Lesson 7

Re-Entry & Follow Through

Training Goal

Team HostCountry

To Go Prepared

To Return Prepared

Re-Entry: What’s the big deal?

• Don’t underestimate the significance.

• Without pre-planning, the blessings of the mission can be weakened or lost.

• Result? Minimal impact of the STM experience

Re-entry is an opportunity to:

• Conduct a personal inventory ofself-discovery, values clarification,

life-changing decisions

• Experience growth

• Deal with culture shock/ reverse culture shock

• Obtain divine guidance for the future

Key Principle

A different person is returning home which makes re-entry an

individual process.

Let God work.

Some reactions upon Reentry into one’s home culture

• Physical changes

• Emotional - losses, sadness, heartbreak

• Spiritual - experiencing God’s call

• Intellectual- knowledge, understanding, new worldview

• Cultural- re-evaluation

Reverse culture shock: Why?

• You’ve changed BUT the rest of your former life has not

• You see God in a deeper way

• Your understanding of yourself and your values has changed

• Your understanding of your culture has changed

• Your worldview has been impacted

Factors that Impact Re-Entry

• Length of time away

• Depth of the experience

• Openness to continuing to learn

• Understanding by others in returning culture

• Awareness and preparation for re-entry transition (before you leave for the field)

• Personal approaches

Values that Impact Re-Entry

• Affluence in both individuals and churches

• Materialism in the culture

• Self-absorption of Americans

• Lack of world awareness

• Insensitivity of others regarding issues of poverty, suffering and those without Christ

A critical and judgmental spiritAn attitude of spiritual superiority

Beware!! of two attitudes

that are common among team members

when they re enter their

home culture

Individuals reenter their homecountry with different feelings.

Alienation or isolation: often found in youngpeople who sometimes reject their home culture.

Imitation: The returning team member totallyembraces their home culture

Integration: reconcile the differences between The two cultures by understanding the logic behind each cultural norm.

Upon Reentry: Integrate the STM Experience into your Life

• Acknowledge the losses and the changes

• Allow sufficient time to grieve and process

• Prepare consciously to bring some form of closure to the STM experience

• Resolve any remaining conflict

• Then look back with good memories and move on to the next chapter of life

Reentry and the STM leader

• Recognize you own need for debriefing and reentry adjustment

• Sort out and deal with your feelings-pray, journal, counseling

• Expect to experience a “low period” on return-especially things that went wrong or could have been done differently

• Remember Luke 10:20

Reentry and the STM team

• The team can be a valuable resource to one another for processing reentry issues

• Reentry planning must begin in the beginning of the STM preparation and training phase

• Reentry continues with on-field de-briefing

• An individual’s prayer partner can play a critical role as sounding board and counselor after returning home

Ideas for Reentry Debriefing

Allocate time for• closure in host culture• anticipation of what to say on return• journaling—plan devotionals that lead

participants through the transition• Preparing “my story” which may be 1-20

minutes long• with mentors, senders• Reflect on what God might be calling you to do

Key Principle

Upon return all Participants: senders, goers, and host receivers should

follow through where there is need, interest and opportunity

Carpe Diem!!

Responsibilities of Senders

• Welcome home the team

• Recognize the team before the local parish

• Facilitate communication of trip at different venues

• Help with post-trip evaluation and follow through

• Help follow up on any agreements or promises made with host receiver or recipient people

Responsibilities of Senders continued

• De-brief the team leader ASAP

• Identify and counsel those particularly impacted

• Present new or existing ministry options to those who are interested

• Identify those who might host visiting missionaries

• Discover interest in another STM trip and the possibility team leadership

Responsibilities of Goers

Communicate your experience to your senders and tell them

Thank You!

Share your Experience After You Return

• Be honest

• Do not overstate the impacts

• Focus more on the receivers, the reality of life in your host country, etc.

Share Your Experience

• Record stories - sights, smells, sounds• Be ready- casual conversations will abound• Take the initiative- plan opportunities• Speak up - be bold and speak clearly• Start strong - start with a hook, maybe a

story• Paint verbal pictures - dress the story,

contextualize

Share your experience continued

• Illustrate the story - e.g. act out a conversation• Focus on people rather than programs or vistas• Convey important lessons - the lesson or moral of the

story• Accentuate the positive - not the suffering, evil, or

materialism• Encourage interaction through questions and dialogue• Respect the time afforded

Options for Oral Reports to the Senders -

• Personal follow up with key supporters

• Sunday morning worship service

• Sunday education forums, both adult and youth

• Bible studies or cell group meetings

• Missions & outreach committee• Parish pot-luck dinner with photos and testimonies

• Unplanned (God-ordained?) encounters

Options for Written Reports to the Senders

• Personal letters to key supporters

• Inserts in Sunday bulletins

• Article in weekly church newsletter

• Email distribution list

• Web blog

Goers, make sure you follow through with your host receivers

It is critical that you follow through with any

promises you made to the recipient people

• To send photographs

• To correspond

• To provide financial or other resources

• To return

Goers, make sure you follow through with your host receivers

• Follow up with host receivers on what worked and what did not work

• Seek feedback from the recipient community (via your host receiver) on what worked and what did not work

• Opportunity to learn, shape STM trips, develop trust, relationships

Key Principle

We need to integrate short-term teams with

long-term missionaries in a mutually

beneficial manner.

Follow-through Responsibilities of the Receiver Hosts

• Maintain contact with the team leader• While team is visiting, invite those interested to receive

your ministry updates• Follow through with emails• Pray• Do your own follow-through evaluation—contextualize

for your ministry—opportunity to learn• Offer to visit the sending church—be intentional

Key Principle

Receiver hosts should follow through with the Short Term leader to explore

possibilities for future partnerships.

STM team and re-entry

• Importance of follow-through meeting– Within 1 month– 2 months later

• Encourage each other• Help process the experience

Personal Spiritual Reflection Upon return

• Re-examine your worldview

• Reflect on the ministry of the local church

• Reflect on what God may be calling you to do

• Cultivate a compassionate heart

• Develop an understanding of what the Bible says about injustice, oppression, poverty, etc.

“De-Griefing”

• “People back home really don’t seem to be all the interested in my incredible adventure”

• “People really don’t seem to care about how the poor are suffering. They don’t care about missions.”

• “People are so hung up on material things and use their money so foolishly.”

“De-Griefing” (cont)

• “I think that a lot of the people who went on the STM trip were just looking for fun.”

• “I do not think people on the team were really listening to what God was trying to say to them.”

• “I am not sure what I believe. How could a good God allow such poverty and suffering? I am so confused.”

Post-trip Evaluation

• The thing I liked best was…

• The thing that made my STM trip most unpleasant was…

• The most significant lesson God taught me was…

• The area in my life where I saw the greatest change was…

Post-trip Evaluation (cont)

• One story that sums up what God did through me is…

• The biggest challenge I face in returning home will be…

• The thing I’m most thankful to God for is…

Key Principle

We need a long-term view of short-term missions