{Mission Highlight} Training

In 2016, Our Mission Highlights will focus internally, on what UMVIM, SEJ does to serve the short-term mission community within the United Methodist Church. Join us this year as we focus on the ways we equip teams and their leaders through Resources, Trainings, Mission Opportunities, Healthy & Safety education, and Relationship-building.  In our last Mission Highlight, we told you how we serve short-term mission volunteers through the Resources we provide. The next step is for each team leader to be trained on what it means to truly engage in Christian missions. It's easy to hop on a plane, unload at a project and work passionately for a few days, then go back home. But that's not what we're about at UMVIM.  UMVIM, SEJ believes in effective Christian service, which we feel is first achieved through training team leaders on how to equip themselves and their team to make the most of their mission journey. UMVIM, SEJ has written a handbook based on our 40+ years of experience in the short-term mission field, so that you, as the team leader, can lead a mission journey that benefits both your team and those whom you are serving. We hope this handbook will be an integral part of your pre-trip team training, a go-to resource while you are in the field, and an asset as you return home. We have structured this handbook around the process of forming, training, and sending a team, though it still does not replace the in-person training coordinated through your annual conference or the UMVIM, SEJ office. A few travel essentials: your passport, the Bible, a camera...and the UMVIM Team Leader Handbook! Every conference in the SEJ has UMVIM-certified trainers who lead training courses throughout the year to educate volunteer leaders, using our handbook as their guide. These trainings also allow new and seasoned leaders to learn from one another; sharing experiences and best practices with our fellow volunteers is an important part of growing and learning.  Through our Team Leader Handbook and the structured Team Leader Training course we developed, we exist to guide you through the practical, relational, and spiritual aspects of leading your team into the short-term mission field.  Disaster Response Training UMVIM, SEJ works in partnership with UMCOR to plan and facilitate the annual SEJ Disaster Academy. These academies are designed to train those who are interested in serving in the wake of a disaster. Our academies are held in late February/early March every year. As information comes out each fall, we will keep you posted on social media and our Weekly Updates. Additionally, UMVIM, SEJ staff member Gray Miller serves as our Disaster Response Liaison, and you will soon be finding her across the Jurisdiction as she trains Early Response Teams.  We're just getting started in 2016! Stay in touch with us this year to learn how UMVIM, SEJ is here to be your best resource in the short-term mission field. Click here if you are not already receiving our Weekly Updates, Mission Highlights, and more.