Biblical Basis for Short Term Missions
Larry Ragan, CultureLink
In the global missions world and among global missions leaders, there is an on-going debate as to whether short-term mission trips should even be taking place. This conflict can be resolved by understanding how short-term missions fit into a biblical context. By having a biblical foundation for short-term mission trips, your teams will be based on a strong foundation. This seminar will look at biblical examples of short-term missions trips and how Jesus used them to impact his disciples and imprint communities.

Conflict Resolution within Teams
Doug Calhoun, Christ Church of Oak Brook
Whether we want to admit it or not, conflict is a regular part of our lives. We respond to it in many different ways. Failure to deal with conflict, especially on our STM teams, can have tremendous consequences. This workshop will explore healthy, helpful, biblically based ways of dealing with conflict between others and ourselves.

Effective Team Meeting Times
Carine Toussaint, Westerly Road Church
An important aspect of any short term team should be meeting together before, during and after a mission trip. This session will focus on how to structure pre-field meetings so that they are memorable, effective and beneficial; On-field meetings so that they informational and spiritual and post-field meetings so that they are reflective, encouraging and missional.

Effective Team Selection
Bennie Ingraham, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
You’re getting five calls a day from people wanting to go on your short-term mission trip. Great! They are willing, but are they a good match for your team? Going on a short-term mission trip is a privilege, not a right, so selecting the right candidates is a vital part of developing an effective team. It’s been said that “one bad apple can spoil the bunch…” This practical workshop will cover aspects of the selection process; interviewing, questions to ask, handling the awkward situation of turning-down a candidate, matching candidates to specific short term projects, if and when to gamble on a not so perfect candidate and criteria to be used for selecting a team members. However, through an intentional selection process and careful interviewing, your team can have the transforming experience that STM trips are meant to have.

Experiential Cross Cultural Training for Short Term Mission Teams
Greg Robinson, Challenge Quest
Successful cross cultural experiences are the result of preparation. Teams need training to expose their own anxiety and assumptions as well as to become aware of the cultures they are going to visit. This workshop will explore a simply but powerful experiential activity that will prepare groups to grow in their cultural awareness. Come and experience the activity called Barnga.

In Your Own Back Yard: Benefits of Domestic Short Term Mission Trips
Julie Duncan, Mountain T.O.P. Inc.
Jesus’ call to spread the Good News is as loud and clear domestically as it is internationally. This workshop will focus on the advantages of staying local with missions and what a well-prepared team can experience in their own back yard.

Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission: An Introduction
Wayne Sneed, Orphanos Foundation
What’s this “Standards of Excellence” all about anyway? Do my church trips “qualify?” Should I even care? Are these really nation-wide standards that apply to the unique kinds of short-term trips that we’re doing? Am I going to be policed? And told where to go? And what to do? And how to do it? Will it cost money? Who came up with these “standards” anyway? Can I just come to check it out without any obligation? You! Probably yes. Absolutely yes. Absolutely yes again. No. No. No. Like we said: No! Just a little bit. Hundreds of people around the United States doing church-based, college-based, and agency-based short-term mission trips. You betcha.

STM 101
Shaun Sheahan, Rama de OLivo Ministries
This seminar is designed to give an overview of the nuts & bolts of short term missions. It will give motivations and philosophies of short term missions, what makes a good short-term mission experience, and common mistakes to avoid. We will touch on cultural considerations and the all-important theme of making our mission about Jesus’ agenda, not ours.

Support Raising: Marketing or Discovery
Brian Herwaggen, Delta Ministries
“The first question most short-termers ask is, “How much will the trip cost?” How do we go about funding these short-term mission trips? Is it okay for people to just pay for the trip themselves? How can we motivate and mobilize our church family to pray, encourage AND give? We’ll look at why support raising is important and creative ideas to help our short-termers raise the funds for their trips.”

Team Building with your STM Teams
Gail Drake, LEAMIS International
People who participate in STM teams should be fruitful AND fulfilled within the team experience. Many people who go on trips reach only a minimal level of relationship with the team because they have a membership mentality instead of a team player-ship mentality. This workshop will help you learn how to create a team environment that helps team members to maximize their short-term mission trip experience and to be fruitful and fulfilled team players.

The Importance of Debriefing
Debra Snellen, LEAMIS International
A short-term mission trip is only the beginning of the experience! This workshop will help you fulfill the goal of integrating the experience into daily life so that the trip will continue to have an impact long after everyone returns home. We will look at on-field and home- debriefing ideas and techniques to help your team work through and process their experience, prepare for returning home, and the challenge of allowing the experience to change life values.

The Short Term Team Leader Role
Wayne Sneed, Orphanos
OK, so you’ve agreed to lead a short term mission team for your church, but you’re not quite sure what that means. “What do I have to do? What are the three primary hats I’ll have to wear? Insurance! Does that mean I could get sued? What is a participant trilogy and why should I care? Is there such a thing as a perfect team leader? If so, I’m not sure I qualify!” Don’t panic, none of us really qualify for perfection. But we can help pull it all together for you and makes sense of the Team Leader’s role in light of the MISTM-Grid © and the Standards of Excellence in Short Term Mission.

Tools of the Trade: Travel Resources, Service Ideas and Internet Aids
Daryl Smithgall, Footsteps Missions
This workshop session will present you with travel resources, service ideas, and internet aids to help make your trips easier and more effective.

Training your STM team
Amy Hergonroether, Literacy & Evangelism Int'l
I know who, when, where, and why.... but HOW?! Before getting to the airport, how do we go from signed-up individuals to a prepared ministry team? This workshop will target stateside training ideas that could significantly influence your service to the nations. What do we need to do here before going there?