Collect Applications

Establish a process for collecting team applications and recommendations.

• Set aside a copy of all important application documents.
• Train secretaries and/or a home contact person how to use them
• Provide for effective safe-keeping of the applications. They need to be quickly available in case of emergency while out in the field
• Team leaders should have the original medical assessment forms while on the field. Make sure that there are at least a copy at the home office and with the co-leader.

Review the Applications

An application review committee can be extremely beneficial in sorting through applicants and determining who should attend the trip.

• Be in prayer about this decision
• Remember that the application criteria are meant to be guidelines and not rules. If possible, interview potential team members
• Review Applicants close to the deadline in order to provide yourself with enough time to purchase tickets at a reasonable rate.
• Consider having an "acceptance" pile, a "wait list" pile and a "no" pile.

Select the Team

• Particularly if this will be a large group, pray for and recruit a team member who has some first aid training
• Consider assigning people to these on-the-field team roles:
  • Banker - keeping track of receipts
  • Nurse - someone with at least minimal knowledge of first aid
  • Worship Leader
  • VBS Director
  • Driver (must be 25 years or older). If driving on the field, an international license may be required.
  • Cook
  • Dish washer - such a role may need to be rotated among the entire team
  • Photographer - one who takes pictures, intentionally looking for opportunities for effectively reporting back to the sending churches
  • Web design & graphics - daily upload pictures of the team's progress to the Internet
  • Devotional director - coordinates the daily team devotional times
  • Team Mom
  • Gas pumper
  • Other roles as needed
• Consider the Natural Church Development biotic principle of "Interdependence". Briefly, this principle states that with any ministry, including a short-term mission, it is virtually impossible to understand the individual people involved without also considering their relationships to the whole.