Seven Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission
By Hannah Nielsen
Want to make sure the short-term mission program you’re considering is effective and high quality? Standards of Excellence in Short-term Mission (SOE) was developed by several hundred people in the short-term mission community who saw the need for standards in mission trips. Today, entities show they are committed to excellent, effective short-term mission by adopting the Standards.
The SOE consists of seven standards: God-centeredness, empowering partnerships, mutual design, comprehensive administration, qualified leadership, appropriate training, and thorough follow-up.
1. God-Centeredness
An excellent short-term mission seeks first God’s glory and his kingdom, and is expressed through our:
- Purpose—Centering on God’s glory and his ends throughout our entire short-term mission (STM) process
- Lives—Sound biblical doctrine, persistent prayer and godliness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds
- 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:
- Primary focus on intended receptors
- Plans which benefit all participants
- 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:
- On-field methods and activities aligned to long-term strategies of the partnership
- Goer-guests' ability to implement their part of the plan
- 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:
- Truthfulness in promotion, finances, and reporting results
- Appropriate risk management
- 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:
- Character—Spiritually mature servant leadership
- Skills—Prepared, competent, organized and accountable leadership
- 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:
- Biblical, appropriate, and timely training
- On-going training and equipping (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
- Qualified trainers
7. Thorough Follow-up
An excellent short-term mission assures debriefing and appropriate follow-up for all participants, and is expressed by:
- Comprehensive debriefing (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
- On-field reentry preparation
- Post-field follow-up and evaluation
Find trips from organizations that have adopted the SOE by refining your ShortTermMissions.com search results by "affilliation."
Learn more about the Standards of Excellence, or for a handy printable check it out on our Go.Serve.Love. blog. Checklist: Standards of Excellence
Definitions
- Intended Receptors: the people on the field who will receive the Goer-Guests' service or mission activity. Intended receptors can also be aspects of God's creation (animals, natural resources, etc.) and aspects of human creation (civic or corporate structures, oppressive systems, etc.)
- Goer-Guests: those who go to the field to serve (i.e., all of the individuals or team members who are being sent, including team leaders)
- Host Receivers: the on-field persons who receive short-term missionaries (i.e., everyone at the on-field location: full-time missionaries, other expatriates, national pastors and local leaders, local nationals and any local organizations which they represent such as churches, civic organizations, NGOs, etc.)