Whether you are a church organizing your own short-term mission or you are an individual Christian wanting to join a short-term mission project, you need to be concerned about the comprehensive administration of the short-term mission. The SOE uses this broad term to include the following:
- Integrity of the organizers
- Competency of the organizers, especially in the area of risk management, and
- Capability to support and deliver of the organizers.
Let’s look at these standards in three rapid-fire blogs.
4A – INTEGRITY
Yesterday, we had a fairly lengthy discussion about which countries to advertise as LST sites for 2011. It is tempting to use “attractive” countries in our promotion, even if we seldom send teams there. A few weeks ago, we debated at length a video clip that showed an LST worker reading with small children. Little children are huge emotional magnets for recruiting workers—but only seldom do our workers read with young children, so it is not typical of the LST experience. These were discussions to insure LST’s integrity.
Is there honesty in promotion of your short-term mission? Check the motivations you appeal to in your promotion? Check the description of activities as compared to what the work will primarily be. Is the host culture as needy, as irreligious, as unhealthy, as secure as it is described?
The world of advertising that we live in has skewed our sense of honesty—not to the point of lying, but to spinning the truth. Speak the truth…in love, and you will honor God!
Is there transparency in all areas of the finances? How have the costs for this short-term mission been established? By whom? How carefully are funds collected and dispersed? Is there an accounting process that includes accountability to someone external to this particular project? Do all participants have access to financial information?
LST has three people who do nothing but work with the finances and accounting for the monies we receive and dispense. There are strict protocols in our office about who can open an envelope with money in it, for instance, and that same person cannot record and deposit that money. Each LST team does simple accounting with the money that they are using in their LST project.
Then we have a yearly audit by an outside accounting firm, who spends days in our office, going through receipts, deposits, even the accounting books of the individual LST teams that went overseas. Their audit is something that LST will provide to anyone who requests it. In addition, LST files a Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service, that discloses again all important financial information—and much more. The Form 990 is public information and accessible to everyone! It’s like publishing your personal income tax filing on the internet.
Are the results of the short-term mission reported honestly and accurately? Sometimes results are vague because the organizers had no measurable goals; that is double trouble in my opinion! Other times results are skewed to justify the expense and effort. That is dishonest. Most often, results are simply not tracked or measured. Not measuring, not assessing is not honest either. How do you know you encouraged the host church? How do you know people grew spiritually?
Nothing alienates people from Christian missions faster than the hint, the whiff of dishonesty! If you are the organizer, you must ensure integrity at every level. If you are joining a team, make sure the organizers are transparent to a fault.
Next #4b:: Appropriate Risk Management
Mark's Blog 
Great column, Mark, and all so true. Predisan is always working on this, and one thing that helps us are the detailed stats we collect yearly for every contact we have with any individual – medical, spiritual, educational during the year. We publish some of those in our annual report, and all are available. One thing we tried to do during last year’s political upheaval in Honduras was keep our friends informed about the realities of the situation. Keep these columns coming!
what would your suggestions be for those of us in the field long-term — who have short-term teams come to where we are? generally the long-termers have very little to do with stateside fundraising and advertising for those short-term trips… even though we’re hosting the group and organizing the work.
Thanks for asking. Perhaps the short answer is to know who you are inviting. Inform yourself of how they recruit, how they screen workers, how they handle funds. If you are inviting a church team directly, then ask to be cc:d on all information that goes out. If you are working with an organization like Let’s Start Talking or a campus ministry group, then ask those kinds of questions before you invite the group. As the potential host, you have not only every right, but even the responsibility for knowing that the group you are inviting works with integrity. Hope that helps. God bless you in your efforts for Him.
good ideas. thanks a lot.
What you’ve written is so true. We had a consultant a few years ago that wanted Herald of Truth to run more pictures of people being fed and more pictures of little children. Even though that doesn’t reflect our focus, it would be good for fundraising.
Thankfully our directors don’t see it that way. Integrity is too important.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer