The trip’s not over until debrief and handoff are complete
By Don Johnson —
One of the comments I hear regularly from church leaders who have sent out teams on short-term mission trips is that after the initial excitement has passed, there seems to be little change in the lives of the short-termers. The church leaders ask, “How do we capture and preserve that growth and excitement?” In my opinion, it is during the debrief process that growth in the life of the short-term missionary is either preserved or lost.
Debrief to preserve growth
Preserving growth and change following an overseas assignment doesn’t happen automatically—and that’s true whether you’re talking about a manager with a multinational corporation or a member of a two-week short-term mission team. Sadly, too many short-term missionaries come home and never have a chance to debrief and explore how their cross-cultural experience has changed them and how they can embrace those changes as they reintegrate into their life in North America.
In his article, “The Long-term Impact of Short-term Missions,”
Randy Freisen identified several negative results in the lives of the short-term missionaries he studied. One particularly troubling finding: “Most participants experienced a significant decline in their relationships with the local church during the mission program as well as during the year following their return.” He theorizes that the decline in relationship with the local church “could…be an indication that the experiences of the participants while on missions were not processed upon their return home, leaving participants feeling disconnected from their local church.”
Debriefing a short-term team
The debrief for a short-term team is best accomplished when it is done over an extended period of time and in a variety of venues. The SEND International Team Leader Training Manual breaks the debrief process into four stages and compares those stages to the reentry of a space shuttle.
Debrief isn’t over until the “handoff” is complete
Debriefing by itself doesn’t accomplish reintegration. The preservation/restoration process isn’t complete until short-term participants are fully functional in life and ministry, using everything they’ve learned throughout the short-term process and applying all the positive changes that the Spirit has brought into their lives as a result of their missions experience.
The role of the team leader isn’t finished until the short-termer is handed off to the next discipler in that person’s life. “The discipleship baton is getting dropped on the track and some of the runners are dropping out of the race,” Freisen writes.
The handoff process brings the team leader’s role as primary discipler to an end and incorporates others who should also be included, depending on the specific results of the trip in each participant’s life. If a short-termer demonstrated specific gifts and abilities on the trip, then those need to be recognized, encouraged, and integrated into ongoing ministry in the sending church. For example, if a team member exhibited gifting in youth ministry while on the trip, the home church youth pastor should be apprised of this observation. If the participant has not been involved in youth ministry at the church before, steps could be taken to integrate the returning short-termer into the youth program. If the participant has been previously involved with the church youth, giving the program director an affirmation of this person’s value in that arena can only serve to bless and encourage both that ministry leader and the short-termer, and potentially spur him or her on to further good works.
Or, in another example, perhaps some significant gifting in the area of cross-cultural ministry was observed. As part of the Stage 4 hand-off, the team leader could address that with the short-termer and suggest that this person engage in a local cross-cultural outreach or perhaps connect with some mission agencies to explore long-term ministry outside of the US. Then the team leader should help the short-termer connect with the appropriate person to help him or her continue to explore how this gifting might best be used.
On the other hand, if issues or problems surfaced in the life of the short-termer during training and/or the trip, these also need to be addressed to allow for restorative growth and change. In that case the local pastor, church elder, or a professional counselor might be the appropriate person to receive the hand-off. Failure to make this handoff could leave the short termer in worse shape spiritually than if he had never gone on a short-term mission trip at all. One researcher calls failure in this area unethical.
Growth preserved
It is only at this point, when the next discipler has been identified and connected with the returning short-termers, that the responsibility of the team leader(s) in the lives of the short-term missionaries comes to an end. By engaging them throughout the four steps of debrief, they will be set up to capture all that they learned through their short-term experience, putting it into practice for the sake of the Kingdom.
Additional Posts
Choosing a Missions Organization: Why SEND International Stands Out “Why should I be a missionary through SEND International?” Jenna, a new missionary in Eastern Europe, shared with us what she appreciates about working with SEND. The highlights for her are: - Devotion to prayer - Diligence in communication - Commitment to development - Intentionality in accountability Prayer “Back in September of 2022, the Lord reconnected me with SEND after I had met them a year prior at the Moody Bible Institute. However, before he would sign me up for anything, my Missions Coach encouraged me to pray. He said something to the effect of, "I know that you've been praying on your own for a long time. But as the Church, we are not called to walk alone. So, you and I won't talk for about a month unless you have questions. I want you to go pray with 5 or 6 others from your church about where God is calling you." That October, more than 10 friends prayed with me and we saw God answer as He directed me to Romania. From February 2024 to November 2025, I had the pleasure of being a part of team meetings in Romania with my SEND colleagues. Our meetings were four hours long, two for prayer and two for business. This has been the minimum for our team. There are also prayer meetings with the local churches we partner with, among smaller groups within our team, of course prayer with many of you across the pond, including those at our US office. The organization was built, has been sustained, and continues to run on prayer. This is my favorite thing about SEND. Communication As I mentioned above, we have a two hour block for business / ministry details in each of our meetings. This provides consistency across our team which works alongside three different churches and in a variety of ministries. It also helps us to communicate about the need for change or growth, alongside what is working well. In addition, my team director also meets with each of us, allowing us to communicate needs, considerations, and prayer requests. I've also enjoyed getting to work with SEND workers outside of my immediate region . We receive emails with the minutes from the Europe leadership team, Friday communications from our international director, and information regarding projects that affect our work among the unreached. In December of 2024, our international director at the time wrote a note to my parents for the first Christmas that I was gone. If nothing else had convinced my mom yet, this did. He took the time to care for me, but also to care well for the parents that were sending me (What it meant to my dad and mom for him to do this well has been one of the greatest ways I've been supported.). I also have some pretty wonderful regional directors. These people have prayed alongside us (while also serving in their own countries of service), they have taken time to come visit and encourage our team, and they have also taken the time to encourage the people in our churches. Development SEND has provided much in the area of development and care (spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally). At our regional conference (every three years), there have been medical check ups available, counseling options, and time for connecting with others on the field with similar experience. At our conference last October, I connected with a missionary who served overseas for many years, and is now serving on the administrative side of SEND. She has met with me since then for mentorship and has also invested much of her time recently in preparing a retreat for the singles across Europe. Accountability Over the years I have read and heard amazing stories of how God has worked through missionaries. God has done great things and great things He is still doing! However, people who have committed their lives to the Lord in this way are not “super Christians”. We are still humans with the same struggle against flesh that others have . A major challenge is in being isolated -- living in areas with little to no presence of other believers to sharpen them can cause many difficulties. SEND has been a great resource in this area too. Through my team, I have an accountability partner that I meet with monthly. When my regional director came to visit, he and his wife spent a day with me and asked intentional questions about how I lead, handle conflict, and how I am growing in general as a Christian. In addition, my teammates share their wisdom with me on a regular basis. These things and more have assured me that SEND International is a highly valuable organization and I'm excited to partner with them in service to, for, and with our great God! Interested in being sent by SEND?
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