CONDUCT A DISCOVERY MEETING

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1 CONDUCT A DISCOVERY MEETING A well-planned and publicized discovery meeting helps you recruit participants for your project, address the purpose of missions, and introduce students and parents to IMB and the IWC Network. We recommend that you conduct this meeting at least nine months in advance of your project. Please see below for a sample meeting plan. This is an important opportunity to cast the vision for the project and capture the hearts and minds of your students for their involvement. But don t just give facts and figures! Take the time to address the why of missions and share the big picture of what your church is doing to join God in His work. It is vital that you present all the important information to give interested students, family members, and adult leaders an opportunity to make a good decision about participating. Your overview of the project should including the dates, expected cost, ministry objectives, how many you expect to take, requirements, deadlines and details about any fundraising activities you plan to use. The target audience for this meeting should be broad, including potential student participants, their parents, and other adults interested in chaperone and leadership roles. In student gatherings leading up to the Discovery Meeting, provide several general invitations to the entire group. Also be sure to make personal contact with specific students as well, such as those who may have expressed interest and others who you feel would make good candidates for the trip. Don t forget to speak to parents to encourage their attendance.

2 Sample Discovery Meeting Objective: To promote an upcoming short-term mission opportunity for students and to begin the process of recruiting and enlisting your team of students and adult leaders. Preparation needed: Obtain light refreshments to serve. Consider decorating your room related to your project destination (such as with the national flag, travel posters, and cultural items such as clothing and souvenirs) Prepare handouts to provide detailed information about the project location and expected details of your trip. See the sample handout below as a reference. If possible, prepare a slide show or video about your mission project. Obtain a computer or video projector and screen as needed. Enlist persons to share a brief testimony. We strongly suggest that you recruit at least one or two individuals to share briefly their experiences on a mission trip. Ask them to speak about what they saw do in and through them on the trip. Ideally, these testimonies should come from students and help encourage those who have never engaged in such a trip. Plan to obtain a list of all attendees for follow-up purposes. Prepare copies of a team member covenant forms. See the sample covenant below. Suggested steps for leading this session 1. Provide refreshments as participants arrive. Encourage them to browse and look over any elements you are using as part of your décor. (Displaying a map of the project country, for instance, would be a good conversation starter.) 2. Open the meeting in prayer. 3. Introduce the individuals you have recruited to share their testimony about missions and invite them to speak for a few minutes. 4. Read Isaiah 6:1-8 to the group. Very briefly address the idea that God is in the business of calling us out to join Him in His mission to rescue people from their sins and restore them to Himself. Then point out the rest of the story. We often stop with Isaiah s prayer, Here I am, send me, and fail to read what happens afterwards. God indeed did commission and send him, but it was a very challenging task and not much hope for reward. 5. Challenge your group with these thoughts: a. We are asking you to pray, Send me, Lord, but you must do it because you love Him and are willing to do whatever He asks. b. There will be lots of work and preparation needed to make this project happen. Are you willing to work? c. God is worthy of the gift of ourselves and our service. 6. Present the attendees with the handouts you have prepared. Give an overview of your project, including the expected ministries opportunities, the people they will serve, the preparation required for the trip. Your attendees will especially want to know about expected travel arrangements, costs, age limits, and requirements you establish for the group.

3 a. Show pictures. A media presentation (photos and/or video) of the country and city to be visited would be helpful. b. Address the culture. If you can, briefly talk about the culture of the country you will be visiting. Discuss the people s need for the Gospel, their openness to ministry, and any cultural barriers of which you may know. c. Discuss costs. It will be important to spell out as much as possible all the expected costs, including ground expenses (meals, local travel, and lodging), airfare, passports, immunizations, and travel to your gateway airport. Establish due dates for fees in advance. We strongly recommend that you require a deposit, and interim payment, and a balance payment. Be ready to share any fund-raising plans and/or requirements that may come with budgeted assistance from your church or ministry. d. Outline the preparation. Let students know that a pre-project study is required, including personal devotions and group sessions before the project. The IWC Network can provide this material without cost. e. Review all deadlines. List due dates for initial sign-up for students and leaders, deposits, interim payments, balance of fees, pre-project study, passports, airline ticket purchase and fundraising events. 7. Allow time for questions. Make it a point to note any questions for which you do not have a firm answer. Research these (you may wish to contact your missionary host for assistance) and follow-up with those who wish to know. 8. Present and review a team member covenant for potential participants to consider and complete when ready. This covenant should outline the basic responsibilities and commitments that are required for a person to participate in this project. (See the sample covenant below.)

4 Sample Project Information Handout Here is a template as a reference as you prepare your own handout for your group. What is the IWC Network? The IWC Network is a program of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. It works directly with SBC missionaries and their partners all over the world to receive project requests and connect student teams to fill those requests. Our group is partnering with IMB to adopt this project as requested by a missionary. The IWC Network holds us accountable for good preparation and leadership. They ask us to come to a preparation retreat in January to meet with our missionary and plan every detail of our project. They want our participants to complete a pre-project study and a set of personal devotions. They assist us with travel planning and more. IMB seeks to equip churches and participants to get involved on the front lines with long-term Southern Baptist missionaries and their outreach strategies. This is no one and done project! Our missionaries continue the work after the project and will invite us to partner with them in other ways. Project Details: Location Dates Climate People group(s) to/with whom you will minister Religion(s) Description of ministry tasks Costs: Estimation of airfare (per person) o Emergency insurance is included o Include cost of getting to gateway city Ground costs (per person) Immunizations Passport and visa costs Total costs Dates: Your signup deadline Deposit due Payment schedule Passport application due date (Set this date early in the schedule.) Visa application due date, if needed (Allow 4 weeks after passports are in hand to receive the passports back with the visa stamped in them.) Immunizations due date, including costs and locations (Some immunizations require multiple visits to the doctor/health clinic.) Meeting schedule for training sessions Fund raising event schedule

5 Sample Participant Covenant Note to group leaders: This template is designed with all groups in mind. Your specific group or leadership style may include additional expectations. Please customize this covenant as you see fit. We recommend including parents of high-school participants in the signing time so they know what they must do to help prepare their student(s)....go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT). As a member of our mission team, you will have a special opportunity to fulfill the Great Commission in a variety of ways: through going, praying, reaching and serving. To be a member of our mission team carries special responsibilities and expectations, as listed below: Our mission team members must Be a maturing follower of Jesus Christ. Be an active and supportive church member. Be a supportive team player and work toward building genuine biblical community amongst our team. Be a person committed to fervent prayer for the people group we will serve, the missionaries with whom we will partner and the other members of our team. Attend and participate faithfully in team preparation and training meetings. Be responsible by turning in paperwork on time, applying for a passport or other documentation on time and making payments for the trip by the due dates. Guard the health of the team and the mission experience by limiting behaviors that are either culturally insensitive, divisive, or call into question the integrity of our Christian witness, including (but not limited to) the use of alcohol or tobacco, or inappropriate sexual behavior. Be willing to avoid exclusive or romantic relationships with other team members, locals, or ministry staff while part of the project. Be prepared on this trip to engage in major effort, long days of ministry, lots of walking, learning and respecting other cultures, forgoing the comforts of home, possible excessive heat or cold and working alongside students from other groups. Be willing to comply with and support decisions made by our team leadership, our missionaries, the IWC staff and other ministry leaders with whom we partner. I agree to the above and I covenant to faithfully serve as a member of the IWC mission team in accordance with the heart and passion of Jesus Christ and His church. Participant Name Date Participant Signature Parent or Guardian Signature (for students under 18)