Parents

The cost of each trip includes international airfare, missionary training, in-country transportation, housing, food, and other expenses such as administrative and pre-trip training costs. We strive to build almost all of the costs of the mission trip into the trip cost and strongly encourage students to raise their own support for the full cost of the trip (see “Fundraising,” below).

Some important benefits can offset the opportunity cost for the time your child serves on a short-term mission trip. Cross-cultural experiences overseas can greatly benefit your child not only in his or her spiritual growth but also in life skills and outlook. Overseas experiences show employers that your child has experience interacting with people from different viewpoints and world views. The growth your son or daughter can realize in adaptability, empathy, and communications skills can impress serious employers.

Navigators all over the United States and worldwide have raised funds for decades. Proven, biblical fundraising principles and practices, combined with the generosity of God and others, have helped thousands of young people raise funds for missionary service. Short-term mission trips are no exception.

Short-term mission trips provide trip members opportunities to grow in faith and confidence in God and themselves. As they raise funds for their trips and trust God for funds, they hone their ability to communicate and to handle financial challenges. The Navigators will provide quality fundraising coaching from initial training through the remainder of the trip preparation process. We have long trained our missionaries in biblical fundraising principles such as that described in Philippians 4:10, that we give others the “opportunity” to join in God’s work. Many thousands of willing financial partners have helped students raise funds for mission trips. We will provide thorough training, encouragement, practical advice, and accountability to your child during the process.

The Navigators joined with other Christian organizations decades ago as a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. We are registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, making all donations to the ministry tax-deductible. (Donations raised for short-term mission trips must be made payable to The Navigators for the donor to receive a tax deduction.)

Since our inception almost a century ago, Navigators have been establishing and equipping leaders, emphasizing servant leadership.

Qualified leaders will help train your son or daughter in health and safety preparedness, the biblical basis for missions, cross-cultural awareness and communication, team building, and fundraising for the trip.

Our short-term mission trip leaders have been selected to take teams to the field based on their experience, maturity, and ability to lead and develop the trip members under their charge. Mission trip team members can expect quality, proven leaders who will train and disciple them to grow in their faith and experience.

Our mission trip teams’ safety is something we plan for long before their flights depart. We maintain safety and security standards internationally, overseen by, among others, our World Missions home team, trip leaders, trip receivers, and our International Security Administrator.

Before choosing overseas destinations, we evaluate their history, stability, and political situation. We constantly update our knowledge of conditions, including watching for U.S. State Department travel advisories. We also factor in the capacity of those receiving the teams and their ability to monitor situations on the ground.

Before each trip departs, our World Missions team orients all trip members in safety policies and precautions. Our trip orientations include lessons on responding to unforeseen events, resources available to U.S. citizens and Navigators, and situational awareness (street smarts on foreign streets). Your son or daughter will be covered by international travel insurance through Trip Armor, which provides emergency evacuation, medical referrals, and advice for people around the world.

We monitor each international location before our mission trip teams depart and while they are in-country. If necessary due to security or health concerns, the Navigators can cancel a trip or bring a team home early (a rare situation).

Because Navigators minister in countries and time zones all around the world, the unexpected sometimes occurs even when we’ve taken the best of precautions. For U.S. Navigators missionaries overseas, including short-term trip members, our International Security Administrator monitors situations worldwide. The International Security Administrator meets periodically for emergency preparedness training with our International Crisis Management Team and connects with the team as crises demand. Our International Crisis Response Team works together with teams on the field to deal with emergencies.

In case of an emergency while on the trip, your son or daughter will have access to a 24-hour crisis reporting service that will collect all important data and then forward the call to our International Crisis Response Team.

If you should have an emergency and need to contact The Navigators, please call 719-407-4041 or email us at International.Travel@navigators.org.

We encourage you to discuss with your child before departure what communication might look like during the trip. Some locations may be more challenging for communication because of the availability of connections.

We request that he or she remain with the mission trip team for the entirety of the trip, including no overnights away from the team. For reasons of safety and welfare, the team and your son or daughter will benefit most when living and working together for the duration of the trip.