Some of us will only just have come back from a summer trip abroad, but for others it’s already time to be thinking about what to do next summer, as it can take a long time to find the right agency and programme, get accepted, do the training, raise the funding and go.
One of the many dilemmas is how to determine which agency to go with, and as one way of narrowing down the alternatives Syzygy recommends you only pick an agency that complies with the Global Connections Code of Best Practice for short-term mission. You can tell them because their publicity will carry the Code logo, and they’re listed on the Global Connections website. They’re also highlighted in the Short-Term Service Directory, which is produced by Christian Vocations and is an invaluable resource for anyone considering a short-term trip. While adherence to the Code is not necessarily a guarantee that your trip will be perfect, it does demonstrate that the agency has submitted itself to a peer-reviewed process checking how well its practices match the Code.
The code was developed nearly a decade ago in order to find a way of ensuring that agreed minimum standards are adhered to by agencies organising short-term trips. The code was produced as the outcome of a number of consultations involving experienced practitioners and is a valuable statement of the values and practices the short-term mission world thinks are important. It is kept up to date by the Short-Term Mission Forum on which Syzygy has a voice. The Code includes a number of factors including:
- Genuine partnership with local churches or mission workers that is driven by the local need, not our desire to send teams
- Careful contextualisation of activities and accurate publicity
- Authentic care for the team member reflected in careful selection, training and debriefing
- Ongoing commitment to local partnership
- Seeing personal discipleship as a key outcome for the team member
- Careful monitoring of results in order to deliver continuous improvement
- Adherence to meeting all legal obligations
The Code is regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects current standards, and a biennial review process checks that agencies which wish to be seen as operating under the Code do in fact comply with it. That’s not to say that agencies which do not have the Code logo aren’t delivering great results – but there’s nobody out there checking up on them to confirm it. Agencies using the logo will have procedures in place to deliver a well-rounded short-term mission trip and we recommend that you use one of them.
You can see the full text of the Code of Best Practice here. Syzygy recommends that if you’re thinking of doing a short-term trip you read our Guide to doing short-term mission well first!
