A Network Initiative

Standards for Sending Short-term Missionaries

1. God-Centeredness

An excellent short-term mission seeks first God's glory and his kingdom, and is expressed through our:

  1. Purpose - Centering on God's glory and his ends throughout our entire STM process
  2. Lives - Sound biblical doctrine, persistent prayer, and godliness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds
  3. Methods - Wise, biblical, and culturally-appropriate methods which bear spiritual fruit

2. Empowering Partnerships

An excellent short-term mission establishes healthy, interdependent, on-going relationships between sending and receiving partners, and is expressed by:

  1. Primary focus on intended receptors
  2. Plans which benefit all participants
  3. Mutual trust and accountability

3. Mutual Design

An excellent short-term mission collaboratively plans each specific outreach for the benefit of all participants, and is expressed by:

  1. On-field methods and activities aligned to long-term strategies of the partnership
  2. Goer-guests' ability to implement their part of the plan
  3. Host receivers' ability to implement their part of the plan

4. Comprehensive Administration

An excellent short-term mission exhibits integrity through reliable set-up and thorough administration for all participants, and is expressed by:

  1. Truthfulness in promotion, finances, and reporting results
  2. Appropriate risk management
  3. Quality program delivery and support logistics

5. Qualified Leadership

An excellent short-term mission screens, trains, and develops capable leadership for all participants, and is expressed by:

  1. Character - Spiritually mature servant leadership
  2. Skills - Prepared, competent, organized and accountable leadership
  3. Values - Empowering and equipping leadership

6. Appropriate Training

An excellent short-term mission prepares and equips all participants for the mutually designed outreach, and is expressed by:

  1. Biblical, appropriate, and timely training
  2. On-going training and equipping (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
  3. Qualified trainers

7. Thorough Follow-Up

An excellent short-term mission assures debriefing and appropriate follow-up for all participants, and is expressed by:

  1. Comprehensive debriefing (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
  2. On-field re-entry preparation
  3. Post-field follow-up and evaluation

© 2003 Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission (U.S. Version).

These standards were developed as a cooperative effort of the Fellowship of Short-Term Missions Leaders, the National Short-Term Missions Conference, ACMC, the Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies and the Interdenominational Foreign of Mission Association.