What to Expect
About Our Short-Term Trips
Navigators World Missions is dedicated to coming alongside fellow disciple-makers to energize ministry efforts in their context. Because we highly value the efforts of our Worldwide Partnership and ministers of the Gospel worldwide, we make a great effort to develop and equip effective people to come alongside their ministries.
Part of our efforts includes our commitment to implement the seven standards outlined by MissionExcellence throughout each of our trips as we pursue the calling of The Navigators. The standards include:
God-Centeredness
Empowered Partnerships
Mutual Design
Comprehensive Administration
Qualified Leadership
Appropriate Training
Thorough Follow-Through
Navigators World Missions categorizes short-term as opportunities to minister in a cross-cultural setting for less than a year. Our short-term missions include 1-week trips, 3 to 12-week summer trips, internships, and our Study Abroad Network.
The Navigators’ Study Abroad Program is designed to help college students spending time overseas as part of their university studies. It is a fellowship and resource, not a traditional mission trip. It is open to anyone who would like help in their spiritual journey— supplementing (or filling in for) the fellowship, community, and help they may have back home.
There is no formal agreement with The Navigators (meaning, participants, are not on staff or raising support for this).
We will provide some resources, online communities, and interaction with staff.
Winter, Spring, and Summer applications are typically available six to seven months before the planned departure. However, most applications are not approved until three months before departure. If you apply for a Winter, Spring, or Summer trip, we encourage you to rest in the prompting of the Lord that encouraged you to apply, seek guidance from local mentors, and pray over the team’s formation.
The 2023-2024 Winter trip application deadline is October 13, 2023.
The application deadline for 2024 Spring trips is January 5, 2024.
The application deadline for 2024 Summer trips is March 1, 2024.
Internship applications are on an at-will basis. Depending on the internship, you should receive a decision three or more months before the start of a traditional semester. For example, you should receive a decision in October if you apply for an internship beginning in the Spring semester (January – May). Unlike our Winter, Spring, and summer applications, applications for an internship will require you to submit a resume and references. Additionally, you will be interviewed by our in-country ministers before a decision is made.
Due to the nature of the Study Abroad Network, there is no need to submit an application. Instead, we request you indicate your interest in participating in the network before departure overseas.
The Navigators have high regard for you and the receivers of our trips. We desire to provide you with accurate expectations for your trip and to equip you to come alongside our partners overseas to help their ministry. To accomplish this, each trip is provided training in the following areas:
- The purpose of short-term and long-term missions in the Kingdom,
- How to build cross-cultural awareness by:
- Learning and observing another culture
- Unpacking your worldview and engaging a worldview different from your own
- Practicing helpful tools for sharing the Gospel in another culture
- How to work as a team, ministering in another culture,
- How to develop supporters in the U.S. to help you follow Christ into the nations,
- How to maintain your security and health when traveling overseas,
- And additional training provided by the in-country staff.
Summer trips training expectations: We want everyone to experience the scope of our summer missions! We annually send 30 plus teams to 25 countries.
All teams attending a short-term summer trip will receive support from the Navigators and the trip leaders to begin raising funds for their trip starting in March. Then, we ask everyone to attend our in-person short-term orientations (STO) in April. This in-person training provides superb, experiential learning opportunities and enables everyone to see the advancement of the Gospel into the Nations as you learn shoulder-to-shoulder with other teams. The STO locations and dates for 2024 are as follows:
- Atlanta, GA (April 5-7, 2024)
- Kansas City, KS (April 5-7, 2024)
- Hartford, CT (April 5-7, 2024)
- Chicago, IL (April 12-14, 2024)
- Phoenix, AZ (April 12-14, 2024)
- Colorado Springs, CO (April 19-21, 2024)
Winter and Spring training expectation: Winter and Spring trips, being a newer initiative of Navigators World Missions, require more intimate training. Participants of a Winter or Spring trip will receive online or in-person training facilitated by their trip leader and coordinators involved in the process. Fundraising training will begin after the team is formed, while further training is provided in the trip’s lead-up.
Internship training expectations: Similar to our Winter and Spring trips, our Internships are a new initiative that allows Navigators World Missions to provide intimate training. Our Short-Term Specialist and our overseas host will train those they receive as interns. Interns can expect training in fundraising after they are approved for the internship, while further training will be provided in the lead-up to the trip.
We hope that God uses each short-term trip to leave a lasting, lifelong impact on your life. In the words of one Navigator leader, “When you leave and return home, [We] hope you mourn and hurt for the people you met along the way.” When you return from your trip, a leader will be there to help you process your experience and what God in and through you during your time. Though you may not serve in long-term missions across borders, your heart will be motivated to engage in missions for a lifetime. And if you are inspired to engage in longer-term missions, we invite you to consider iEDGE and Mid/Long-Term opportunities.
