Steps for planning a team missions trip

Check List for Planning a Team Mission Trip:

___ Pray about if, when, and where to go.

• The “where” is often determined by your personal or organizational contacts. If you don’t have contacts, check with a church missions board, a missions organization (Like YWAM, Teen Mania, Real Impact, ASELSI,  or someone who has gone on a team previously.)
• Consider what kind of missions trip you would like to plan: evangelistic, construction, children’s ministry, medical, or a mix of several of these, etc. How many people would you want to have on the trip. I recommend starting with a smaller group of 8 to 15 and getting the hang of it before doing larger groups. Check with the hosting missionaries. They may have suggestions regarding team size.

___ Contact your church missions board or pastor to share your heart.

• This lets you see if something else is planned similar and brings you under the leadership covering of your church.  Some questions you’ll want to ask:

• • Supportive leadership–Is the church leadership supportive of this mission?
  • Finances–Can donors and team members receive tax deductions by giving toward the team through the church?
  • Team meeting locations–Can the team meet at the church for preparations?
  • Promotions–Will the church allow team recruiting and help communicate about the team to church attendees or youth groups?
  • Transportation–Does the church have transportation resources (a van or trailer or car) that can be used to get the team there (if it’s within driving distance).

___ Contact potential missionaries or mission organizations that seem to fit your destination and purpose.

• Ideally this is an organization or missionary who is already somehow connected with your church. This allows deeper connections between your church and the missionary beyond the length of the mission trip.
• Questions to ask:

Have they hosted teams before?

• Are they willing to host the team and plan or help plan outreaches, ministry opportunities, etc. in-country.

What dates work for them? (Know several dates that work for you so you can ask them to check on those.)

How many people can they handle (What’s an ideal team size for them?)

Costs. What will in country costs be? What is included in that?

• You’ll need to be able to pay for food, housing, water, transportation, supplies (construction, outreach, etc.), emergencies, etc.

What advice can they give you on preparing your team?

• They may have a packet that is already together to help you with planning.

___ Research costs

• Airfare (Check online and with a reliable travel agent. If the team is over 7 people it’s probably going to be easier to go with a travel agent vs. hoping to get all the same flights for that many people and do it online.)
• Transportation to and from the airport
• Excess luggage
• Visas (if needed)
• Passports (usually paid by individuals)
• Shots (usually paid by individuals)
• Insurance to cover evacuation, medical care, etc. (I find that it is easier to get a 1 week insurance plan to cover each individual and include it in the trip fees than have the team members try to get it on their own.)
• Donations/gifts to hosts or needs
• Emergency fund. Just in case you need to put a new tire on a vehicle, medical care, etc.

___ Finalize team costs and money processing

___ Present to missions board/pastor

• Put together a summary of the trip, what you expect to do, anticipated costs, tentative dates and purpose or anticipated ministry. Get approval for the mission.

___ Promote (ideally about six months prior to the trip)

• Make an info sheet and an application. I always include a significant $50 + non-refundable application fee to weed out the people who are interested but won’t actually commit.
• Info sheet — includes Purpose, Location, Dates, Costs, Country info. Also provide support mile markers so they know when money and paperwork are due. Include a statement that indicates that price, or details may change. Try to keep costs at or below the published rates and do your best not to change the dates. These two categories are likely to limit people’s ability to go if they are shifted.

___ Hold an info meeting

• Have at least one information meeting to answer questions form anyone who is interested.

___ Select the team from applicants.

• Personally contact people who you think would be good to have on the team. Some may have specific talents, a heart for kids, or skills needed. Not everyone will consider a mission trip unless they are personally invited.

• If someone applies who would not be a good fit with the team or trip, meet with them and kindly explain that it won’t work out for this trip, but encourage them to pursue other opportunities for serving and ministry. Have some suggestions on hand, like a local ministry, church outreach group, inner city ministry, etc.
• Communicate to the accepted team members. Include information including how to raise support, how the support should be turned in (include any special information for tax deductible requirements.)
• CLEARLY indicate the support deadlines, include a drop date that comes into effect if they are not up to date on payments. This especially is important when it comes to purchasing tickets.

___ Plan some fundraisers

___Prepare the team

• Communicate, communicate, communicate!
• Connect with your team at least weekly providing prayer points, deadline reminders, etc.
• Hold meetings that let the team members get to know each other, learn about the country, learn dramas, team-building exercises, witnessing techniques, other preparations and pray together.
• Have all paperwork filled out by team members (Medical Release Forms, Parental Release Forms,  Liability Release forms, Medical History Forms, etc.)
• Some team building exercises can be found at web sites like: www.teampedia.net,  or search for teambuilders.
• Keep checking on team members essential paperwork like passports, visas, etc. Get clear copies from the team member so you know they have the required paperwork.

___ Purchase tickets (As early as is practical. Typically the closer to the departure the more expensive they’ll be.)

___ Stay in touch with hosts

• Develop your ministry schedule for your time in country (Different missionaries or organizations handle this differently. Some are very organized and specific. Others are less organized and require more flexibility. Having a strong plan before going is ideal because it’s easier to drop something than to try to plan something new on the go.)
• Get any details about arrival procedures. Find out what you should expect at the airport, how you’ll find your contacts or how you’ll get from the airport to your destination.
• Get contact numbers and addresses so you can find them if you get separated or have difficulty connecting with them at the airport.

___Team Training Day

• Plan at least one training day, preferably about a week prior to the trip. I like take about half a day or longer to do team building exercises, pack our supply bags and weigh them, practice dramas, songs, etc., spend time together, pray together, and have additional team teachings.  For some this may be the first time they whole team has been together. Stress attendance on training day so you can have everyone together. Note: if you are going with the team, have someone else come lead the team exercises so you can fully participate as a team member not as a facilitator.
• Talk about how to handle conflict and how to work together.
• This day SHOULD be challenging . Remember it is preparation for what will likely be challenging to the team when their on the field.

___ Go time

• On your departure date, I recommend meeting at a central location and going to the airport as a group. This lets you have a good idea of who and what is there.
• Things to be sure and do:
  • Count. Make sure everyone is there.
  • Get everyone’s passport.
  • Weigh luggage and adjust as needed. (Check airline requirements.)
  • Pray together.
  • Leave for the airport.

__ Transport and Arrival

• When flying out, each individual will need their passport to be checked at the gate.  Re-collect the passports (I like to use a large plastic Ziploc bag for carrying them in) after you’re on the plane so no one loses theirs.

• You’ll probably have entrance paperwork to fill out when arriving at your host country. Team members will be required to have their passport information and probably some address information for filling this out. Copies of their passports can be ideal for this so you don’t have to redistribute their passports until you are going through customs in country.  If you don’t know the address of where you’re staying you can usually just put the name of the town where you are going to be initially based.

Upon arrival

• You’ll usually go through immigration then collect your luggage and go through customs.  Pass out the passports and keep your group together. Be respectful of the local people especially the authorities. If you let people help with the luggage they will expect a tip and will often act like you didn’t give them enough when you do tip them.

• AVOID CERTAIN KEY WORDS: Instead of “Work” say “Help”, instead of “Supplies” say “Gifts”

___ Make contact with your hosts

• Follow their lead and be respectful. Remember that your team will be affected by your attitude and will follow your leadership whether you intended them to or not.

___ On the ground

• Team keeping
  • Keep track of your team. You should know where they are at all times unless they’re with another team or host leader in the case of splitting the team to cover two locations.
  • Keep in tune with the needs of your team members. (If you’re a guy, have a lady who can help keep you in touch with the needs of the female team members. Be sensitive. If you’re a lady. Have a guy who you can give some leadership role to help with the guys.
• Meetings
  • Hold nightly debriefing and devotions to help the team work through their daily experience and grow in the Word of God. These devotions can be a great opportunity for them to share their testimonies or tell how a Scripture means something to them. Remember to pray together. Get them to bed so they can be rested
  • Keep them informed as much as you can so they can be prepared for what’s coming next but emphasize flexibility so they can handle changes.
• TEAM LEADER TIPS:
  • I’ve had good and bad team experiences. Thankfully, my bad experiences came early in my team leadership and things seem to be getting better! Always keep learning and improving your team leadership. Be OK with saying, “Oops! I didn’t do that right!” Apologize when you need to, even if you don’t feel like it! Learn from your team.
  • Once I had a team that I led on an Hurricane Recovery Mission. We had team members ranging in age from 17 to over 60. God blessed me with ideas that I didn’t even realize how helpful they were until looking back. (That’s where prayer comes in! Pray and let God give you wisdom you wouldn’t have otherwise!) We were driving two vans for about 15 hours one-way to get to the Gulf area. When we first were packing the vans, I found two of my adult team members who have leader type personalities and I gave them charge of one van apiece. They were in charge of the van keys and making sure the vans were where they were supposed to be. By giving them authority in one area and then respecting them enough to ask them for the keys if I needed them, they had an area where they could be the leaders God made them to be and it was helpful to me rather than competition. I also found ways for team members to use their specific giftings and expertise so they felt useful during our time there. One of the ladies in the group become my connection that I checked with to make sure the girls in the group were taken care of. Find some allies in your team who can help you make this the best experience for the group. Remember as a leader this mission is not just about the ministry you are doing among the people. You are responsible for making this the best experience for the team and your hosts and for helping keep things flowing as smoothly as possible. Care for your team and honor your hosts.
• SHOPPING
  • When shopping in native markets, warn your team to watch out for pickpockets, keep an eye on each other, never wander off alone.  Keep them in groups of three or more with a guy in each group. Get advice from your hosts on this and how bargaining works in the local culture.
  • Watch out for buying things that represent local gods or have spiritual significance that team members may not be aware of. Avoid this.
  • Watch out for buying animal products or things that may be endangered. You will be asked about what you bought when you return to the U.S. and it could be confiscated.

___Return­­

• If possible, leave a gift with your hosts to honor their service to the team and pray with them as a blessing.
• Do something special with the team as part of the debriefing time. Let them share their favorite parts of the trip and what they learned. You may also have an encouraging send of for the team. It may be a special dinner followed with a note sharing or encouraging “hot seat” session (Explained below.)
  • Hot Seat Session
    • Give everyone the opportunity to share something positive they noticed a specific team member. Then go around the room and give everyone a chance to hear encouraging words from other team members. This can be as simple as, “I think you’re pretty cool.” To some deep insight into how someone has such a caring heart and a god-given way with people, etc. You can just go around the room or make it more interesting by having an object that get’s tossed across the room by the last person to be in the “hot seat” until it has gone to every person. (During this time have someone write down all these comments so they can be handed over to the team member later. This can be a very meaningful time.
  • Note sharing
    • Basically, this is the hot seat session but in written form. Pass around paper with each team members name on it so they can write a note for that individual.

___ Reunion

• If possible plan a reunion for the team to get together a few weeks after the trip to share photos, thoughts, etc. This is also a great time for them to bring their family members, supporters etc. so they can see and hear how this mission affected the lives of the entire team.