Taking Your First Short-Term Mission Trip

Another very important question to ask is:

2. Does the agency do what it says it will do (both in its pre-project preparation and on the field itself)?
This is such an important question for you. There are hundreds of organizations out there. Sadly, some are not very thorough. There is nothing worse than preparing for a trip and saving or raising the money, only to find once you are on the field that the agency you picked simply is not very professional or competent.

So how do you evaluate an agency in this regard? Contact others who have gone with them in the past. Most agencies will give you references of those who have had a good experience with them. Even though you are probably getting the names of groups or individuals the agency knows had a positive experience, call them anyway. I find that most people will give an honest evaluation of the agency. But once you get on the phone, ask those people for the names and numbers of others they know who have used that agency. Take the time to make these calls. You do not want to experience your first mission trip with the wrong agency.

Second, as you work with the agency in the pre-project preparation, does the agency follow through with its commitments in a timely fashion? For example, if they said they would send you a manual on February 1st and it does not come until the end of February, note that and ask for an explanation. It could be very legitimate. But if you find several issues like this, it could mean that the agency is not on top of details in the office. And if they are not on top of details in the office they work in every day, how will they be on top of details on the field?