“The difference between humanitarian teams and mission teams is mission teams’ center focus on GOD.”

I had the privilege of attending the Missio Nexus mission leaders conference in Orlando, Florida, a couple weeks ago. This is a huge missions conference that is put on every year with different pre-conference courses and tracks you can follow. I focused on “short-term missions.” Some of you might be reading this and struggling with the idea of “short-term missions” and perhaps not seeing its purpose. It’s a valid struggle, and I think it’s good to wrestle with it and challenge those involved with “short-term missions,” like me. That is exactly what this conference was for me. It challenged me, settled a LOT of questions and thoughts that I had, and put a lot of ideas into words that I just could not figure out on my own.

The most beneficial workshop that I did was the Standards of Excellence (SOE) Workshop. SOE is an organization founded to unite all short-term missions entities and challenge each other to follow the 7 Standards of Excellence, which are the following (paraphrased):

1. God-Centeredness
   First and foremost, short-term missions should seek to do everything for the glory of God. Fields should be centered on prayer and constantly ask, “How did you see God today?” Make disciples by forming relationships and pointing each other towards Jesus Christ and his glory.
2. Empowering Partnerships
   Everything we do must be based on healthy partnerships and must benefit all those involved in the trip (guests visiting the field, supporters sending the guests, those working permanently on the field, the local people, etc.). Ultimately, the focus needs to be on the local people.
3. Mutual Design
   Everyone involved must be on the same page about long-term strategies and logistics.
4. Comprehensive Administration
   Truthfulness is expected in promotion and finances of the field. A proper risk management plan must also be set in place.
5. Qualified Leadership
   Capable and qualified leadership is based on character, skills, and values.
6. Appropriate Training
   Biblical and appropriate training should be available pre-field (before a trip), on-field (on the trip), and post-trip (after the trip) and carried out by qualified trainers.
7. Thorough Follow-Through
   Debriefing and evaluation must take place pre-field, on-field, and post-field. Think, evaluate, and reflect on the journey. It’s not about the end product, rather about the process. And every person gets the right to discover God uniquely.

I learned even more in other sessions, but this was most impacting to me. If you’d like to hear more about my time there, please do not hesitate to ask!

[Traducción en español disponible abajo]

This “Ministry Minds” entry is a shout-out to our lovely church, Village Bible Church – Campus Español. We love you, and we just want to thank you for a few things:

• Thank you for accepting us into the family.
• Thank you for greeting us with open arms and shining smiles that first day we walked through your doors.
• Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve as worship leaders.
• Thank you for interesting and challenging messages each Sunday.
• Thank you for praying.
• Thank you for your desire to genuinely serve the community and reach out to our neighbors.
• Thank you for wanting unity and community within the church body.
• Thank you for Bible studies.
• Thank you for planning parties and events with the intent of inviting the community and sharing God’s love with them.
• Thank you for all the hugs and kisses every time we see each other.
• Thank you for bearing with me as I give the “welcome” and the announcements sometimes on Sunday morning.
• Thank you for after-church brunches, including the best horchata at El Tio.
• Thank you for living out our church’s mission: discover, develop, and deploy disciples.

And lastly, THANK YOU for your encouragement and support. We couldn’t make this move without you all. We will miss you OH SO MUCH. God bless each and every one of you. ❤

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Este artículo de “Mentes de Ministerio” va dedicado a nuestra hermosa familia de la iglesia, Campus Español. Los queremos, y solo les queremos dar las gracias por algunas cositas:

• Gracias por aceptarnos en la familia.
• Gracias por saludarnos con brazos abiertos y sonrisas brillosas ese primer dia que entramos en sus puertas.
• Gracias por darnos la oportunidad de servir como líderes de alabanza.
• Gracias por los mensajes interesantes y retadores cada domingo.
• Gracias por orar.
• Gracias por su deseo genuino de servir a la comunidad y alcanzar a nuestros vecinos.
• Gracias por querer unidad y comunidad entre la familia de la iglesia.
• Gracias por los estudios bíblicos.
• Gracias por planear fiestas y eventos con la intención de invitar a la comunidad y compartir el amor de Cristo con ellos.
• Gracias por los abrazos y besos cada vez que nos vemos.
• Gracias por aguantarme cuando doy la bienvenida y los anuncios a veces los domingos.
• Gracias por los almuerzos despues de los servicios, incluyendo la mejor horchata que hay en El Tio.
• Gracias por vivir nuestra misión como iglesia: descubrir, desarrollar, y desplegar discípulos.

Y para cerrar, MUCHAS GRACIAS por su ánimo y apoyo. No podriamos tomar esta decision de mudarnos sin ustedes. Los extrañaremos MUCHÍSIMO. Dios les bendiga a cada uno de ustedes. ❤

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“Ministry Minds” is a blog category dedicated to highlighting ministries, organizations, and people that I have witnessed to be a powerful presence and example of servant-leadership and sharing Christ’s love.

The first ministry I would like to highlight is CrossRoads Missions! CrossRoads has permanent fields in Appalachia, New Orleans, and Piedras Negras. We also serve all over the U.S. and other parts of the world through Help Build Hope and Storytellers. I was first introduced to CrossRoads in Piedras Negras as a college summer intern in 2008 (see photo). Those sure were the good ‘ole days!

What I like most about CrossRoads Missions is that their focus is on partnering with already-existing ministries to empower and equip them to continue serving full-strength within their own city. In Piedras Negras, we’ve partnered with schools, orphanages, soup kitchens, churches, etc. It’s really awe-inspiring to see how God is at work all over the city through all the different ministries.

Another unique part of the ministry of CrossRoads in Piedras Negras is Piedra Angular, which is a neighborhood of homes that CrossRoads has built over the course of almost 18 years. The vision behind this project is to be a “hub” for Christian families to live and have community and then go out into the city to serve in their various ministries.

I am so excited to become the Field Coordinator for all the different aspects of our ministry in Piedras Negras and to be able to connect everyone! To learn more about CrossRoads and what my role will look like, check out this page. To visit CrossRoads’ main website, check it out here.

Peace.