Better Mission Trips

We talk with Nathan Roskam from Because International--creators of The Shoe That Grows--about how to do product or distribution-based ministries with intentionality. Nathan shares some great principles and considerations for how to use the lifecycle of the product to turn distribution from something that can create dependence to something that can develop independence.

Notes:

● Because International -- https://becauseinternational.org

● The book Factfulness by Hans Rosling

● https://www.gapminder.org -- website by the authors of Factfulness. Take the Gapminder Test to see how well your worldview matches up with actual facts. Then watch TED Talks, get helpful tools and resources, and much more.

● The Chalmers Center: https://chalmers.org

In part 2 of the conversation with Dr. Jolene Erlacher, we talk about how to prepare Gen Z short-term missionaries for successful, God-honoring mission trips. This includes how we screen and select participants, how we interact with their parents, how we engage them in ministry, how we train and debrief them, and even how we handle the smartphone and social media aspects.

Notes:

● Link to download The Next Mile Mentor Guide: https://soe.org/free-downloads/the-next-mile-mentor-guide/

● Link to Barna’s new report, “The Future of Missions” (https://www.barna.com/future-of-missions-2/)

● Marching Off The Map by Tim Elmore

● https://growingleaders.com/

We interview Dr. Jolene Erlacher about Gen Z to find out how we can engage this new generation in mission work. Rather than catering to one generation, we seek to understand each generation, what they value, their strengths, weaknesses, and how we can journey together for the sake of the kingdom.

Do mission teams try to work directly with hosts and cut your agency out of the picture? You know this is not good for the agency, for the hosts, or for the goers! In this conversation, Dale Lusk shares how mission agencies can cut the red tape and be so relevant that mission teams won’t want to cut them out! Dale is the International Director of Global Engagements for the Evangelical Covenant Church and has been involved in missions for more than 30 years.