Benefits of Short-term service overseas

If you would like more information about going overseas short-term with Interserve please contact us.

At our AGM and ½ Day Conference we discussed the importance and benefits of Short-term overseas opportunities. Below is a summary of the disussion, listing the perceived benefits of Interserve's short-term opportunities (On Track & Teams) for Churches and those who go On Track or on a team.

Benefits to Churches

• Develop more well rounded, pioneering Church members.
• Keep the whole church in touch with mission partners overseas.
• Build links between churches and mission agencies.
• Moves churches out of the comfort zone and challenges them to be engaged with issues in the wider world.
• Challenge to action and responsibility (prayer, financial and emotional support).
• Encourage prayer.
• Make praying more personal and real.
• Encourage prayer for the wider world.
• Develop understanding how to support a person in preparation for long-term mission overseas.
• Help churches to see how they can better support partners overseas.
• Enable members of the church to be aware of what is happening in other parts of the world.
• Develop interest in world mission.
• Raise the profile of world mission in the church.
• Develop an understanding of mission.
• Give opportunities for a church to have its eyes opened to overseas mission.
• Give churches first hand experience of mission.
• Help churches look beyond themselves.

Benefits to Short-term workers and Team members

• Spiritual growth.
• Personal development.
• Strengthened faith.
• Better understanding of the Bible.
• A new perspective on yourself and on life itself.
• Sense that they receive much more than they give.
• See Christianity in another culture.
• Cross-cultural experience and knowledge gained.
• See and work with others using their career in cross-cultural mission.
• Stepping out of their comfort zone with God.
• The chance to test or confirm God's call on your life.
• Experience cross-cultural situations to aid thoughts about future direction and calling.
• An opportunity to discover the realities of cross-cultural mission.
• A chance to do something significant.
• Sharp learning curve.
• Learning teamwork and service.
• Knowledge of other cultures.