Brian Howell provides an anthropology of short-term mission (STM) among American Christians. Providing a history of STM along with an ethnographic case study of a trip to the Dominican Republic, Howell argues that the movement is sustained by a uniquely Christian travel narrative that borrows from the anthropology of tourism and pilgrimage.

This book is for those who suspect that current practices of short-term missions are in need of serious reform. It is a book for those who recognize that, in this decade of global upheaval--and in light of the cultural, political, and demographic shifts affecting churches everywhere--now is the time for change. The essays here are intended to equip and inspire any who want to advocate for change but may not yet know what change looks like. This book offers honest perspectives from people who care about the purposes of short-term missions (STM) yet know that we must figure out better ways of achieving them. Nearly all contributors are actively engaged in STM--and many write from the perspective of those who host STM teams in places all over the world. This book is a platform for visionaries who are calling for better ways for the church to engage the needs of the world. In sharing their experiences, they hope to promote critical rethinking and creative reimagination about the ways that the global church might learn to collaborate on a new basis of coequality and mutual respect--for the good of the world and the glory of God.

Going on a short-term missions trip can be a life-transforming experience, but it can also involve weeks of physical and spiritual challenges. In this revised and expanded 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, and discussion and reflection questions.

With over 300,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. This stand-alone resource applies the principles of that book specifically to short term missions. Helping Without Hurting: Short Term MissionsLeader’s Guide is aimed at the preparation and debriefing of short-term missionaries. Accompanying Helping Without Hurting: Short Term Missions Participants’ Guide, it is an ideal resource for church leaders, missions pastors, and youth pastors who make short-term missions planning decisions and desire to prevent inadvertent harm as they enter materially poor communities. With direction for designing STMs well in light of the principles of When Helping Hurt, practical examples from short-term trips to illustrate those principles, and suggested resources for further learning and implimentatin, this guide is an all-in-one manual for leaders. Plus, it shows the content of the participant’s guide with annotation and teaching notes to guide leaders as they facilitate sessions with participants.

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.

Effective Engagement in Short-term Missions represents the single most ambitious effort to date to understand and improve upon patterns of ministry in 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 last but not least, the impact of STM on participants. The goal of this book is to improve the ways in which STM is carried out and to improve 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 short term missions movement. Youth pastors, mission pastors, lay leaders, college and seminary students, and missiologists will all find information that is helpful and relevant to their concerns.

Lead short-term mission trips (STMs) that catalyze trip participants into mission-oriented disciple-makers when they return home. STMs can be mutually beneficial service opportunities that have positive long-term impact on both trip participants and national hosts. While this is possible, it is not always the outcome of many STMs. STMs often prioritize the short-term experience of trip participants and miss the longer-term discipleship opportunity they offer. STMs can be a context of significant, mutually beneficial work between both trip participants and national hosts. This work can serve as a catalyst for meaningful, long-term growth for both parties, but an appropriate philosophy and trip structure is needed. This book studies and reveals best practices for both.

This book tells the story of CWE’s development from its initial formative years and its progression into a ministry that uses the tools of construction, medical and farming as a means for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. The Lord had far loftier goals for CWE than the mere construction of buildings. You will read about the ministry’s initial focus on construction, and how that focus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, transitioned to assist the local church in fulfilling the Great Commission by providing and facilitating spiritually effective mission opportunities throughout the world. It has been CWE’s vision to see lives transformed for the Gospel’s sake in all the World through construction, medical and agricultural missions.

Updated in 2020, including a chapter on traveling amidst the coronavirus (Covid-19), a worldwide pandemic. Short-Term Missions, A Christian Guide to STMs is a full and concise guide to STMs. What you need to know about planning a STM, or joining a STM team, and considering the options as part of the Great Commission, from the Good News to good works. This book is full of anecdotes and advice with informative timelines, and a biblical framework for STMs to help you engage in cross-cultural missions; with viable solutions to common mission issues to make your STM more effective to the glory of God. Mission considerations and types of STMs. What to do, where to go, with the best methods. How to pick a team or choose a STM organization. Raising financial support and managing your STM budget. Travel kit list, items to buy and what to leave behind. Emotional and spiritual work, before, during and at home. Security, safety, duty and character, and being streetwise. Dealing with social media and disruptive team members. Medical advice, obtaining a visa and your plane ticket. What to pack, how best to travel and airport etiquette. Christian literature, building a home or sinking a bore well. Communication, language issues and public speaking. Team dynamics, food and drink, the tribe, and social time. Working with the locals and being culturally sensitive. What to do before and after you return home. Mathew Backholer is the co-founder of ByFaith Media (ByFaith.org) and films and presents the reality mission series ByFaith TV which airs globally on numerous Christian networks. He has been on more than thirty mission trips and has experience: as a team member, a leader and as a host. Mathew is passionate about the Great Commission – to make disciples of Jesus in all nations by the power of the Holy Spirit. He has travelled the length of Africa, from Cairo to the Cape, across South-East Asia from India to Vietnam and from Nepal to Russia via China and Mongolia and has survived the Trans-Siberian Railway. He has driven around Europe, visited North Africa six times, and has journeyed alone, with friends, as part of team and as a leader.

Revised and updated in 2017. How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission (STM) will guide you through all you need to know about your STM. The author has been on more than thirty mission trips and has experience: as a team member, a leader and as a host. He has participated in the most incredible mission adventures, sharing the Word in Sudan, preaching in villages in India, supplying Bibles in North Africa, assisting the persecuted Church in Asia, and maintaining mission centres in Europe. The book Includes: • What to buy, take with you and leave behind • Who to go with, where to go and when to depart • To join a mission organisation or plan your own STM • The duration, destination and timing of your mission trip • Types of STMs – evangelistic, preaching or humanitarian • Medical issues, your passport, visa and travelling with money • Emotional and spiritual work before, during and on your return • Understanding culture, language and giving your testimony • How to get the money to go and setting a realistic budget • Food, drink, accommodation and working with the locals • Team dynamics, etiquette, leadership and the team • Security, wisdom and safety – being streetwise • Having a safe and successful STM Mathew Backholer is the co-founder of ByFaith Media (www.ByFaith.co.uk) and films and presents the reality mission series ByFaith TV which airs globally on numerous Christian networks. He has travelled to forty nations of the world and is the author of many books, including: Short-Term Missions: A Christian Guide, Extreme Faith: On Fire Christianity, Revival Fires and Awakenings and Global Revival: Worldwide Outpourings.