Setting the Foundation

Prepare your team. Ninety-five percent of what happens on a mission trip has been pre-determined before you leave home. The degree to which you prepare your team will be the degree to which you will be able to process, understand, and respond to what you experience.

Plan ahead. While preparing for all the elements of the project you may find yourself overwhelmed, and forgetting the ultimate goal, may quickly forfeit potential spiritual growth.

Identify assumptions. The assumptions and expectations you have about what you think God will do in and through your team will largely set the tone for the project. We encourage team leaders to view short-term projects as a blessing from the Lord as He uses you to expand His kingdom and sanctify your hearts. Our powerful Lord is capable of producing much change on a short-term trip. First, we need to be open to the change the Lord is making in our hearts. Then, we will be ready to process this change.

Preparing for debrief
Definition of debrief. Debrief is the process whereby the team discusses and reflects on experiences - sharing insights, blessings and personal application. This time helps team members process change in their hearts and look at implications for the future. If you plan debrief at the beginning, you can carefully gauge team interactions so that specific goals are accomplished.

There are two assumptions we are making regarding debrief:
• The short-term experience is a catalyst for growth and ongoing involvement in missions.
• If the short-term experience produces a heart change, then that participant will in some way be out of sync with the world. This is referred to as reversed culture shock and will discussed later.

Identify goals. Set goals as you debrief so your time is constructive. Goals should help participants apply experiences to their personal lives, building a ministry mindset at home with a clear understanding of kingdom growth. Also, discuss re-entry adjustments and practical applications.

Potential goals for your team:

Spiritual (Discipleship & Worship)
• Understanding of Christ
• Understanding of Scripture
• Understanding of my role in the Lord’s Kingdom Ministry (Servant-hood)
• What does a servant’s heart resemble?
• How can I develop a servant's heart?
• How can I continue genuine ministry at home?

Relational (Fellowship)
• What do we want our team to relate?
• How can this experience change how I relate to people?

Let us pray for a strong foundation for our teams serving at Operation Exodus in 2011

"Debrief during and after a project is more directly responsible for reaching your goals than the project itself." - Dan Faber, Missions Pastor

Debriefing?

MTW is working to create a set of resources that teams may use to get ideas about debriefing during a mission week and after the team returns home.

Would you share your ideas and methods of debriefing by answering the following questions? Your ideas do not need to be specific to New York. If you have led teams on other missions and use different methods for different places, please share those as well. The ideas we compile will be available for all 1-2 week teams both domestic and international.


PREPARATION FOR THE MISSION WEEK(s)
#1 How do you prepare the team ahead of time to expect debriefing during the week?


DEBRIEFING DURING THE MISSION WEEK(s)
#1: How do you encourage the team members to talk about their days experiences? What are some games or methods you use?


#2 In what ways do you engage do you engage (debrief) your church back home during the week?


DEBRIEFING AFTER THE MISSION
#1 How soon after your mission do you conduct the post-trip debrief?


#2 Do you have more than 1 post-trip debrief? If so, at what intervals do you have them?


#3 Do you use a list of "leading" questions for each team member to complete? If so, what questions do you ask?


#4 What is the benefit of debriefing? Please share any examples you may have relating to the importance of debriefing.

You can leave an answer to one or all these questions by commenting or you can email me at bobbi.jo.brooks@mtw.org