Doing short-term mission well

Planning to take a team from your church overseas? Where do you start? What has been the experience of others? Malcolm Macdonald, the vicar of St Mary’s Loughton found himself in that situation when taking a mission team to Sweden. “My starting point was the Global Connections Short-Term Code of Best Practice. It helped me think through many issues, including ones that I wouldn’t have considered. It is a must for anyone running a short term team”.

The Short-Term Mission Code combines the expertise of many agencies and churches in the network and is designed to apply to gap years, individual placements, electives and team trips of a few weeks to two years in duration, organised by UK mission agencies, churches and other Christian organisations. Though formed initially with cross-cultural contexts in mind, it can apply to both UK and overseas situations, both same-culture and cross-cultural. Download your copy here and see how it can help your church.

Many agencies go through a peer review process every two years to show that they are committed to improving their practice. So if you have individuals going on mission experience, look out for the logo that shows the agency is operating under the Code of Best Practice. The list of current agencies is available here.

As well as code itself, there are several extra papers and suggestions to help churches and organisations practically implement elements of the code. Do contact us for more information and advice at any time.