Debriefing Ideas

Debriefing Fellowship

Purpose: Youth will debrief their project experiences as a means of extending the impact of the mission project through application to their daily lives. Shortly following your group's missions experience is a great time to bring everyone back together to evaluate what has been accomplished and to celebrate God's work in the lives of your youth.

Procedure: Select some of the following ideas to plan a debriefing fellowship within a week of returning home.

OPTIONS:

• Hold a debriefing session at a retreat site or at the home of one of your youth or leaders.
• Hold a worship celebration and share time at your church in which youth give testimonies of their experience at the project. Show a video of the week during this time and share specifics of the project, including information about your work, the other participants, the offering, and how God worked through your efforts.
• Use the enthusiasm from missions developed through the missions experience to begin an ongoing study of missions for your group.
•  Host a meal for parents and sponsors then thank them for their support. Ask youth to plan, prepare and serve the meal. Youth should also plan and prepare any program you might want to include.
• If you don't have mission programs for the children in your church, work through the leaders in your church to begin them. Enlist youth to serve as leaders for the ministry.
• Develop year-around opportunities for mission action in your area.
• Find and start developing possible adult leaders for 2004.

SUGGESTED IDEAS:

•  Ask youth to share what they learned and experienced during the project related to the preparation study topics. Include the following questions.

1. Were you motivated to become involved in missions?
2. Were your expectations of the project accurate? Did you have consistent quiet times before and during the project?
3. How adequate were your planning efforts?
4. How did cooperation affect your project experiences?
5. What specific gifts did you recognize in each group member?
6. Were you able to share your faith?
7. Did you use your Bibles or a witnessing tract to assist you in sharing the gospel?
8. What obstacles did Satan place in your way, and how did God overcome those obstacles?

• Provide snack items to give this meeting a fellowship atmosphere.
• Reaffirm/celebrate commitments made during your project.
• Write affirmation notes to any or all participants (i.e. prayer partners, etc.).
• Select several projects to consider attending in 2003.
• Discuss your group's challenge to live the call and pray for your commitment.
• Invite parents to share in the meeting. (They might be next year's adult leaders!)
• Ask all participants to bring pictures taken at project.
• Make a scrapbook of the project for the church library and ask each participant to write a testimony about his or her experience.
• Have participants share about witnessing opportunities they experienced.
• Invite youth who did not participate in the project to attend the fellowship so they can share in the celebration.
• Evaluate your project: travel time, transportation, etc.
• Discuss fund-raising ideas for the next year, if needed.
• Conclude in prayer for:

1. other church groups on mission.
2. the local churches that serve in that project area.
3. those won to the Lord during the week.
4. where the Lord would lead your group in 2004.
5. your church youth group to develop an on mission lifestyle.
6. the youth that made some type of commitment during the week.
7. Youth Mobilization Team as they prepare for 2004.

More Links

Your Evaluation

Debriefing Tips for Family and Friends

How to Tell Your Missions Story

Help for returning from crisis situations
If your student experienced trauma or a crisis situation on the mission field and is struggling to cope since returning to the USA, please contact the IMB’s Member Care Team at 1-800-999-3113 or click the above words "crisis situations" to email the team.