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Help! We're Going On A Short-Term Trip!

Team Leader's Manual and Team Member's Manual
Curriculum for Cross-Cultural Teams

Our curriculum, Help! We’re Going On A Short-Term Trip!, has been well-received and glowingly reviewed by churches and organizations across a wide variety of backgrounds and denominations. Missionaries and church leaders have consistently commented on how better prepared, servant-oriented, and impactful CULTURELink-trained teams are.

Regardless of the specific ministry task or location, every team needs to be trained in basic issues such as cultural sensitivity and the development of a support team. CULTURELink’s curriculum provides a systematic, interactive training approach to preparing a short-term mission team for ministry. The CULTURELink curriculum is not limited to international missions. The processes and training topics included are equally relevant to work in the U.S. No matter the team’s destination, we believe a well-discipled team is the most effective cross-cultural team.

“I have experienced the damage, both locally and globally, that short-term teams can cause because of a lack of training. Having now received numerous teams trained by CULTURELink, our ministries have been blessed. This training helps to deploy servants that build up our work and partner with us for the long haul.”

Adili KeaMinistry Liason • Mombasa, Kenya

“The overwhelming response [from our teams] has been, “Where has this discipleship been all my life?” The CULTURELink materials have enriched our team preparation, especially in the areas of team building, discipleship, spiritual development, and team debriefing. Deepening the discipleship for our team members has had a profound impact on the ministries that we serve all across the globe.”

Chip RiggsMissions Pastor • Atlanta, Georgia

“As a missions leader, I have sat through many forms of training, including two of the best. Both were excellent and had a focus similar to CULTURELink. But this far surpassed them; it went even deeper than the training that I completed for career missionary service.”

Missionary CandidatePittsburgh, Pennsylvania

“I wish I had this training six years ago. I’ve been on thirty international trips, but through this training, I have learned so much about leadership, team-building skills, and spiritual and practical preparation for my teams.”

Short-Term Trip LeaderSeminar Participant • Atlanta, GA
Team Leader’s
Manual

Your roadmap for preparing cross-cultural teams.

Team Member’s
Manual

The discipleship journey for short-term teams.

Team Leader’s Manual

The Team Leader’s Manual is divided into five sections. Unlike other curriculum or leader guides you may have used in the past, the content of our Team Member’s Manual has not been duplicated for the Leader “with the blanks filled in.” Instead, we liken our Team Leader’s Manual to a roadmap containing detailed instructions for the journey on which your team will embark. Each section is listed below with an outline and a description.

Section 1

Leader's Orientation

Leader’s Orientation

This opening section sets the stage for our entire training model. While the “task orientation” in which most leaders operate in is necessary for leading a team, we emphasize people development. Our entire approach to short-term trip leadership can be summarized in one word: Discipleship.

Section 2:

Short-Term Missions Impact

Short-Term Missions Impact

How are your short-term teams maximizing their impact on the field? How can you add value to the Senders (church/organization and friends/family back home) and Hosts (field site leadership)? We believe in a WIN-WIN-WIN approach and provide the tools to help you think through the entire process for everyone involved.

Section 3

The Seven-Step Process

The Seven-Step Process

This section explains our “best practice” guidelines for anyone mobilizing teams. We outline every step of the process: choosing a field site and deciding on a short-term mission project, publicizing your trip, selecting a team, training participants, preparing them for re-entry, and many other logistical issues that must be considered when leading a team.

Section 4:

Training Sessions

Training Sessions

Each of the ten training sessions is outlined and can be easily followed by the leader. Devotions, objectives for each meeting, room set-up, materials needed, team building ideas, and assignments for the next meeting are provided. The Team Leader’s Manual corresponds with the Team Member’s Manual, ensuring that teams will be discipled spiritually and practically. These sessions are outlined in the Team Member’s Manual overview.

Section 5:

Appendices

Appendices

This section is full of relevant articles and practical tools for team leaders to use with their teams. We include resources such as a sample trip application, sample team policies, how to help team members debrief after they return, emergency issues, insurance and travel recommendations, sample release of liability form, and more.

Team Member’s Manual

The Team Member’s Manual is divided into ten training sessions that correspond with the sessions found in the Team Leader’s Manual. Each session includes a variety of materials such as devotions, relevant articles, worksheets, simulation games, team-building activities, and interactive assignments. Each item addresses topics necessary for that session’s cross-cultural preparation. This stimulating and interactive curriculum will facilitate team members’ discovery and enthusiasm as they learn what it means to cross cultural borders to impact the world for eternity. The ten training sessions are as follows:

1

Getting Started

Long-term Engagement and Vision, Pre-field Paperwork, Prayer and Financial Support Discovery
2

Cultural Research

Exploring the Territory, Conducting Cultural Research, Facing Cultural Giants
3

Becoming Cross-Cultural

Cross-Cultural Sensitivity, The Attitude of Christ Jesus, Understanding Worldview, Understanding Culture Shock, Understanding Cultural Disposition
4

Ministry Preparation

A Humble Spirit, Your Spiritual Story, Sharing Through an Interpreter, Language Learning, Team-Specific Ministry
5

Team Building

One in Spirit and Purpose, Handling Team Conflict, Team-Building Simulations, Team Policy Development
6

Travel, Packing, and Health

Travel Lightly, Living Sacrificially, Heart of Traveling, Jet Lag, Packing List & Travel Tips, Health Guidelines
7

Final Countdown

Reflections on Servanthood, Overcoming Fear, Last-Minute Reminders
8

Living the Experience

Going Into All the World, Names of God, Culture Shock Revisited, Preparing to Say Goodbye, Living the Experience Journal
9

Debriefing and Re-entry

An End and A Beginning, The Five-Step Debriefing Process, Top Ten Re-entry Fantasies, Understanding Re-entry, Sharing Your Story
10

Home and Looking Forward

An Eternal Perspective, Developing a World Vision, Biblical Heroes, Next Steps: Where Do You Go From Here?
We are grateful for the following organizations and churches that have used our curriculum:
  • Atlanta Dream Center
  • Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru)
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • International House of Prayer (IHOP)
  • International Mission Board (IMB)
  • North American Mission Board (NAMB)
  • Operation Mobilization (OM)
  • SCORE International
  • SERV International
  • Youth With A Mission
  • Blacksburg Christian Fellowship (Blacksburg, VA)
  • Christ Community Church (Huntersville, NC)
  • Church of the Open Door (York, PA)
  • Crossover Church (Spokane, WA)
  • Crossroads Church (Newnan, GA)
  • Cuyahoga Valley Church (Cleveland, OH)
  • Dunwoody Baptist Church (Dunwoody, GA)
  • Eagles Landing Baptist Church (McDonough, GA)
  • Epikos Church (Milwaukee, WI)
  • Fellowship Bible Church (Little Rock, AR)
  • Fellowship Community Church (Roanoke, VA)
  • First Baptist Church Glenarden (Landover, MD)
  • First Baptist Church of Tampa (Tampa, FL)
  • Greenville Fellowship (Greenville, SC)
  • Idlewild Baptist Church (Lutz, FL)
  • Johnson Ferry Baptist Church (Marietta, GA)
  • Mount Paran North (Marietta, GA)
  • Northview Bible Church (Spokane, WA)
  • Peachtree Corners Baptist Church (Peachtree Corners, GA)
  • Tampa Bay Baptist Association
  • The Bible Chapel (Pittsburgh, PA)
  • Western PA Christian & Missionary Alliance
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