Better Mission Trips
By MissionWorks
Better Mission TripsFeb 09, 2021
Support Raising Solutions
Description: Have you read The God Ask and want to hear more from the author Steve Shadrach? Here’s your chance. Be encouraged and inspired to follow God wholeheartedly down the path of support raising with this episode!
Notes:
The God Ask by Steve Shadrach
Support Raising Solutions Website: https://supportraisingsolutions.org
Five Keys to Personal Support Raising: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/docs/5Keys-v3.1.pdf
Center for Mission Mobilization: mobilization.org
Support Raising Boot Camp: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/bootcamp/
Article: https://supportraisingsolutions.org/rethinking-short-term-mission-fundraising/#.YVssB5rMKUk
Bio:
Dr. Steve Shadrach (https://twitter.com/steveshadrach) has a passion for developing laborers for Christ to reach the world. In college, he was involved with Cru, Navs, and as head counselor with Kanakuk Kamps. He served as Pastor of Students and Missions at University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, AR. He is the founder of Student Mobilization, which focuses on evangelizing and discipling college students in the U.S. and abroad, The Traveling Team w/Todd Ahrend, Center for Mission Mobilization and Support Raising Solutions w/John Patton, and Campus Ministry Today w/John Allert. From 2004-2012 he also served as the Director of Mobilization for the U.S. Center for World Mission, including the oversight of the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement study program w/Dave Flynn. Dr. Shadrach has a Masters in Biblical Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctorate of Ministry in Church and Para-church Executive Leadership from Denver Seminary. Steve and his wife Carol reside in Fayetteville, AR, where he serves as the Global Ambassador of the Center for Mission Mobilization(www.mobilization.org). They have five adult children and a growing brood of grandchildren!
Empowering and Equipping Minority Missionaries
Description: Support raising is difficult for all missionaries but minority missionaries have their own challenges. Byron Johnson from Vision 9:38 shares about these challenges, how to overcome them, and what churches and organizations can do to support minority missionaries.
Notes:
Bio:
Byron Johnson's roles included campus staff, campus director, area director, and regional director. He is the Founder and Executive Director of VISION 9:38 (2012). For 20 years (1992-2012), He served as a missionary with CO (Campus Outreach). He served in various capacities with CO.
He continues to disciple and mentor young African-American male college students at Morehouse College. His hope and prayer is that God would raise up other African-American missionaries to labor in His harvest.
Byron is married to Kim and they have five children (Kelsey, James Byron II, Kaitlyn, Jordan, and Jonathan). Byron met Kim on a summer mission project hosted by CO while the two of them were in college. They were married in 1993 and currently reside in Atlanta, GA.
Kingdom Resource Raising
Description: What if fundraising was a ministry in itself? What if fundraising and giving became joyful? We talk with Scott Rodin about how we can approach fundraising from a biblical perspective that makes God the fundraiser and us a minister to those around us.
Notes:
Books by Scott Rodin: Million Dollar Dime, The Sower, The Third Conversion
https://thestewardsjourney.com/
Bio:
Scott Rodin has a passion for helping Christian ministry leaders take a biblical approach to leadership development, strategic planning, board development and raising kingdom resources. Over the past thirty-five years he has worked with hundreds of organizations in the U.S., Canada, Middle East, Great Britain, China, India, the Philippines and Australia.
Dr. Rodin is president of The Steward’s Journey and a Senior Consultant and Chief Strategy Officer for The FOCUS Group. He also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Association of Biblical Higher Education. Dr. Rodin holds Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Systematic Theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has authored seventeen books and he blogs weekly at www.thestewardsjourney.com.
Serving in a Muslim Culture
Description: How can you share the gospel with someone in a Muslim culture? This podcast with Pierre Houssney of Horizons International explores some key doctrines of Islam including their view of God, forgiveness, and much more. He also provides some basic ideas that will help you build friendships with muslims and have the confidence to share the gospel in a meaningful and relevant way.
Notes:
https://www.horizonsinternational.org/
Bio:
Pierre Rashad Houssney / Executive Director, Horizons International
Pierre Rashad Houssney is a Lebanese-American who grew up in the context of cross-cultural ministry among Muslims and international students. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado, and is fluent in English and Arabic. He has been in full-time ministry with Horizons International since 2006, and has been an active member of Horizons’ teaching staff and curriculum development team since 2002.
He played a lead role in the development and teaching of the Engaging Islam and Cubs to Lions training curricula, and co-edited Engaging Islam (Georges Houssney, Treeline Publishing, Boulder, CO, 2010). Pierre has traveled to over 30 countries, and his field experience in the Middle East began when he spent summers doing outreach in Lebanon as a teenager and spent a gap year during university doing music ministry in Beirut.
Pierre lives in Beirut, Lebanon, with his wife, Gigi, and their three children -Rami, Talia, and Jana - where he leads a team of 98 nationals and missionaries who run 8 centers for evangelism and discipleship in Lebanon and surrounding countries, the School of Hope for refugee children, and the Middle East Center forWorld Missions (MEC) in Beirut, Lebanon, through which Horizons partners with a network of over 80 Lebanese churches and hundreds of foreign churches and organizations who minister to Muslims in the Middle East. As a key part ofHorizons' teaching staff, he trains Arab and Western Christians for effective ministry to Muslims, and is active in missiological advocacy among the global missions community. Pierre is a team player, and loves to see new leaders thrive and work together to glorify God.
Serving in an Asian Culture
Description: What do you need to know about the culture before serving in an Asian country? While not every country or region is the same, this podcast with “A friend of Asia” will help you with large cultural themes that will help you understand and communicate with those you are visiting. We talk about views of the after-life, “face,” honor-shame, ancestor worship and other elements of culture but, most importantly, talk about how the message of the gospel can be uniquely good news for those you are visiting.
Notes:
Serving in a European, post-modern, post-Christian culture
Description: Gene Harter from Greater Europe Mission discusses how to prepare for ministry in a European, post-modern, post-Christian setting. Before you assume western Europe is just like your culture, have a listen to this podcast! We talk about how to shatter preconceived ideas of visiting Americans and Canadians and the importance of authentic relationships, among many other things.
Notes:
Missions and the Chinese American Church
Description: John Chow from the Chinese Mission Convention (CMC) and Isabel Lee of the Chinese Bible Church of Maryland share about the contributions of the Chinese Church to the Great Commission. They also share about the CMC Mission Alliance--a unique way for churches to grow in their mission’s engagement.
Notes:
Bio:
John is a trophy of God’s grace. His parents were sent by God to Indonesia from their home church in China. John was born in Indonesia. Later God called his father to pastor a Chinese church in Japan for two years before moving to the United States. John served in the Federal government for over 35 years in various management and leadership positions. Over the last 10 years, he has been serving on the National Executive Team for the annual Chinese Mission Convention mobilizing Chinese churches in the United States to join God’s mission in the world. John and Lorrie live in Washington DC area and have three married children and two grandchildren.
Isabel has been the Minister of Women’s Ministry since 2009. Since November of 2018, she also took on the role of Minister of Global Outreach Mobilization at CBCM. She graduated from Washington Bible College and Columbia International in Bible and Missions and has been in ministry since 1980. Her goal in ministry is Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” She serves women in the areas of discipleship, mentoring, encouragement, counseling and prayer through Bible studies, seminars and retreats. She strongly believes when women are strong spiritually and emotionally, they are positive influences to those around them. She desires to see many come to the saving knowledge of Christ, discipled and faithfully follow Him and serve Him. She prays, encourages and mentors the younger generation and trust that God will thrust them forth to the nations to reach the unreached.
Part II: Mobilizing Communities of Color
Description: Ron and Starr Nelson, founders of Sowing Seeds of Joy, share about the unique opportunities African Americans have to share the gospel because of their ongoing story of liberation from oppression. They also share about the importance of relationships and a commitment to the long-haul when it comes to partnering with and mobilizing the African American Church.
Notes:
https://www.sowingseedsofjoy.org
Bio:
Ron Nelson is a licensed and ordained minister, is co-founder of Sowing Seeds of Joy, an organization founded in 2007 to connect the hearts of people to the heart of God. We do this by empowering church leaders and believers through discipleship and training. Our belief is that effective evangelism leads to community transformation. Ron holds a B.A. in Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling, and is a former police officer, US federal agent, and mission director at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, TX.; he now serves as a mission mobilizer, Perspectives Coordinator, and certified Evantell trainer. Ron’s travels and experience has taken him to Haiti, Belize, Brazil, Jamaica, Papa New Guinea, Austria, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nigeria, Kenya, Philippines, South Africa, and countless regions and cities of the US.
Star Nelson is co-founder of Sowing Seeds of Joy. She holds a B.A. in Criminology, minors in Government, Psychology, Accounting, Spanish, Former Tax Business owner, Star has 32-years of Government experience with Internal Revenue Services and the US Postal Service (now retired postmaster), and works as a very knowledgeable logistical trainer and mobilizer in cross-cultural missions for SSOJ. Along with husband, Ron, she too is a Perspectives Course Coordinator and certified Evantell Trainer. Star has logistically coordinated hundreds of mission teams since 1998 and has traveled extensively with her husband serving in global ministry. Star is an advocate of connecting the hearts of people to the heart of God by way of mission education, and mission exposure.
Part I: Mobilizing Communities of Color
Description: We are a diverse people and a diverse church--by God’s design. In this episode, we talk with Pastor Adrian Reeves from The National African American Missions Council about the rich history of black missionaries, challenges facing the African American church, and how we can work together as a diverse church to mobilize missionaries.
Notes:
Bio:
Pastor Adrian Reeves Bio
Executive Director, National African American Missions Council
Adrian Reeves is a missions mobilizer and Executive Director for the National African American Missions Council, a conglomerate of missionaries, churches, and missions agencies working to increase African American involvement in the Great Commission. Additionally, he serves as the Executive Pastor for Christ Kingdom Church in Prince George’s County, Maryland where he oversees the Christian Education, Evangelism, Worship, Administration, and Family Life ministries. Having accepted the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 12; Pastor Reeves has served the local church in various capacities: Youth Pastor, Trustee, Prison Ministry Coordinator, and Camp Director.
He majored in Sociology at the University of Maryland College Park receiving the Hillman Entrepreneurs Scholarship Award. His experience in human resources and non-profit management have allowed him to train ministry and marketplace leaders for positive cultural impact. Pastor Reeves is passionate about establishing healthy structures and strategies for organizations and institutions to thrive in an ever-changing environment. He is married to the delightful Lady Niesha Reeves and they have two wonderful children Adonis and Nyazia whom are both musically gifted. Recently he has established a new platform called “The Table of Brotherhood” to foster racial healing and create a safe space for Christians to address race issues and solutions from a Kingdom perspective. He sums up his life’s work reminding himself “Only what you do for Christ will last”.
Listen, Learn, Serve, Return: a model for urban mission trips
Description: CW Allen from Sunshine Gospel Ministries shares about the Bridge Builders program he leads. Mission teams come to listen, learn, serve, and then return to be “bridge builders” for the gospel in their own communities. We talk about how to leverage the urban mission trip, not just to assist the ministry you’re serving, but to equip participants to impact their communities afterwards too.
Notes:
@bridgebuildchi
Bio:
CW Allen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio where he grew up listening to Hip Hop music and fell in love with heart-pounding drums and bass lines. He began rapping his senior year of high school and never looked back. By that time he had already fallen deeply in love with God and His word so his music was just an expression of his heart and surroundings.
What to know about STMs in a Rural Setting
Description: Mike Rhoades from Praying Pelican Missions shares with us about the uniqueness of serving in rural communities. Listen to hear about partnering with churches in rural communities, how mission teams can support the work of the local church, and how to be prepared for your mission trip.
Notes:
website - www.ppm.org,
phone number - 888.ppm.4090, (1-888-776-4090)
email - info@prayingpelicanmissions.org
Bio:
Mike currently serves as the Director of Marketing and a member of a leadership team that puts on the annual Borderless Conference. Prior to serving with PPM, Mike was on staff with several churches. He was a founding member and worship leader at Relevant Community Church in Elkhorn, NE, after which he served as the Associate Pastor of Youth and Young Adults at Grace Chapel Community Church in Hermitage, PA for just under five years. He holds a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Nebraska Kearney and a Masters in Christian Ministry from Liberty University. Mike lives in Omaha, NE with his wife, Nikki, two kids, Liam (7) and Aravis (5), and their dog, Luna. In addition to being constantly on the go with family activities, Mike leads worship for his local church and loves to play golf or go for a run when time allows.
What to know about STMs and Disaster Relief
Description: It seems that one natural disaster hardly leaves the news before another one happens. It’s easy to forget that it can take years for people to recover from disasters. We talk with Karen Carr from Convoy of Hope about how to be ready to help others after a disaster in your area and how to be ready to help others when the disaster happens elsewhere. Short-term teams can be a great way of partnering for the long-haul!
Notes:
https://www.convoyofhope.org/what-we-do/disaster-services/
Bio:
Karen M. Carr has lived her life in a framework of global missions, education, and health care. She has brought those experiences with her to Convoy of Hope where she has ministered for more than 12 years. Karen has more recently added a role on the Disaster Services Team, working with churches and organizations for local disaster engagement.
Utah: the forgotten mission field
Description: Russ East, the founder of Utah Partnerships for Christ (UPFC), and his family were 4th generation Mormons before being invited to a Bible church in their hometown and becoming followers of Jesus. We talk with Russ about how UPFC is reaching out to Mormons in Utah and how mission teams are a part of their ministry. He also shares how a mission trip to Utah can help you reach out to Mormons in your own community. Listen to learn more about serving among Mormons as you discover God’s call for your life and ministry.
Notes:
Bio:
I grew up in a fourth generation Mormon family. When I turned eight, I was baptized and confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was soon encouraged to save money for my mission when I turned nineteen. I can vividly remember tithing ten percent of my one dollar a week allowance, and how good that made me feel. I remember singing songs like, “Book of Mormon Stories”, and “The Golden Plates”.
I also remember the fear that swept my heart because my Mom and Dad were not married in the Mormon Temple. If they had been I was taught our family would be sealed together in heaven, and never apart when we died. I remember competition rather than Christ’s love. I remember pressure to be perfect rather than the plan of true salvation.
How Virtual Mission Experiences Can Support Your Mission
Description: Hope’s Promise has used virtual mission experiences in a creative way to support their 4 foundational purposes for facilitating in-person mission trips. Colleen Briggs shares what this looked like for them, what they’ve learned, and how they’ve used virtual mission experiences to develop advocates who help support the family-based care of orphans and vulnerable children.
Notes:
Lifeline Christian Mission: https://lifeline.org/virtual-mission-trip
Hope’s Promise website: https://www.hopespromise.com/get-involved/
Bio:
Colleen Briggs earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver and served as a campus staff worker for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for seven years. Through Hope’s Promise, she and her husband adopted a son from Kenya in 2001 and could not forget the children they left behind. Colleen and her family volunteered with Hope’s Promise to open family style orphan homes in Kenya in 2006. She currently serves as the Director of Orphan Care, serving alongside staff in Nepal, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam to launch and sustain families for orphaned children.
Virtual Mission Trips -- from a Zoom meeting to a fully formed mission experience
Description: We talk with Rev. Jim Bell and Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil, from International Ministries, about how they have developed vibrant virtual mission experiences for people involving everything from a couple of hours to a multi-day mission experience; complete with training, cross-cultural interaction, and follow-through.
Notes:
https://www.internationalministries.org/
Bios:
Reverend Jim Bell serves International Ministries as Associate Executive Director for Global Mission, providing oversight and support for IM’s global personnel, programs and partner relations. A graduate of Barrington College and Southern Seminary, Jim developed a passion for engaging the local church in cross-cultural mission while serving as a Youth Pastor and Church Planter/Pastor in Southwest Ohio for 21 years. He was called to IM in 2005, and served as a Mission Partnership Coordinator and Director of Vocational Development before stepping into his current role in the fall of 2017. Jim lives in Chesterfield, Virginia, with his wife Karen and daughter Katie as well as their black lab, Lily, and Bernese Mountain Dog, Twyla.
Rev. Sandra Dorsainvil is an ordained minister with ABC-USA. She joined the International Ministries Division of the American Baptist Churches USA in April 2017. Her passion for missions was formed as a result of her missionary life, as Third Culture Kid living in several African countries and Italy, from 1963 to 1980. Mexico, Peru, The Netherlands as well as within the United States. Since the 2019 Hurricane Dorian, she now travels frequently to The Bahamas on special assignment, to help facilitate trauma counseling and minister to local pastors, pastors’ spouses and guidance counselors.
Virtual Mission Trips From A Host’s Perspective
Description: We talk with Larry McCrary from Upstream Collective about what he learned from hosting a short-term mission trip with his church in Spain in the months following the COVID shut down in March 2020. We talk about how the idea came about, what they did, how he benefited from it, and what role he sees virtual mission trips playing in the future.
Notes:
https://www.theupstreamcollective.org/
Bio:
Larry is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Upstream Collective. He and his family have lived in Europe for nearly 20 years, where he has served in a variety of strategy and leadership roles. Prior to moving to Europe he was a church planter and pastor in the US. He is a co-author of Tradecraft: For the Church on Mission, The First 30 Daze: Practical Encouragement for Living Abroad Intentionally, and The MarketSpace: Essential Relationships Between the Sending Church, Marketplace Worker, and Missionary Team.
Serving at Home
Who knew when we were doing short-term mission trips, we were training to serve at home? In this episode we talk with Amanda Roozeboom from ThereforeGo Ministries about how they took what they use for short-term mission teams, to help churches mobilize their members for ministry in their own communities, when COVID shut everything down.
Notes:
- ThereforeGo Ministries: https://www.thereforego.com
- Serve at home kit: https://www.thereforego.com/servehome/
- Amanda Roozeboom, SERVE Director, amanda@thereforego.com
Bio:
Amanda Roozeboom is the SERVE Director at ThereforeGo Ministries. She has over two decades of youth ministry experience as well as experience serving as a Pastor of Youth and Ministry Coordination in the local church setting. Amanda and her husband, Russ, live in Grand Rapids, MI, and usually have a retired racing greyhound napping somewhere in their house.
Partnership From A Central American Perspective
Alberto Araica has led many partnerships between groups in North and Central American countries for Living Water International. He joins us to share his thoughts about partnership from a Central American perspective.
Notes:
Living Water International: https://water.cc/
Bio:
Alberto is the CCM Regional Director for Living Water International. He was born in Nicaragua, studied epidemiology at Tulane University in New Orleans, and has worked in central America with several large NGOs such as USAID, World Relief, World Vision and founded his own NGO to address the issues of conflict and violence in Nicaragua. His life, work, and educational experience give him a unique understanding of many cultures throughout North and Central America.
Partnership From a Romanian Pastor’s Perspective
Learn how to partner with the global church by hearing directly from global church leaders! We’re joined by Raul Costea, missionary and pastor of Hope Church Romania, to talk about partnership from his perspective.
Notes:
Bio:
Raul Costea is the coordinating pastor of Hope Church and is called by God to proclaim the gospel of Christ. He is passionate about equipping and mobilizing other mission workers in areas where Christ is less known. During his studies at the Bethany Bible College in Sibiu, he received guidance from the Holy Spirit to move to the Oltenia region. He is married to Ana, who helps him in evangelism. They have two boys and together they have the vision to see the Hope of Christ spread, not only in Oltenia, but also to the Balkan countries.
Partnering with First Nations Ministries
We talk with Temera Millar from North American Indigenous Ministries (NAIM) about how she came to faith in Jesus as a First Nations person herself. She also shares what she believes is important for partnering and ministering among First Nations people.
Notes:
- North American Indigenous Ministries: https://www.naim.ca
Bio:
Temera Millar is First Nations from the Squamish Nation and Lil’wat Nation and is the Director of Recruitment for North American Indigenous Ministries. She graduated from the Native Indian Teacher Education Program (UBC) with a Bachelor of Education. After teaching a few years she received her Master of Arts in Christian Studies from ACTS Seminaries with a focus on Intercultural Studies. Wylie and Temera are involved in ministry on her home reserve of Mount Currie. Her passion is to see more First Nations people know the truth and joy of Christ. Her and her husband Wylie are involved in ministry on her home reserve of Mount Currie.
Doing Distribution Ministries Well
We talk with Nathan Roskam from Because International--creators of The Shoe That Grows--about how to do product or distribution-based ministries with intentionality. Nathan shares some great principles and considerations for how to use the lifecycle of the product to turn distribution from something that can create dependence to something that can develop independence.
Notes:
● Because International -- https://becauseinternational.org
● The book Factfulness by Hans Rosling
● https://www.gapminder.org -- website by the authors of Factfulness. Take the Gapminder Test to see how well your worldview matches up with actual facts. Then watch TED Talks, get helpful tools and resources, and much more.
● The Chalmers Center: https://chalmers.org
Preparing Next Gen Short-Term Missionaries for Missions, Part 2
In part 2 of the conversation with Dr. Jolene Erlacher, we talk about how to prepare Gen Z short-term missionaries for successful, God-honoring mission trips. This includes how we screen and select participants, how we interact with their parents, how we engage them in ministry, how we train and debrief them, and even how we handle the smartphone and social media aspects.
Notes:
● Link to download The Next Mile Mentor Guide: https://soe.org/free-downloads/the-next-mile-mentor-guide/
● Link to Barna’s new report, “The Future of Missions” (https://www.barna.com/future-of-missions-2/)
● Marching Off The Map by Tim Elmore
Preparing Next Gen Short-Term Missionaries for Missions, Part 1
We interview Dr. Jolene Erlacher about Gen Z to find out how we can engage this new generation in mission work. Rather than catering to one generation, we seek to understand each generation, what they value, their strengths, weaknesses, and how we can journey together for the sake of the kingdom.
How To Keep Mission Teams From Cutting You Out!
Do mission teams try to work directly with hosts and cut your agency out of the picture? You know this is not good for the agency, for the hosts, or for the goers! In this conversation, Dale Lusk shares how mission agencies can cut the red tape and be so relevant that mission teams won’t want to cut them out! Dale is the International Director of Global Engagements for the Evangelical Covenant Church and has been involved in missions for more than 30 years.