News
Fagerstrom Releases 14th Book
Oct 23, 2009
Dr. Douglas Fagerstrom, president of Grand Rapids Theological Seminary (GRTS), recently released The …
Cultural Intelligence
Sep 19, 2009
Leading with Cultural Intelligence by Dr. David Livermore NOW AVAILABLE! How do you lead with cultural …
Short-Term Missions
Short-term missions (STM) is a growing phenomenon. In 2005, 1.6 million Americans went outside the U.S. to participate in some type of short-term missions experience for one to two weeks. And the American church now spends more money on STM than on long-term missions. Note some of the important studies and articles reported on here.
Curriculum
GLC participated in the development of these 2 new STM curriculum. Check them out!
Deep Justice Journeys Dave Livermore worked with Fuller Youth Institute in their development of this "before, during, and after" curriculum for youth missions trips.
Round Trip Dave Livermore worked with Christianity Today on this documentary/curriculum based upon two churches experience together--one in North Carolina and one in Kenya.
Articles/Reports
Missiology: An International Review The October 2006 issues of this journal was devoted to credible studies done on short-term missions.
Go and Make Disciples...In Two Weeks: An Analysis of the Origins, Reasons, and Recommendations for Short Term Missions by Kelly Warneke, student at Concordia University, Irvine, CA.
The Ten Things I Hate About American Missions Projects: Summary of Statements made by national pastors about American missions (namely short-term missions) as gathered by Dave Livermore.
On a Mission, a Short-Term Mission, USA Today article.
Rise of Sunshine Samaritans: On a mission or a holiday? Christian Science Monitor article
"If we Send them, they will grow, Maybe!" by Kara Powell, Terry Linhart, Dave Livermore, and Brad Griffin. This reports the pilot findings from the Short-Term Missions Effectiveness project and suggests some ways to make STM have lasting impact. (originally appeared in Journal of Student Ministries).
"Leave Your Baggage at Home: An open letter to yourth workers planning short-term missions". (originally appeared in Youthworker Journal).
"The 14 year-old missionary?!: Re-thinking short-term missions" by Dave Livermore. Originally appeared in Relevant Leader.
"Head over Heels for Short-Term Missions: Think Before you Go." by Dave Livermore, written for Rick Warren's ministry toolbox.
"Developing an Effective Debrief for your Short-Term Missions Teams" by Dave Livermore, written for Rick Warren's ministry toolbox.
American or American't: A critical analysis of short-term training efforts done by American pastors. Excerpt printed in EMQ, October 2004, by Dave Livermore.
Findings Chapter of Livermore dissertation examining American pastors short-term training efforts cross-culturally.
"Culture Smarts: A More Culturally Intelligent Approach to Short-Term Missions "by Dave Livermore. A brief overview of CQ as it relates to STM (originally appeared in the quarterly of National Network of Youth Ministries)
CQ and STM: the application of cultural intelligence to short-term missions, by Dave Livermore.
Other Resources/Conferences etc.
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF STM RESOURCES Dr. Kurt VerBeek, Calvin College sociologist working in Honduras has conducted some of the most important research related to short-term missions. Scroll down on his bio page here to see an extensive bibliography of STM resources.
CONFERENCES Dr. Robert Priest, anthropologist at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is another important researcher in the STM arena. Bob regularly convenes conferences on the topic--more information here.
Dave Livermore's book, Serving with Eyes Wide-Open: Doing Short-Term Missions with Cultural Intelligence (Baker Books, 2006)
This book examines the short-term mission movement by exploring realities of the 21st Century world and Church and comparing the perspectives of North American short-term teams with those of national pastors around the world, The final portion of the book adapts the fascinating field of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) for use in short-term training.
