Member’s M e e t i n g M a n u a l
s h o r t-t e r m m i s s i o n t r i p s
by christ for the city international
Team Meeting 1: Getting Started
Opening Questions:
1. Why did you decide to go on a mission trip?
2. Can you think of any examples of mission trips from the Bible? What was accomplished
through those early mission trips?
3. How do short-term mission trips benefit the following people:
-The team members
-The team’s church
-The missionaries on the field
-The local people being served
Lesson:
The benefits of mission trips are many. They include:

Increasing your sensitivity to those around you
On your trip, you will encounter issues of wealth and poverty, social estrangement,
family violence, and governmental indifference that aren’t a part of your everyday life.
Witnessing these problems will make you more sensitive to people in need around the
world and in your own city.

Giving you a better understanding of your own culture
While on the mission field, you begin to see your home culture more clearly. It’s easier
to see the strengths and weaknesses in your own culture from a cross-cultural
perspective.

Helping you accept new forms of spiritual expression
Missionaries and churches on the field may do things differently than your church at
home. Being a part of their lives and ministry can teach you new things about God
and how He often works in surprising and unexpected ways.

Helping people at home catch the vision
When you return home, you can spread the vision and passion God has given you for
the place and people you met to your friends at home. You can also encourage
your home church to get involved and help others catch the same vision you have
been given. People who have been on mission trips often become more involved in
their church and community after they return.

Honoring and affirming your hosts
Short-term missioners do not always realize the impact they have on their host
communities. Often what they receive seems greater than what they give. But your
willingness to cross cultural boundaries and give up your time and money to visit the
people of that community encourages them and demonstrates God’s love.
A biblical Perspective:
Let’s take a look at cross-cultural ministry in the Bible. Find a partner and choose one of the
following cross-cultural experiences to read about:
Peter and Cornelius: Acts 10:9-45
Esther and Moredcai: Esther 4:1-16
Jesus and the woman at the well: John 4: 4– 41
Share your thoughts on the following questions with your partner.
What cross-cultural barriers were there in the story? How did God overcome these
barriers and cross cultural boundaries?
 What did God accomplish through the cross-cultural encounter in the passage?
 What was the attitude of the “missionary” in the story? How did he/she feel about what
God asked them to do?
 What about the passage was most meaningful to you?

Getting Ready:
Read through the finance section. Make sure to ask any questions you have about financial
policies and deadlines. (If you are raising your funds, don’t worry! In the next meeting we will
go over how to begin your fundraising.)
Read through how to get a passport and visa.
Homework:
1. Begin the process of applying for your passport and/or Visa (if traveling to Bolivia).
2. Fill out applications and bring completed forms back to the next meeting.
Team Meeting 2: Raising Funds
Opening Questions:
1. How do you feel about raising funds for your trip? What are some fears that you may have
about the process?
2. If you have raised funds for a mission trip, share about your experience with the group. Do
you have any suggestions or tips to share?
A biblical Perspective:
The teachings of Paul: 1 Cor. 9:1-18



What are your thoughts from the passage you read?
What does the Bible say about raising support?
What principles from the passage apply to your situation as you raise funds for your trip?
Getting Ready:
Learn how to “Write a Support Letter” by looking over the provided examples.

What are our fundraising goals?
Homework:
1. Complete the fundraising goals agreed upon by the next meeting.
Team Meeting 3: Sharing Your Testimony
Opening Questions:
1. How does the idea of sharing your testimony make you feel? Nervous? Excited? Both?
Lesson:
Thinking about and preparing your own testimony is an important part of getting ready for
your mission trip. We never know when God may want to use our story to help someone
else, so we have to be ready to share when that time comes.
Here are some guidelines to follow when preparing your testimony:
 Aim at sharing your story in a 3-minute format
 Begin with some kind of “attention grabbing” statement if possible
 Relate your testimony in a way that is relevant to your audience (consider age, gender,
etc.)
 Emphasize Jesus Christ with a clear presentation of the components of the Gospel
 When using Scripture, request that the listener(s) read it aloud, or read the verse out loud
yourself
Answer these questions as you share:
 What circumstances of my life caused me to realize my need for Christ?
 How did I receive Christ? Explain the process and try to use Scripture.
 What has my relationship with Christ meant to me since receiving Him as my Savior?
 How has my life been changed?
Practice sharing your testimony with a friend or a family member so you’ll feel more
comfortable sharing while on your trip. Remember, no one will force you to tell your story if
you feel uncomfortable, but being willing to share how God won your heart will be one of
the greatest blessings you can give to those you go to minister to.
Getting Ready:
Break into groups of two or three and share the progress you’ve made writing fundraising
letters or completing your fundraising project.
Report your fundraising status to your team leader
Share your progress in getting your passport/visa. Ask for the help or suggestions if needed.
Homework:
1. Obtain your travel documents and immunizations if not already turned in.
2. Think about your testimony, what brought you to Christ and what points would you like to
include in your story? Outline your testimony on paper and practice with a friend, family
member of ministry buddy.
Team Meeting 4: Cultural Differences
Opening Questions:
1. What is the most interesting cross-cultural experiences you have ever had, and what did
you learn from it?
2. If you’ve never traveled to another country, have you had friends from other countries, or
visited an immigrant church? What did you learn from interacting with these individuals?
Getting Ready:
The missionary hosts will have certain expectations of your behavior and dress while you are
working with them. These expectations reflect the values of the culture they live in and you
may or may not understand their rules. For example, Latin American countries tend to dress
more formally than North Americans– especially Christians. In many of the countries CFCI
works in, it may be considered inappropriate to wear blue jeans and t-shirts to church, two
piece swimsuits, shorts, tank tops, or skirts that do not reach the knee. Our missionaries would
also request that you do not drink or smoke at all while working in -country, as Latin American
Christians consider these things forbidden.
Learning the language is a great way to experience the culture of another country. Here are
some basic words and phrases in Spanish, as well as a pronunciation guide.
Spanish Basics
There are two forms of the pronoun you in the Spanish language:
1. Usted– the polite, formal you
2. Tu– the informal you
You should use Usted when meeting new people, or speaking to people older than you or
people in a position of authority like your boss or pastor. Tu can be used among friends or
when speaking to children. Verb forms also change when using Tu or Usted. Verbs in the Tu
form end in es/as and verbs in the Usted form end in e/a.
For example, What is your name can be said the following ways:
1. ¿Como se llama? (usted form)
2. ¿Como te llamas? (tu form)
Nouns in Spanish are either feminine or masculine. Feminine nouns are preceded by the
article La, while masculine nouns are preceded by the article El. Feminine nouns usually end
in “a” and masculine nouns often end in “o”; however, there are exceptions to this rule. For
some words, the article and the a/o change the meaning of the word.
For example:
 El abuelo means grandfather
 La abuela means grandmother
 El hermano means brother
 La hermana means sister
Sentence structure is also different in Spanish. In English, we put our adjectives before our
nouns. In Spanish the adjective comes after the noun. For example, in Spanish the sentence,
“the red house on the corner” becomes “la casa roja en la esquina” or literally translated, “the
house red on the corner”.
Spanish Sounds:
There are a few sounds in the Spanish language that do not exist in English:
ll
ñ
The double ll makes a sound similar to the sound the letter “y” makes in
the words “yodel” and “yo-yo”.
The ñ changes the sound of the letter so that the word baño is
pronounced “banyo” and the word señor is pronounced “senyor”
Some Spanish vowel sounds are different from English vowel sounds:
English
Spanish
A
Pronounced as in “ahh”
E
Pronounced “eh”
I
Pronounced “e”
O
Always pronounced as a long “o”
U
Pronounced “oo” as in the word “too”
J
Pronounced as an “h” as in “ha”
H
H is silent
Unlike English vowels whose sounds are dependent on the word in which they’re used or the
other vowels contained in the word, vowels in Spanish have only one sound no matter when
they are used.
Practicing the Language:
How are you?
¿Como estas?
I’m fine.
Estoy bien.
Do you speak English?
¿Habla usted Ingles?
Excuse me, can you tell
me where to find ____?
Disculpe, ¿me puede decir donde encontrar ________?
What is your name?
¿Cual es usted nombre?
My name is _______.
Mi nombre es _______.
Where is the bathroom?
¿Donde está el baño?
How much is this?
¿Cuanto cuesta?
Do you like _______?
¿Te gusta _______?
Yes, I will have some, thank
you.
I wouldn’t like any, thank
you.
Sí, me gustaría alguna, gracias.
No me gusta ninguno gracias.
Homework:
1. Practice your Spanish! Try to learn just a few phrases to use on your trip.
Team Meeting 5: Creating Team Unity
Opening Questions:
1. Why is unity important on a mission trip team?
2. What are the strengths you will bring to the team?
3. What are some struggles you have had working on teams in the past?
4. What can YOU do to help develop unity on your team?
Lesson:
Being part of a team can be fun, especially when you’re working on projects that help the
world’s most needy, but sometimes teams just don’t function like we want them to. The stress
of travel, culture shock and personality differences are all factors that can make a potentially
good team experience turn bad. We all know that unity is important to God, but when
conflicts arise how do we choose unity over our own opinions and perspectives?
Here are four tips that will help develop a unified team:
 Willingness to accept everyone in the group
 Willingness to learn from others
 Willingness to share ideas, power and expertise
 Willingness to stay focused
A Look in the Bible…
Take a look at what Paul says in Romans 12:4-5,16
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one
another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us
use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it
in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who
gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”
1. How does this passage apply to us as we prepare for our mission trip?
2. Why is it important to be of the same mind?
3. What does Paul say are some things that can get in the way of having the same mind toward one another?
4. How can you personally commit to not causing disunity on our team?
Getting Ready:
Discuss and agree upon your commitment to love each other and how that will look as you
are serving. Things like respecting the people leading the team through the different outreach
activities, not gossiping about each other and making a commitment to approach a person
directly and with grace if you are experiencing conflict are key to maintaining unity.
Homework:
1. Pray for one or two specific team members and for the team as a whole each day
before you leave for your trip.
Notes: