On Poverty and Development
Easterly, William Russell. The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good. New York: Penguin, 2007. A thorough critique by one of the foremost economists on Western efforts to get involved in international development.
Fikkert, Brian, and Steve Corbett. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor . . . and Yourself. Chicago: Moody, 2012. An examination of Christian efforts to respond to poverty, including short-term missions and microenterprise development.
On Short-Term Missions Materials
Dearborn, Tim. Short-Term Missions Workbook: From Mission Tourists to Global Citizens. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003. A devotional to help guide participants through the life-changing possibilities of short-term missions experiences.
Gudgel, Brent. Missio Docs: Mexico. www.brentgudgel.com/doc-on-the-effectiveness-of-short-term-missions. A video documentary on Azusa Pacific University’s Mexico Outreach that exposes some of the critiques described in this book.
Mack, J., and Leeann Stiles. Mack and Leeann’s Guide to Short-term Mission. Downers Grove, IL: Moody, 2000. An extremely practical guide for planning the logistics of a trip, including checklists, safety guidelines, getting the right documents together, and so on.
Powell, Kara, and Brad Griffin. Deep Justice Journeys. Short-term missions curriculum for youth ministries (includes material for before, during, and after the trip with both a leader’s guide and a student workbook).
Round Trip Video Curriculum and Leader’s Guide. DVD documentary/curriculum based on two churches that exchange missions trips—one in North Carolina and one in Kenya.
Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions. www.soe.org. Standards developed by a group of ministry leaders for doing short-term missions more effectively. The website includes a number of additional resources.
On Cultural Intelligence
The Cultural Intelligence Center. Devoted to ongoing research and development in the field of cultural intelligence. Information about research, assessments, and certification programs are available at www.culturalQ.com.
Livermore, David. Cultural Intelligence: Improving Your CQ to Engage Our Multicultural World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2009. A deeper and broader application of cultural intelligence to various forms of Christian ministry, including short-term missions, long-term missions, and local churches reaching out to culturally diverse communities
———. The Cultural Intelligence Difference: Master the One Skill You Can’t Do Without in Today’s Global Economy. New York: AMACOM, 2011. Written for a broader audience, this book provides a quick overview of CQ and is packed with dozens of proven strategies for improving the four CQ capabilities. Purchase of the physical book also includes access to the CQ online assessment.
On Long-Term Impact
Livermore, David. What Can I Do: Making a Global Difference Right Where You Are. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Practical ideas for how Christians can make a world of difference from home. This book provides a way to translate a short-term missions experience into a lifetime of engagement in global missions through stories of Christians in business, retail, art, science, health care, and more. It also includes a discernment process for understanding how and where to get involved individually and as a ministry.
———, and Terry Linhart. What Can We Do: Practical Ways Your Youth Ministry Can Have a Global Conscience. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011. Written primarily for youth ministry leaders who are looking for ways their youth ministry can be involved globally beyond the short-term missions trip. This book includes an overview of nine global issues and practical ways to teach them to students. The book offers many practical ways to get involved immediately.