Short-term mission team case study: Don't tell Shari!
- In a case study, some short-term mission trip participants in a foreign country decided to secretly spend all night at a dance club.
- Things became tense when some members disagreed with the decision to visit the club, citing denominational stances on entertainment and safety concerns in a foreign country.
- Jon, who did not participate in the club visit, grappled with whether he should talk to their adult team leader about what had happened. The secrecy and breach of team trust left Jon feeling isolated and conflicted about the group’s unity and Christian witness.
The case study can lead to the exploration of ethical dilemmas in globa missions activity, highlighting the impact of personal choices on team integrity and ministry effectiveness
Problems during a university student short-term mission trip when most of the team
members decide to sneak out and spend all night at a dance club while keeping that a secret from their onsite coordinator
Jon was angry at his Youth in Mission teammates, but he didn't know what
he should do at this point. It seemed to him that they had breached team unity and violated a
shared code of ethics. Their decision to "sneak out" and spend nearly all night at a dance club
also raised some serious safety issues.
Shari was the site coordinator for Jon's Youth In Mission team. After graduation from
college, Shari gave two years of volunteer service to help start the Church of the
Nazarene in Macedonia. Upon her return to the U.S., she enrolled in graduate school. Now,
during a summer break, she has come back to Macedonia as the Youth in Mission team leader.
Around the first of July, Shari told her team that she would be gone on an overnight trip to
another city with the missionary couple working in Macedonia.
With the missionaries and Shari gone, it was a "day off" for the team of college students.
That afternoon, another American who was in the country doing volunteer service for the church
came by where the YIMers were staying. He told some of them that they ought to go out together that night to a dance club.
When they approached Jon about it, he figured it must be an idea they had been tossing
around for a few days. His first reaction was that they wanted to do it to meet young
Macedonians and begin developing relationships with them that would bear fruit for the Kingdom. So, he asked, "What does Shari say?"
"She doesn't know," said one of the girls. "It's a 'Don't ask/Don't tell' situation'."
It was pretty clear at that point that this club visit didn't fit into any evangelistic outreach
strategy. Some of the group jumped at the idea of going out to the club; a couple of them thought
it was a bad idea. Those who thought they shouldn't go were concerned about two points: (1) the
denominational stance on this kind of entertainment and (2) safety/security issues in a country
with a fairly high crime rate. As they talked, tensions rose between team members.
By evening, a decision was made. Four of the team members went to the club; two of them did not. The four team members that went out did not return until dawn.
Jon -- who hadn't gone to the club -- had tossed and turned in his bed all night. "How could they do that to us?" he kept thinking.
When the four finally awakened for lunch, they pleaded with Jon and the other YIMer who
hadn't gone with them: "Don't tell the missionaries. Don't tell Shari."
The afternoon wore on, and the missionaries and Shari returned from their trip. Jon was
miserable. He didn't know what to do. "What would Bo Cassell (YIM director) advise me to do?" he wondered.
He wasn't sure the group would ever feel like a close-knit
"team" again. Would this club visit be detrimental to the new believers with whom they were
becoming friends? Would it be detrimental to their Christian witness to unbelievers? Jon felt
they should be open about their actions with the missionaries and with their team leader, Shari.
If team members were doing things on their day off that they wanted to hide from their leaders,
weren't they thereby creating obstacles to the establishment of a healthy church?
That evening after supper, Jon decided . . .
-- written by Howard Culbertson, . Case
studies are actual events. Names and places have been changed.
Seven-step guide to using a case study
Managing Sharp Disagreements in Short-Term Mission Trip Teams
Managing sharp disagreements within short-term mission trip teams requires a blend of
proactive measures and responsive strategies. Here are some suggestions:
- Pre-Trip Preparation:
- Set Clear Expectations: Before the trip, establish clear expectations regarding behavior,
communication, and conflict resolution. Stress the importance of teamwork, respect, and humility.
- Team Building: Engage in team-building activities before the trip. This will help members
bond and understand each other's personalities and communication styles.
- Cultural Sensitivity Training: Provide training on cultural sensitivity and adaptability.
- Clear Communication:
- Push for Open Dialogue: Create a culture where team members feel comfortable
expressing their concerns and opinions. Insist on open and respectful communication.
- Active Listening: Promote active listening before responding. Make sure each
person feels heard and understood. This can help deescalate tensions.
- Conflict Resolution Strategies:
- Deal with Issues Early: When disagreements arise, respond to them promptly before they escalate. Avoid letting issues fester.
- Mediation: If the conflict is between two individuals, consider having a neutral party mediate the discussion.
- Focus on Common Goals: Remind the team of the mission's primary purpose and the shared goals.
- Leadership Intervention:
- Role of the Leader: The team leader should be proactive in observing team dynamics
and stepping in when necessary. They should model conflict resolution and seek to create a supportive environment.
- Private Conversations: Sometimes, leaders need to have private conversations with individuals involved in disagreements.
- Stress Unity and Forgiveness:
- Promote Unity: Regularly stress the importance of unity in the team, especially in
challenging situations. Draw attention to the spiritual and practical reasons for working together harmoniously.
- Practice Forgiveness: Tell team members to practice forgiveness and grace. Remind
them that being in a cross-cultural situation puts everyone under stress. That means people may act out of character.
- Post-Conflict Reflection:
- Debriefing: After resolving conflicts, have a debriefing session. Reflect on what
happened, how it was handled, and what can be learned for the future.
- Personal Growth: Exhort team members to reflect on their own roles in conflicts. Ask them to consider how they can grow from the experience.
- Create a Contingency Plan:
- Handling Persistent Issues: If a conflict is particularly persistent or severe, have a
contingency plan in place. This could include temporarily separating conflicting parties or reassigning roles to minimize friction.
- By approaching disagreements with these strategies, the team can handle conflicts in a way that strengthens relationships and increases the mission's fruitfulness.
Entertainment choices?
 | How do you decide what entertainment is OK for born-again, Spirit-filled believers? [ more ] |
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