Missions Interviews and Panels

Raising a Group's Missions Awareness

The Interview:

A well-done interview for 20 minutes can sometimes be more effective than a 20 minute message. And interviews can also be just 5-10 minutes. Consider some of the following questions for a round of interviewing of missionaries, short-termers or study abroad students:

? How did you get interested or started as a missionary or short-termer?

? What steps did you have to take from the beginning of your interest to finally arriving at your destination?

? Describe the work you did.

? What cultural adjustments did you need to make?

? What is your funniest or most embarrassing memory in that process?

? Describe the spiritual worldview of the people you met. What barriers exist in reaching them? How receptive were they to you?

? What did you enjoy most about the culture?

? What did you enjoy least?

? What issues or challenges face the people in that culture and church today?

? How can we be praying for you now?

Helping Short-Termers Tell Their Story: A Panel

If you have one or several who went on a short-term mission or studied abroad with a missions mind, consider having them share about their trip with the group. Use "Evaluating Your Experience" below as a tool for their preparation and for panel questions to be answered during your meeting. It is also a great tool to send with them to be filled out upon return. As the guide suggests, it can also be used with a partner to help in the re-entry and debriefing process.

Evaluating Your Experience

Here are some discussion starters to use with a friend on your way home from your short-term. Take several minutes to write out your responses on a separate sheet of paper then take turns sharing responses. Be sure to pray for each other.

1. The thing I liked best about my short-term was . . .

2. The thing that made my short-term most unpleasant was . . .

3. A story that is important for me to tell . . .

4. The most significant lesson God taught me was . . .

5. The area in my life where I saw the greatest change was . . .

6. One story that sums up what God did through me is . . .

7. The biggest challenge I face in returning home will be . . .

8. The thing I'm most thankful to God for is . . .