When do you know if your church or ministry would need DELTA to assist you?  If you are asking questions like below, then we can help:

1. What if this is our first attempt at an STM and we don't have a clue about how to begin?
2. Are you wearing yourself out because you're the only one doing everything?
3. I'd like to make sure the short-term mission lasts longer than "just the trip."

DELTA's Executive Director, Brian Heerwagen, was part of the steering committee that launched the national Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission (SOE).  He continues to serve on the national steering committing and all of our mission teams meet these tough standards.  Anyone can organize a trip but not everyone organizes a well planned short-term mission that impacts both the field and the goer in a transformational way.  If you are a church that desires to learn how to prepare, train and send teams that meet these standards, then contact DELTA for help.  Those seven standards are below with some questions you may also be asking yourself as you plan your mission.

God Centeredness

• Help in determining the right field and the ministry job description.
• Help in discerning the "real why" of why our church would go on a short-term mission.

Empowering Partnerships

• Help in aligning the church's STM role to the long-term goals and strategies of a mission field.
• I don't even have a host location or missionary in mind

Mutual Design

• How do I understand the people we're going to work with and make sure we know what they REALLY need?
• How do we figure out who to take and how many to take?

Comprehensive Administration

• Should our people just register or should I have them apply?  And what forms should I use?
• Someone said we need some special insurance - where do I get that?
• When should I start recruiting and what should I tell people about the trip?
• How do we raise support for all our short-termers?
• What if one of my team members gets sick or injured while we're overseas?

Qualified Leadership

• How do I pick leaders for our teams?
• I'm not sure how to make sure they are prepared and that they have the tools they will need.
• How will they handle an emergency?

Appropriate Training

• What are they basics people need to know?
• How do we make this more than "just another trip?"
• Getting my people ready for cross cultural ministry is daunting.

Thorough Follow-through

• It's hard for me to get people to turn out for meetings after we get back.
• I don't know what is effective after a mission to help people take the next steps in their life.
• How do I translate a great overseas experience into change at home?