fellowship will also be a part of the summer mission team meetings and the trip itself.
Prayer: We can only trust that prayer is part of the individual’s worship experience and that a personal prayer life exists in the summer missionary. Prayer should be one of the major characteristics of the summer mission team, from the first team meeting to the last day of the trip. There should be a lot of praying, out loud, in team meetings, in pairs, trios, and as a team. Praying aloud builds confidence in team members to lead others in prayer. Praying aloud for one another also strengthens the fellowship bond of the team.
Bible Study: Sadly, for too many Christians, the only time they open their Bible is when they are at church. If we are to make disciples, we must get them in the Bible more. For summer missionaries, this means assigned Bible study work. Few people, youth or adults, will volunteer for an intensive Bible study program. But, if it is the requirement to go on a summer mission trip, they will willingly commit themselves to do it.
Meditating on the Word: This is the lost art in disciple-making. To ponder the depth of meaning and application of the Word of God takes a concerted effort on the part of the disciple. Since the arrival of the eastern religious form of meditation, the word has been dropped from the Christian vernacular. Some even recoil at hearing such a term associated as a healthy Christian practice. However, it is a biblical term and a biblical practice. The second verse of the first psalm says, But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. Psalm 119 mentions meditating seven times. Part of the summer missionary’s preparation work in the Bible will include times of meditating on the Word and recording those meditations in a journal.
Serving/Ministering: There are many ways a person can go about serving the Lord on a daily basis. That tends to fall more into the lifestyle category. For youth, if they are involved in their youth group, it will include involvement in the service and ministry activities. For adults, if they are actively involved in the church, they should be serving somewhere. If they aren’t, I’ve never seen a church that wasn’t looking for more nursery workers. Some of the summer missions training will include additional opportunities. The trip will be packed with such opportunities.
Involved in Evangelism: This is listed separate from Serving/Ministering because a lot of Christian service and ministry is not evangelistic. Unfortunately, too many Christians are heavily involved in ministries in their local church yet rarely, if ever, share the gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone inside or outside of the church. Please note: The Christian that rarely or never makes an effort to reach the lost is not being the kind of witness for Christ that He expects of all of His followers. A true disciple of Christ is a reproducing disciple, one who both reaches the lost and trains the saved. Paul’s admonition to Timothy, “…do the work of an evangelist...” (2 Tim. 4:5) applies to us all. You can’t be obedient to Christ’s call to all Christians to the Great Commission if you are never involved in evangelism. “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto all creation,” (Mk. 16:15).
Assuming that the potential summer missionary is actively involved in the local church, there are two areas that need attention to get that disciple ready to serve on a summer mission trip. The first is study for personal spiritual growth. The second is to receive the training needed to meet the discipleship goals and minister on the field, including how to share your faith with the lost.
Study for Personal Growth
You may have noticed in Chapter 4 that the first secondary goal for each of the three trip levels was the same:
Have the disciple in the Word of God for a good amount of time, by
means of the assigned preparation work. The Word of God changes lives!
There is no short cut to spiritual maturity that can skip or skim over God’s Holy Word. The Scripture is the milk and meat that nourishes the spiritual life. We are not to nibble and sip on it, but to feast upon it. There are many ways to map out the preparation work for a summer missions program. The main ingredient, though, must be time in the Bible itself, in some sort of organized approach.
Out here in the cornfields, we use Bible study workbooks and journaling. That way the disciples are held accountable for doing their assigned preparation work. We usually have two Bible study books and one general reading book by a Christian author. The goal is to have the Bible study time be two-thirds of the preparation time. Sometimes one Bible study book will be enough to meet that ratio.
The following preparation assignment list is an example of what we used one year. Some of the material is still in print. Some is not. Notice that it covers the first-time summer missionary up through the fifth year of summer mission involvement. For churches which have not done this before, everyone should begin with a similar version of the First Timer’s Preparation. All five years are shown in order to glean an idea of the scope of the discipleship program.
First Timer’s Preparation
Journal – Write out your testimony and why you are going on your trip.
Growing in Christ, a Navigators Bible study book about the basics of the gospel and
Christian life.
From the Desk of the Apostle Paul, (2 Corinthians through Philemon) by Stan Campbell
A Man Called Norman, by Mike Adkins
A humorous true story about reaching out to people who are different from you.
Record in your journal the hurdles Mike had to overcome in order to love Norman. What misconceptions did Mike (and the rest of the town) have about Norman? What sacrifices did Mike have to make?
Second Timer’s Preparation
Journal - Write out your testimony and why you are going on your trip.
The Mark of a World Changer, by Ron Luce.
A daily devotional about missions and being the witness Christ called us to be.
Philippians, Navigators Lifechange Series
Along with answering the questions in the book, you must answer one marginal question (Optional Application, For Thought & Discussion, etc.) from each page in your journal.
Stomping Out The Darkness, by Neil Anderson
This is a study of spiritual warfare and who you are in Christ. Answer the questions at the end of each chapter in your journal.
Third Timer’s Preparation
Journal - Write out your testimony and why you are going on your trip.
What’s This World Coming To? (The major and minor prophets) by Stan Campbell You must read each of the Bible books in their entirety, not just the passages that have the questions. For the chapters that have no questions in the study book, summarize those chapters in your journal. Some days you’ll not answer any questions in the book. You’ll be summarizing in your journal.
Jesus Freaks – About past and present-day martyrs and persecution.
In your journal, write your response to each person’s story.
Fourth Timers Preparation
Journal - Write out your testimony and why you are going on your trip.
The Saga Begins, (A survey of Genesis through Ruth) by Stan Campbell,
Ephesians, Navigators Lifechange Series
Along with answering the questions in the book, you must answer one marginal question (Optional Application, For Thought & Discussion, etc.) from each page in your journal.
The Pursuit of Holiness, by Jerry Bridges.
After each chapter, answer in your journal how your pursuit is going in that
particular area.
Seasoned Veterans Preparation
Journal - Write out your testimony and why you are going on your trip.
Romans, Navigators Lifechange Series (if already done before, Hebrews, then John)
Along with answering the questions in the book, you must answer one marginal question (Optional Application, For Thought & Discussion, etc.) from each page in your journal.
The Lords of the Earth, by Don Richardson. The true story of missions and martyrdom in
Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Record in your journal the strengths and weaknesses of missionary Stan Dale. What were the seemingly “right things” he did and the seemingly “wrong”? (If already done before, J.I. Packer’s Knowing God - After each chapter, answer in your journal how well you know God in that particular area.)
Notice there is somewhat of a pattern in the yearly preparation work. There is always a journal to write in, Bible study work, and a Christian issues book to interact with. (The journal will also be used on the trip to make daily entries.) Most years have two Bible study books, an easy one and one requiring deeper study. The reason for only one study in the other years is that the one alone, the major and minor prophets study or Romans, is a lot of work. Those years also have the longest Christian issues books to read.
There is a progression, as well as a variety, in the types of Bible studies from year to year. This is to both expose the disciple to different ways to study Scripture and to draw the disciple into a deeper level of personal Bible study. By God’s grace, after five years, you will have a very biblically grounded disciple quite capable of chewing upon the “meatier” portions of the Bible.
The progression, as seen in the example of preparation work:
Year One: A study about the basics of the gospel and a N.T. survey type
study
Year Two: A daily devotional and an in-depth N.T. study with recorded
meditations (when they answer the marginal questions in their journal)
Year Three: Read many O.T. books, answer survey questions, and
summarize the chapters
Year Four: An O.T. survey study and an in-depth N.T. study with
recorded meditations
Year Five (and beyond): In-depth study with recorded meditations in one
of the NT heavy theology books
Each local church will have to decide what preparation work to use. The key is to have the disciples in the Word of God. Take care to make sure the Bible study isn’t just putting answers after questions. Include some form of expounding (meditating) on the Scripture in their journals.
When sitting down to decide upon the preparation work, map out at least a three-year program of study. If you start with youth, you will easily have some going three times before graduating. Planning for three years will actually make it easier to decide on what material to use. For, with all the Bible study options available today, it is hard to narrow down to only one year’s preparation. You’ll be sitting there with too much good material to use in one year. Knowing you are planning for multiple years will make it easier to map out a good course of study.
As some material goes out of print and new material is released, changes in the preparation are always necessary. Sometimes, after the first year of using a book or study, it is obvious you need to look for something better. Sometimes the material was too easy or too hard for the students. Sometimes it was just plain boring. Check with your team members. If they all hated it, then get something else for the next year.
Remember, as the team leader, you’ll be doing the prep work too. All leaders do the prep along with the team, for they are part of the team too. Leaders need to prepare themselves before the Lord, too. They are in this Acts 1:8 discipleship program too. The whole team, leaders included, are preparing to be His witnesses around the world. So, if, as a leader, the prep work was too hard for you, that is a real good indication some changes need to be made.
Once you have your material selected, then a preparation schedule must be put together. The following is the schedule for the preparation work given in the example.
Preparation Schedule - Due At Each Month’s Meeting.
January – EVERYONE: Write your testimony in your journal: How you came to faith,
what your relationship to Christ means to you today, and why
you are going on this trip.
First Timers: Lessons 1-5 of Growing in Christ & all of A Man Called Norman
Second Timers: Chapters 1-10 of Stomping Out the Darkness
Third Timers: Sessions 1 & 2 in What’s This World Coming To?
Fourth Timers: Sessions 1-6 of The Saga Begins & Chapters 1-9 of The Pursuit
of Holiness
Seasoned Vets: Background & Lesson 1 in Romans and Part 1 of Lords of the
Earth
February -First Timers: Lessons 6-13 of Growing in Christ
Second Timers: Chapters 11-14 of Stomping Out the Darkness.
Third Timers: Sessions 3 and 4 in What’s This World Coming To?
Fourth Timers: Sessions 7-12 of The Saga Begins & Chapters 10-17 of The
Pursuit of Holiness
Seasoned Vets: Lessons 2-5 in Romans
March - First Timers: Sessions 1-3 in From the Desk of the Apostle Paul
Second Timers: Lessons 1 and 2 in Philippians
Third Timers: Sessions 5 and 6 in What’s This World Coming To?
Fourth Timers: Lessons 1 and 2 in Ephesians
Seasoned Vets: Lessons 6-9 in Romans & Read Part 2 of Lords of the Earth
April - First Timers: Lessons 4-6 in From the Desk of the Apostle Paul
Second Timers: Lessons 3-5 in Philippians and Weeks 1-4 of World Changer
Third Timers: Sessions 7 and 8 in What’s This World Coming To?
Read through page 100 of Jesus Freaks
Fourth Timers: Lessons 3-5 in Ephesians.
Seasoned Vets: Lessons 10-13 in Romans.
May - First Timers: 7-9 in From the Desk of the Apostle Paul
Second Timers: Lessons 6-8 in Philippians and Weeks 5-8 in World Changer.
Third Timers: Sessions 9 and 10 in What’s This World Coming To?
Read through page 200 of Jesus Freaks
Fourth Timers: Lessons 6-9 in Ephesians
Seasoned Vets: Lessons 14-17 in Romans & Read Part 3 of Lords of the Earth
June - First Timers: 10-12 in From the Desk of the Apostle Paul
Second Timers: Lessons 9-11 in Philippians. Weeks 9-13 in World Changers.
Third Timers: Sessions 11 and 12 in What’s This World Coming To? Finish
Jesus Freaks
Fourth Timers: Lessons 10-14 in Ephesians
Seasoned Vets: Lessons 18-20 in Romans & Read the rest of Lords of the Earth
Many times, at the end of a mission trip, a team leader from another church, who has observed one of my teams, will ask me what I do to get my team prepared. For starters, I will show the leader the above preparation schedule. The responses I have received, after looking over the preparation sheet, have varied from impressed and wanting to keep the sheet, to being overwhelmed and handing it back to me with a stunned look, to being downright angry that I would demand so much just to go on a summer mission trip.
Most of the times, these team leaders are also youth pastors and/or leaders. The common remark I get with the overwhelmed and angry responses is, “There’s no way my youth could do this. They don’t have the time.” Then there is usually some belittling remark about how students out in those rural schools probably aren’t as busy with school activities as students in the big city schools.
Having had students in both the city schools and rural schools as a part of my ministry, I believe the average student in the rural school is in more school activities than the average student in the big city schools. All schools have sports, band, flag/drill team, vocal music, drama, speech, cheerleading, and a variety of after school clubs. Students in small towns work after-school jobs just like they do in the cities. I have had students from high schools of 1,600 down to 160. In a school of 1,600, only the most athletic students are in sports. In a school of 160, every student who wants to be in sports is in sports. Rural students doing the preparation work are certainly as busy as students everywhere. Excusing students as being too busy for the prep work is nonsense. It’s all a matter of commitment.
Never be afraid to call people to a higher level of commitment for the cause of Christ. Youth ministry “experts” advise: Never compete with the schools for your students’ time. I disagree. Jesus asked men to walk away from their fishing boats and tax tables to be His disciples. We aren’t asking students to walk away from all school activities, but to make a commitment to do what is required of a summer missionary to be prepared for summer ministry. For some students, that means choosing whether to add one more school activity to their schedule or to go on a mission trip. However, for most, such a choice isn’t the issue. It is just a matter of committing to do what is necessary in order to go.
Both youth and adults balk at the preparation work. Adults tend to complain more than the students. It is amazing that people who can spend twenty to thirty hours a week listening to music, watching television, and being online with their computers will claim they do not have enough time in their week for serious Bible study. (ANY Bible study is what they really mean.) Again, it is a matter of commitment.
As First Timers look at the preparation sheet, they feel a sense of dread over the amount of time it will take to do the work. So do others that see the sheet for the first time. Yet, realize that the summer missionary has seven to eight months to get it finished. Depending on one’s reading and writing speed, the prep work takes 30-60 minutes per week to accomplish. That’s 5-10 minutes a day with Sundays off. Is that really expecting too much?
The problem arises when the summer missionary sits down the night before the team meeting and tries to do the whole month’s preparation in one sitting. The 5-10 minute daily pace cannot be maintained over three or four hours. So then it becomes a six or seven hour miserable marathon. Usually it only takes one of those nights to inspire the disciple to be more diligent to work on prep a little every week. They still may not be doing it daily, but they will work at it regularly in order to avoid another marathon. Then they will discover it isn’t so bad and probably get something out of it the following month.
At the end of each trip I ask our summer missionaries what helped them the most to be ready to minister on the field. We had ministry training in the team meetings, local ministry opportunities to provide practice for the field ministry, and the dreaded preparation work. The number one answer is always “the prep work”. Why? “Because it helped me grow in my faith and/or closer to God,” is always the answer.
As a disciple-maker, isn’t that the goal? Making disciples that are growing in their faith and closer to God? We live in an instant gratification culture. However, Scripture does not portray an instant gratification God. Yet, Christians tend to carry that mindset into their spiritual life. Thus concerts and major production spiritual renewal events are popular. A seven or eight-month series of preparation work isn’t instant gratification. There is no high energy atmosphere to bask in. There is no emotional or spiritual high. There are only numerous hours of quiet time before the Lord and in His Word.
There are no short cuts to knowing God and His Word.
There are no short cuts to spiritual growth.
There are no short cuts to making an Acts 1:8 disciple.
The second year summer missionaries, and those in subsequent years, do not have the sense of dread about preparation as the first-timers do. For, they know they can get it done and have seen how the time with the Lord helped them grow in their faith and be prepared for the summer ministry. This is not to say the training and local ministry practice are not helpful. They are necessary too. But, time with the Lord in His Word ends up ranked number one every time…as it should be, because… the Word of God changes lives!
You probably noticed that the preparation schedule has some prep work due in January. That means you have to have your trip selected and advertised the previous fall. Signing up for a team must take place before Thanksgiving in order to give team members time to get the prep done by the January meeting.
However, you may always tailor things to what works best in your setting. Yet, if you are open to some advice from a veteran, let me say if you try to do this the first time out starting in March, you and your team will talk about the need to get started earlier the second year. Having said that, I also realize the first time trying to get a summer team together, getting a commitment to start in January may be nearly impossible. If so, start later and get this first team going. Much will be learned and there will be more excitement and willingness to commit to a summer team much earlier the second year.
Team Meetings and Training for Ministry
Making an Acts 1:8 disciple necessitates time in the Word and training for ministry. Prep work provides time in the Word. Team meetings provide ministry training. Team meetings should start in January. That may be a lot earlier than what you’ve done in the past. Why start in January? Why not? How long does it take to develop a unified, well-equipped ministry team? Remember, this is discipleship, not just preparing for a summer mission trip.
Rest assured, if you start your team meetings in January, the team will not be over-prepared. Most likely, you, the team leader, will still be thinking, “We’re not ready,” when you leave. That’s good, actually. The team will have greater humility and dependence upon God than would be the case if you and the team members were oozing with confidence.
When preparing for a missions trip the very first time, what becomes quickly apparent at the first team meeting is that the team members have no clue how to do a summer mission trip of any kind. Most do not know how to do personal evangelism, not to mention cross-cultural evangelism. Since team meetings are once a month, there are not very many opportunities to get the team trained and ready to go. Don’t be surprised if you wonder if starting in January will be enough time to get the team ready.
Most team members will not have any kind of steady or organized devotional life. Six or seven months of time in the Word is going to make a tremendous difference in the disciples lives. Remember… The Word of God changes lives!
Over the years, I have tried a variety of times and formats for team meetings: Saturday mornings, Wednesday nights, during the Sunday School hour, and Sunday nights. None of these worked as well as once-a-month on Sunday afternoons. We eat a sack lunch together, train for about four hours, and end with a pizza supper. The eating together is a big team-building time. Do not neglect that. If you think the pizza supper makes the day too long, at least have lunch together.
Most mission trips include the opportunity to put on a Vacation Bible School (VBS). This mission trip version can be as elaborate as some expensive pre-packaged VBS programs used by many U.S. churches each year, or it can be a simpler, low-budget version that can be put together with a Bible story picture book being the only VBS material taken on the trip. Whatever form the VBS takes, you would be well advised to have the team practice it locally before taking it on the road. This can be done by holding an actual VBS locally, or putting it on in your church in one of the children’s programs.
Many churches have mid-week children’s program that runs during the school year. Then there is a break for the summer. There may still be an adult Bible study and/or prayer service going on in the summer, but often the children won’t have a structured program. They watch videos or plays games most summer evenings. Those in charge of the children mid-week in the summer are usually looking for volunteers to help out. Your mission team could use a few of those mid-week times to practice their VBS with the children.
However you do it, the pre-trip VBS run-through will show many of your inexperienced summer missionaries that they cannot just “wing it” and be effective. They must be organized and well-prepared to conduct their area of responsibility. If you practice with your own church’s kids, you will not need to do all five days of the VBS to see where the problem spots are and address them.
Team Meeting Agendas
At every meeting, team members are to turn in their preparation work to be checked by a leader, to see if it is done, while the meeting is going on. Leaders have their work checked too.
It’s always good to start the team meeting with some kind of ice-breaker activity. All team meetings end with a team prayer time, for one another as well as for the ministry of the mission trip. There will also be times to break up in pairs and trios to pray. These things are not mentioned in the following example agendas.
January
Level 1 - Introductions, give testimonies, including why you are going on this trip.
Fill out applications – Take individual pictures
Hand out Medical Releases
Bible Study: New Testament Basis for Missions
Why should our church send us out?
John 3:16-17 Acts 1:8
Luke 24:46-47 1 Tim. 2:2-6
Mark 16:15 Rom. 10:8-17
Matt. 28:18-20
Some say summer missions trips are too short to be
Great Commission work. Why do you think that is?
New Testament Basis for Short (Summer) Missions Trips:
Acts 8:26-40 Was Phillip obeying the commission?
How much time did he spend with the Ethiopian? In the cities?
Acts 13:4-6a (read to “Paphos”), 13-14, 42-45, 50.
How long were Paul and Barnabas in these cities?
Less than two weeks in Paphos. They were run out of town on the
second Sabbath (Saturday). That was a short mission trip.
Short term mission work is still used mightily by God!
Teach the “One Verse Gospel Presentation” using Romans 6:23.
Explain the ministry and clothes requirements of this trip.
Level 2 - Begin with singing a few praise and worship songs.
Fill out applications – Take individual pictures
Hand out Medical Releases
Give testimonies and why you are going on this trip.
Explain the ministry of this trip and clothes requirements.
Review and practice the “one-verse gospel presentation” learned on the Level 1
trip. Then introduce a gospel presentation that uses several verses.
Get in small groups and give testimonies and gospel presentations to each other.
Level 3 - Introductions, tell about previous trips, and what you hope to see God do on this
trip.
Review previous trips, inquiring about what open doors of opportunity did God
provide. What more could have been done if they were prepared ahead of
time? What more would they like to do this time?
Bible Study: Repeat the N.T. Basis for Missions lesson from Level 1.
Give testimonies. Then talk about the need to revise the testimony to be more
oriented to the audience you will be witnessing to on the field.
Explain the ministry and clothes requirements of this trip.
Assignment: Write a revised testimony for the mission field audience.
February
Level 1 - Begin with singing a few praise and worship songs.
Bible study: team-building lesson.
All team members bring 20 addressed and stamped envelopes. We will hand
out the “non-church family” support letter, stuff the envelopes and all will be
mailed after the meeting.
Pair off and practice your testimony and the “One Verse Gospel Presentation”.
Level 2 - Begin with singing.
Bible Study: Servanthood lesson.
Hand out the testimony worksheet if improvement is still needed.
All team members bring 20 addressed and stamped envelopes. We will hand
out the “non-church family” support letter, stuff the envelopes and all will be
mailed after the meeting.
Level 3 - Read the revised testimonies and have the team critique them.
Discuss the types of ministry methods the team wants to do.
All team members bring 30 addressed and stamped envelopes. We will hand
out the “non-church family” support letter, stuff the envelopes and all will be
mailed after the meeting.
March
Level 1 - All team members will bring a designated number of stamped envelopes to the
meeting. “Church family” support letters and address labels will be
handed out. Envelopes will have the labels put on them, a signed letter put in
them, and will be mailed after the meeting.
Practice singing, testimonies, and gospel presentations.
Level 2 - All team members will bring a designated number of stamped envelopes to the
meeting. “Church family” support letters and address labels will be
handed out. Envelopes will have the labels put on them, a signed letter put in
them, and will be mailed after the meeting.
Introduce Spanish song book. Practice singing Spanish songs.
Introduce different types of gospel tracts and gospel presentation formats that
can be used in the ministry. Particularly demonstrate how to use the Gospel
Presentation in the back of a Gideons New Testament.
Practice, practice, practice giving your testimony and the gospel to each other,
using the different formats introduced. Team members will eventually pick
one and become proficient with it.
Level 3 - All team members will bring a designated number of stamped envelopes to the
meeting. “Church family” support letters and address labels will be
handed out. Envelopes will have the labels put on them, a signed letter put in
them, and will be mailed after the meeting.
Bible Study: Am I a Minister? (A review from two years ago/Level 1)
How many ministers are on this team? (All of us!)
Isa. 61:1-2, 6 - Followers of Messiah will be priests and ministers of the
Lord. What kind of ministry?
2 Cor. 5:18 - Our ministry is that of reconciliation. How do we do it?
Eph. 3:6-10 - We are to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. What is
expected of each of us?
2 Tim. 4:5 - be sober, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill
the ministry.
Col. 4:17 - Take heed. Fulfill your ministry. Don’t take this lightly.
Have team members share how they have seen God use them in ministry on
the field in the past.
If songs in the language of the field can be found, practice them.
Brainstorm skit/song ideas for a program that can be adapted to any situation, ie. church service, school, rehab center, etc.
April
Level 1 - Bible Study: Am I a Minister?
How many ministers are on this team? (All of us!)
Isa. 61:1-2, 6 - Followers of Messiah will be priests and ministers of the
Lord. What kind of ministry?
2 Cor. 5:18 - Our ministry is that of reconciliation. How do we do it?
Eph. 3:6-10 - We are to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. What is
expected of each of us?
2 Tim. 4:5 - be sober, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill
the ministry.
Col. 4:17 - Take heed. Fulfill your ministry. Don’t take this lightly.
Make VBS Assignments – Be ready for a run through next meeting
Brainstorm skit/song ideas for a program (like at a nursing home or orphanage)
Pair off and practice your testimony and the “One Verse Gospel Presentation”.
Level 2 - Bible Study: Seeing the World Through the Eyes of God (A study of Jonah)
Make assignments for the VBS we’ll do.
Announce when the local version of VBS will be done, be it at the church, in a
park, or someone’s back yard.
Sing Spanish songs
Pair off and practice giving your testimony and the gospel to each other
Level 3 - Make assignments for the VBS.
Introduce the discipleship lessons team members will teach on the field.
Practice skit/song program, including songs in the native language
Practice gospel presentations
May
Level 1 - Sing together!
Give out packing list
Practice the first day of the VBS program. Evaluate.
Pair off and practice your testimony and the “One Verse Gospel Presentation”.
Level 2 - Bible Study: How to Pray
Give out packing list
Sing Spanish songs
Practice VBS and critique
Practice testimonies and gospel presentations
Level 3 - Give out packing list
Practice the program of singing (English & Spanish Songs) and the testimonies
(Sprinkled throughout the program)
Practice the VBS and/or discipleship lessons that may be used on the field.
June
All Levels - Culture Entry Model – Some culture shock is unavoidable.
One’s attitude before getting there (approach) helps in adjusting to the
differences and how they affect you (that’s culture shock).
Once the culture shock has caught you, how you respond to these
differences will make or break your trip for you.
Final questions & end with Concert of Prayer
Level 1 - Practice VBS assignments, especially the Bible and missionary stories
Practice testimonies and gospel presentations
Collect Medical Releases
Level 2 – Bible Study: How to Pray
Collect Medical Releases
VBS teams gather for making plans for Wed. night practices Practice testimonies and gospel presentations
Level 3- Bible Study: How to Pray
Collect Medical Releases
Practice the VBS and/or discipleship lessons that may be used on the field.
Practice testimonies, gospel presentations, and program
The team meeting schedule is a basic framework and doesn’t cover everything that takes place in a team meeting or preparing the team. Mimes and puppet programs cannot use once-a-month meetings to get ready. Adding a handful of concentrated rehearsals a couple of weeks before leaving will be needed for that.
Prior to the trip, the team should be involved in a local evangelistic outreach. This can be a very organized evangelistic event or just hitting the streets downtown or in a nearby city for some street evangelism. Remember, an Acts 1:8 disciple is a witness in his Jerusalem as well as unto the remotest parts of the world.
This local evangelistic ministry not only helps prepare your team, it will also silence the critics of summer missions, who are not involved in local evangelism themselves, but still say, “Why do they need to go there? There are plenty of people right here in our own backyard that need the gospel.” Sometimes I have been known to suggest, “While the team is out sharing the gospel with the lost on the field, you can be out sharing with the lost right here in our own back yard. Then when the team returns, we can all rejoice together in how God is at work using our church to reach the lost here and around the world.”
Where the team is going and what the ministry will be determines how much time in meetings will be devoted to trying to acclimate the team to the idea of what it will be like once on the field. Dress codes and cultural taboos must be discussed. The rules of behavior once on the field must be clearly defined, including what type of rule violation will get a team member sent home. Usually, you, the leader will not know all the answers to the questions team members want to know about. Try not to offer a lot of guesswork or speculation. Just say you don’t know. For, team members tend to grab at any portrait of the field as a promise to what it will really be like. Then, if it doesn’t turn out that way once on the field, you are going to hear complaining.
When it comes to youth summer missions, before anyone signs up to be on a team, there needs to be meeting with the parents and the interested youth to go over all the expectations of a participant in the summer missions program. This means a review of the preparation work, the team meeting schedule, the means of fund raising, and the rules of behavior…particularly what disqualifies one from going on the trip and what will get one sent home from the field.
Rather than having to meet many times with many households, there should be one Summer Missions Orientation Meeting for interested youth and their parents to go over everything before having anyone sign up for a trip. Parents tend to be the most concerned about finances and the safety of their child.
How fund raising is done must be clarified, particularly any expectation of the parents to contribute. Personally, I have always told parents they don’t have to give anything toward their child’s trip. If God wants them to go, He’ll provide. Besides, the summer missionary needs to be depending upon God, not the parents, to provide. Since most parents can’t pay the whole cost of a trip, it will be a faith-stretching experience for the whole family to see how God provides.
Safety issues should have already been discussed with the hosting organization the team will work through. Thus the parents can be assured of safe food, water, accommodations, and ministry sites on the field. If inoculations are suggested or required for a field, the hosting organization will know what those are. The parents can then be informed at the orientation meeting.
The most important point to get across to parents is that a summer mission trip is a Great Commission ministry, not a Youth Trip (see The Summer Missions Smorgasbord in Chapter 2). All summer missionaries, including youth, will be expected to prepare themselves beforehand and conduct themselves prior to and during the trip as ministers of Jesus Christ. All preparation is to be done according to schedule. Attendance to team meetings is not optional. Being a summer missionary is a call to commitment to meeting the expectations outlined in order to serve as a missionary on the trip. We would not send out a career missionary who made no effort to prepare himself for the field. We should expect no less a commitment from a summer missionary.
Every church must decide what those expectations are for the summer missionaries in their summer missions program. However, beware of setting the bar too low as expectations are being defined. Youth, in particular, are looking for challenges to rise up to. Jesus’ call to follow Him was a high calling, let us not cheapen a call to missions ministry with similar expectations of a call to go to the amusement park. Those who do not want to commit themselves to do all that is needed to prepare for a mission ministry, are more interested in having fun than having an impact for Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, not everyone who signs up for a trip ends up going. Some will drop off by their own choice. They give a variety of reasons. Usually, though, it has something to do with having to do the prep work and attending team meetings. When that is the case, then, “I’m sorry to lose you,” is all you can say.
Others will try to get out of doing all the preparation and attending meetings and still want to go. This is a more difficult situation for the team leader. For, he must then meet with the team member and parents and review the expectations. Committing to a high calling is test of faith for many. So, being gracious and working with the youth to get caught up with the preparation work is the first step. A “late deadline” should be determined that both the youth and the parents can agree is workable. At that time, it should also be determined that, barring extenuating circumstances, if the preparation work is not caught up by that time, then the youth is off the trip. Everyone agrees and usually there is not a problem after that.
Only once, while working with hundreds of youth over the course of sixteen years, did someone still fail to do the work after such an agreement. As a result, she disqualified herself from going. She stayed home. Unfortunately, it seems like someone will always show up one day to dare you to enforce the rules. It doesn’t matter where you draw the lines. Someone will test to see if you really mean it.
You can’t compromise the standard. For, rising to that standard is the common commitment the whole team has made in order to go serve on the mission field. It is a unifying factor to ministry teambuilding. Compromising the standard sows seeds of discontent among the team members because the perception is that the parameters have changed and exceptions in commitment are made for some team members. The door is quickly opened for others to seek other exceptions, because, “You did for So-N-So.”
The first year of enforcing a high standard is always the toughest. For, no one has yet seen the impact of the preparation work, team meetings, and the trip itself in the lives of the summer missionaries and those they ministered to. Perhaps not all, but most of the team members will be changed by the process of preparing and going to the field. After the first trip, the change is noticed sometimes by the parents, but mostly by the friends who didn’t go. Those that went will say that everything they had to commit to was worth it. The result being that they saw God work in and through them in a whole new way. Consequently, there will be more people wanting to go the second year.
This all assumes the preparation work and team meetings in your program are designed to meet specific discipleship goals and by the end of the trip, the goals are met. This also assumes the team meetings stay focused on your reason for meeting and actual equipping takes place. The team leaders must be prepared ahead of time and know what role each leader will play at the team meeting. Team building begins first among the team leaders. If the team leaders come ready to equip the team at each meeting, the team will be equipped and ready to go in six months.
Equipping Multiple Teams
Even though the preparation and team meeting schedules show multiple teams, most of the comments made are with the idea that there is only one team going out from your church, and, that team is probably made up of mostly first-time summer missionaries. While much of what is written is transferable to any level trip, there are some differences when preparing multiple teams.
Preparing a team of summer mission veterans is usually a much easier task than dealing with strictly first-timers. I say “usually” because if the first-timers were not trained adequately and given opportunity to reach the Level One goals, then it is quite possible of having a group of summer mission trip veterans who are not summer mission ministry veterans. They can sometimes be more difficult to bring up to speed because of the constant complaint of, “we didn’t do that last year!”
However, most veterans are more focused than first-timers and are hungry to build upon their summer missions experience and take on new ministry challenges. They now have a measure of confidence in: their ability to minister; the power of prayer; and, God’s desire to use them to touch others for Christ. By the third year, the veterans are confident ministers and very capable evangelists ready to do whatever it takes to win a hearing for the gospel.
This chapter has unloaded a lot of information on you. What you have just seen is an example of one way to organize the preparation and team meetings. It is not THE way. I am always making changes from year to year, adapting to the type of ministry and the type of people on the team. My first adult team wasn’t even ready for Level 1 preparation or ministry. They were affectionately known as the “Pre-Level 1” team. So, you may have to scale back to a simpler approach the first time out.
The idea is to think through what you want to accomplish in disciple-making and what you want to accomplish while on the trip, that prayerfully, will bring glory to God. Thus far, you’ve primarily seen the organizational strategy. So the question remains: What exactly do you do to meet the discipleship goals at each level? What do you do in team meetings and on the trip to meet the goals?
That’s the next chapter.
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