Team up with a host organization or missionary

• Decide who to team up with:
  • Consider working with a missionary the church (or District) already supports
  • Consider working with a missionary recommended by Foursquare Missions International (FMI)
    • Also if your church has a heart for a particular country, connect with FMI and find out what projects they already have in that area.
  • Regarding the potential hosts/missionaries:
    • How long have they been in the country? How experienced are they in the culture, with what the local people really need?
    • How compatible are they with your team, in doctrine, strategic goals, and understanding of missions?
    • Are the hosts experienced with receiving short-term teams?
    • What do they understand about who has what roles, before, during and after the trip?
• Determine their need (not yours!)
• Ask the national leaders what is needed from the team. What is needed for the local church and in the community?
• What God-given vision do they have for their local area, the region, or the nation? How can you come alongside to partner with them to enable their God-given vision to be fulfilled?
• Connect with the missionaries
  • Before planning your trip you must contact the FMI missionary that you are interested in partnering with. We suggest sending them a formal letter either through snail mail or email indicating your desire to minister in their country. FMI requires the head missionary to approve and agree to your trip.
    • Step 1: Contact the Missionary with a formal letter.
    • Step 2: Contact FMI informing them of your trip.
    • Step 3: The head missionary needs to inform FMI of their trip approval.
  • If at all possible, work together to develop a long-term partnership strategy
• Coordinate with FMI:
  • It helps to ensure that teams don't plan a trip with the thought that the missionaries in country will just have to take them
  • It helps with overall scheduling