Short-term Mission Online Training – UNIT 2

Total time to complete: approx. 1 hour

Part 1: Watch this video.

The following video was created to help people coming to the United States learn about American cultural values. The value in this video is understanding how someone from another culture might view Americans. It also helps expose our own cultural blind spots and trains us to recognize different cultural traits and values.

Think about the following questions:

  1. What were some things about American culture you learned from this video?

  2. How might some of the cultural values described in the video be different in other countries?

Part 2: Use this Country Comparison Tool to learn more about your host culture.

 Instructions: Click on the link below, then in the search box type “[your country]” and “United States”. The tool will then produce a helpful comparison of cultural traits. Click on the titles below the graph to get explanations of each characteristic.

Part 3: Read the attached Culture Guide for your host country.

 The attached document is a lengthy summary of the cultural distinctives of your destination country. Read through this guide and make note of specific values that you find interesting or insightful. Note: This guide was produced by an Australian organization so there are occasional references/comparisons to Australian culture.

Part 4: Watch this video from PrayerCast.com

 The following videos are well-produced prayer guides giving insights into the spiritual needs of your destination country. Use this video to enhance your prayer for your hosts.

Part 5: Utilize the Guided Devotional

 The attached devotional guide will help you dive more deeply into Scripture’s teaching on cross-cultural ministry. It is excellent spiritual preparation for your time of service. Don’t feel you have to complete this devotional in one sitting – feel free to integrate it into your daily quiet times.

Part 6: Take this short quiz:

 Share with us what you learned from this training session. This online quiz will take about 5 minutes to complete.