OVERVIEW: The Seven Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission

Original post: https://soe.org/7-standards/

Provided by Standards of Excellence in Short Term Missions soe.org

GOD-CENTEREDNESS

An excellent short-term mission seeks first God’s glory and his kingdom, and is expressed through our:

Purpose — Centering on God’s glory and his ends throughout our entire STM process
Lives — Sound biblical doctrine, persistent prayer, and godliness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds
Methods — Wise, biblical, and culturally-appropriate methods which bear spiritual fruit

EMPOWERING PARTNERSHIPS

An excellent short-term mission establishes healthy, interdependent, on-going relationships between sending and receiving partners, and is expressed by:

Focus – Our primary focus on intended receptors
Plans which benefit all participants
Mutual trust and accountability

MUTUAL DESIGN

An excellent short-term mission collaboratively plans each specific outreach for the benefit of all participants, and is expressed by:

On-field methods and activities aligned to long-term strategies of the partnership
Goer-guests' ability to implement their part of the plan
Host receivers' ability to implement their part of the plan

COMPREHENSIVE ADMINISTRATION

An excellent short-term mission seeks first God’s glory and his kingdom, and is expressed through:

Truthfulness in promotion, finances, and reporting results
Appropriate risk management
Quality program delivery and support logistics

QUALIFIED LEADERSHIP

An excellent short-term mission screens, trains, and develops capable leadership for all participants, and is expressed by:

Character — Spiritually mature servant leadership
Skills — Prepared, competent, organized, and accountable leadership
Values — Empowering and equipping leadership

APPROPRIATE TRAINING

An excellent short-term mission prepares and equips all participants for the mutually designed outreach, and is expressed by:

Biblical, appropriate, and timely training
On-going training and equipping (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
Qualified trainers

THOROUGH FOLLOW-THROUGH

An excellent short-term mission assures debriefing and appropriate follow-through for all participants, and is expressed by:

Comprehensive debriefing of all participants (pre-field, on-field, post-field)
Thoughtful and appropriate follow-through for goer-guests
On-field and post-field evaluation among sending and receiving partners