Next to choosing the location and partnering organization for a mission trip, leadership selection ranks as most important. Leaders make or break the mission experience. Pastors desperate for a chaperone will settle for someone who fills the slot but is not capable to lead. How do you determine if an adult volunteer can serve effectively as a team leader? Consider the following qualities as a starting point.
Spiritually Mature. Mission work storms into the heart of Satan’s strongholds. You can expect the enemy’s attack, so you need a leader who is mature enough to lead in the midst of challenging circumstances. Cross-cultural experiences are intense times of spiritual formation for participants. You need a leader who can walk with your youth, helping them sort through the questions that often surface when students see a new side of their character.
Physically Healthy. Short-term missions are sometimes more grueling than summer camp, and there’s some tough competition there! The physical stressors add up quickly. Jet lag puts you two steps behind yourself from the beginning. Not being able to drink water from the tap leaves you less hydrated than usual. Then there’s all the walking to which most Americans are unaccustomed. Late nights of fellowship and tea make the mornings come earlier than you might wish. Of course, if you’re working on a service project that requires you to stretch muscles you don’t usually employ, your adult volunteers can become cranky in no time. When choosing your leaders, make sure you pick someone who can withstand the physical rigor with a joyful spirit.
Teachable. Adult volunteers in the church context usually rely on their life experience to help them serve effectively. In a cross-cultural setting, an adult volunteer experiences new phenomenon alongside the students. A person who must be competent in order to feel successful will find a mission trip a defeating experience. Teachable leaders demonstrate a level of personal security which enables them to laugh at themselves and enjoy learning even as they lead others in the same situation.
Experienced. At least one run at learning the skills of intercultural communication equips leaders to serve effectively. Interestingly, this does not mean a leader must have been on a mission trip. While a prior trip is certainly a good opportunity to gain experience, there are other places to do so. A volunteer may have worked with an ethnic population as a school assistant or assisted in a ministry to refugees. There are many contexts in which people are able to learn to relate to others who think, look and speak differently than they do.
Saying no to someone’s desire to participate in mission is a sensitive matter. Nevertheless, making hard decisions before the trip begins will make the trip itself much better. I recommend you emphasize from the beginning that involvement–adult or youth–is a privilege. Instead of allowing everyone interested to join the team, make acceptance a goal to achieve. Additionally, remind your church that every team must be carefully pieced together. Choosing a particular group is not a reflection on the failures of those staying home as much as it is a statement regarding the ability of those chosen to accomplish together the ministry at hand. Other teams at other times will require different personalities and skills. Creating this attitude toward the trip gives you more latitude in selecting the right group of participants without discouraging those not selected.
David Bosworth is the Executive Director of STM Toolbox, an organization devoted to equipping, connecting and serving coordinators of short-term mission by reviewing published resources and collecting/distributing unpublished resources in short-term mission.
