Sending mission teams from your church or association provides a practical way of carrying out the Great Commission and Acts 1:8.

1. Develop a prayer strategy for your mission projects. Get together with your team and talk through a prayer strategy and go do it. Some examples of a prayer strategy would be having a 24 hour prayer vigil or just coming together for a joint time of prayer. Prayer walking around the mission area days and weeks before your mission event is very helpful. Also don’t be afraid to use Facebook to share prayer requests, communicating prayer requests, and answered prayers.
   
   
2. Setting goals for the mission projects. Develop an action plan for achieving the mission project’s goals.  This action plan may be as simple as what needs to be accomplished by the incoming mission team and how follow up will happen after the mission team is gone.  Remember to always place the mission team where the lost can be impacted.  Decide how to meet the needs of the lost in your community. Evaluate and determine the needs of the community and the church where the project needs to take place.
   
   
3. Develop leadership for a successful mission project. Find out who has the heart and desire for doing mission evangelism and ministry.  Train and equip those people with essentials for having a successful mission project.  Allow them to utilize the gifts and talents that God has given them and place them in those roles of leadership.
   
   
4. Build team spirit. Always cast the vision of any mission project.  Show that everything is possible through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Allow time for each team or teams to brainstorm and to think outside the box and to pray together.
   
   
5. Commit to working together with excellence. The degree of excellence in planning has a direct correlation to the success of the mission project.  A commitment to excellence must be the operating value of those involved in the mission project.  Excellence in a mission project will birth excellence in mission projects in the future.
   
   
6. Follow-up. Follow-up is essential for a successful mission project.  The follow-up team should be planning from the very beginning of the mission project.  They should understand their responsibilities in planning the mission project and their responsibilities in following up the mission project.  The follow-up team should make sure that every person who has been reached is contacted and connected with a church within one week of the mission project.
   
   
7. Evaluation is essential. Evaluate the entire mission project from beginning to end based on set goals.  Evaluate the mission project with leaders and volunteers.  Find ways to input their praises and concerns.  Share your final evaluation with your entire mission team to assist in improving the mission strategy.
   
   
8. Celebrate together. Always celebrate together at the end of the mission trip.  Make sure that a celebration time is a part of the mission team planning process.  This celebration may be at the end of the day or week of the mission project or even after follow-up and evaluation is completed.  The main thing is to have a time of celebration for ALL that the LORD has done.

By following these eight steps you can see a mission team prepared, equipped, and ready to serve.  These steps will help you as you begin to plan the mission trip that the Lord has called you to complete in the coming days.

If you have further questions or if you need additional resources contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or you may call 800.838.2272, ext. 5150.

Breck Freeman serves as a Church and Community Ministry Strategist for the Missions Ministries Team for the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.  Breck has previously served churches in Northeast Arkansas as a youth and children’s pastor, worship pastor and also as an Executive Pastor.  Breck and his wife, Jackie, live in Paragould. They have three children in school at Greene County Tech and one son in college at Arkansas State University.