How does the cohort work?

Deepen your learning by completing a Masterclass at your own pace, paired with live online seminars in community with other short-term mission trainers.

  • Individual Learning

    The Masterclass: Essentials for Pre-Mission Training Training has been intentionally curated to include everything necessary for mastering an area of learning and leaving with a comprehensive view of the topic. Each unit is built upon the next and based upon our recommended order of learning. This course will be completed individually, at your own pace following a recommended schedule.

  • Online Cohort

    During this 4 week course, you will meet online via Zoom with the entire cohort of short-term mission trainers and leaders. Review additional seminar materials from an experienced leader and then collaborate and share together about best practices for short-term mission team preparation. These online calls will take place on Wednesday, February 1st and Wednesday, February 15th at 1:00-2:15pm EST.

  • Personalized Coaching

    Included in this cohort will be an optional 1 hour individual leader or team coaching call to discuss the obstacles and opportunities for your specific missions context. Strategize how to implement more training into your current STM program and discuss how to implement The Missions Academy into your requirements to better prepare your teams.

About This Course

    1. Welcome!

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. How This Cohort will Work

    3. How to use this course

    4. Introductions

    5. Schedule an Individual Coaching Sessions

    1. Unit Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Intro Survey

    3. Download Notes Page

    4. Introduction

    5. What is the Gospel?

      FREE PREVIEW

    6. Assignment #1

    7. Where do we find God's Story?

    8. Assignment #2

    9. Let's Recap

    10. The Mission of God

    11. What is Missio Dei?

    12. Response Quiz

    13. What is Mission?

      FREE PREVIEW

    14. What is a Missionary?

    15. Sending in the Bible

    16. Quiz: The Gospel Movements

    17. The Gospel Story Arc

    18. Illustrated: The Gospel Story Arc

    19. Movement 1

      FREE PREVIEW

    20. Key Word #1

    21. Movement 2

    22. Key Word #2

    23. Movement 3

    24. Key Word #3

    25. Movement 4

    26. Key Word #4

    27. Assignment #3

    28. Applying God's Story

    29. What is the G.O.S.P.E.L?

    30. Mission Model

    31. Up, In, and Out

      FREE PREVIEW

    32. Assignment #4

    33. Conclusion

    34. Final Quiz

    35. Closing Survey

    36. Resources for You to Keep Growing

    1. Unit Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Intro Survey

    3. Download Notes Page

    4. Introduction

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Inside Out

    6. Up

    7. Life Map

    8. Additional Life Map Prompts

    9. Your Story

    10. Reflection

    11. What is Chronos?

    12. What is Kairos?

      FREE PREVIEW

    13. Kairos Video

    14. Quiz

    15. Entering the Story

    16. Finding God and Yourself in Your Story

    17. Step 1: Engage

      FREE PREVIEW

    18. Step 2: Reflect

    19. Step 3: Act

    20. Assignment

    21. Wrap Up

    22. Final Quiz

    23. Download: Recognizing a Kairos Moment

    24. Resources for You to Keep Growing

    1. Unit Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Intro Survey

    3. Download Notes Page

    4. Introduction

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. Initial Thoughts

    6. Opening Brainstorm: Part 1

    7. Worksheet Response #1

    8. Opening Brainstorm: Part 2

    9. Worksheet Response #2

    10. Opening Brainstorm: Part 3

    11. What is Poverty?

      FREE PREVIEW

    12. Four Broken Relationships

    13. Reflect

    14. Beliefs & Solutions

    15. US vs THEM

    16. Quiz

    17. Poverty Case Studies

    18. Case Study Response

    19. Review and Application

      FREE PREVIEW

    20. When Helping Hurts

    21. Reflection

    22. Identifying god-complexes

      FREE PREVIEW

    23. One-For-One Campaign

    24. Viking Missions

    25. Case Study: Hurricane Matthew

      FREE PREVIEW

    26. Assignment: Design a STM Trip

    27. Is this helping or hurting?

    28. Haiti Case Study Response

    29. Stages of Development

    30. Quiz

    31. Do No Harm

      FREE PREVIEW

    32. The Egg Drop

    33. Principles to Helping Without Hurting

    34. Resources for You to Keep Growing

    35. Closing Survey

    1. Zoom Online Cohort Meeting #1

    2. Resources from Live Call #1

    3. Live Call #1 Recording

    1. Unit Objectives

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Intro Survey

    3. Download Notes Worksheet

    4. Introduction

    5. Opening Brainstorm

    6. What is Culture?

      FREE PREVIEW

    7. Cultural Icebergs

    8. Common Cross-Cultural Mistakes

    9. Reflect

      FREE PREVIEW

    10. Danger of a Single Story

    11. Common Cross-Cultural Mistakes, Part 2

    12. Response

    13. Cultural Values

    14. Cultural Values and Phrases

    15. Cultural Values Response

    16. Finding Common Ground

      FREE PREVIEW

    17. Cultural Examples Video

    18. Assignment: Cultural Values Worksheet

    19. Principle #1

    20. Principle #2

    21. Questions to Ask Your Ministry Host

    22. Principle #3

      FREE PREVIEW

    23. Final Quiz

    24. Resources for You to Keep Growing

    25. Closing Survey
  • $149.00
  • 201 lessons
  • 5 hours of video content
  • Includes Missions Trip Resource Bundle: 3 workbooks pictured below
  • 2 Live Zoom Calls
  • 1 hr of Individual Coaching
  • From Devotional
  • From Field Guide
  • From Re-Entry Journal

What others are saying...

Refreshed by their approach!

Brad M. Griffin, Author & Senior Director of Fuller Youth Institute

"If you've ever been frustrated by "mission" that is reduced to "trips," you'll be refreshed by Touch the World's approach. The Missions Academy will equip your students to live out God's mission—not just for one week a year, but in their everyday lives."

"As hosts, you made our job easy!"

-Missionary Host, undisclosed location

"We were truly blessed to have you come along side {our ministry}. It is awesome to see a team who has been well equipped and trained and with leaders (and quite frankly the whole team) who “get it”—That short term missions can be a great thing when done right and with proper motives and thinking. You can definitely tell, through this past team, Touch the World has a good and healthy understanding of missions. As hosts, you made our jobs easy, and I know our staff benefitted from your team tremendously! Thanks for being sensitive to the culture, our staff, our clients, etc. and thank you for asking questions and wanting to be learners.

"A whole new dynamic way"

Reggie A., Youth Leader

I lead a young team of about 50 kids who have done missions both locally and globally and this training has helped us to grow and it has personally helped me to develop and prepare my team in a whole new dynamic way as it pertains to ministry and service to others both in our own neighborhoods and across the seas.

"Invaluable tool for discipleship..."

Trevor N., Pastor of Discipleship

Having participated in and led more than a dozen short term missions trips, I am more confident than ever that proper training is essential. And in my opinion, the Missions Academy offers an unprecedented caliber of training in a way that students can easily understand and process. The Missions Academy is way more than pre-trip training. It is an invaluable tool for discipleship that is effectively equipping students to engage with the Mission of God in their everyday lives long after the trip is over.

"Relevant to the questions [Gen Z] is asking..."

Dr. Jolene Erlacher, Next Gen Author and speaker, leadingtomorrow.or

I am excited to see the great content The Missions Academy has developed for young people who are pursuing missions. The content is relevant to the questions they are asking and the awareness they need. It is formatted to engage young participants in the ways they learn best, with short video content, personal applications, and space to reflect and process what they are learning. It also prepares them to participate more thoughtfully in discussions with team leaders and peers as they process their place in what God is doing globally.

"Greatest tools of my youth ministry career."

Nicole, a Team Leader

"Touch The World's training has been one of the greatest tools in my youth ministry career. To walk with my students through this training, go on a trip with them, and use that the rest of the school year for discipleship and beyond. If you’ve engaged fully in {The Missions Academy} training, and you’ve engaged in culture, poverty, evangelism, identity, God, then you can no longer just walk down the street and look at people the same. You may choose to, but you cannot un-know what you’ve learned.”

"Unlike other organizations..."

by Emily O., a student

I absolutely love how God is using this organization to impact people. I’ve been on other missions trips before with different organizations, but none of them even compare to Touch the World. They train how to be relational in evangelizing instead of being business-like and impersonal like the other organizations I’ve been with. Touch the World truly believes that every person is on the same playing field and no one is better or higher than anyone else. Every person is just as in need of a Savior as the next.

Jayna V., student and former intern

My experiences with Touch the World helped me to look deeper and to remind me that no matter what you do, you should use the gifts God gave you to live on mission for him. This helped me to think deeper about what I wanted to do with my life, and has led me to pursue a career in social work. Not only that, but these trainings have challenged me to go deeper in my relationships with others and to love and encourage all those that God has placed in my life, whether it is a one-time conversation with someone, or a lifelong relationship.

"Take that step and go for it!"

Alex T., Youth Pastor

"As a youth pastor who values intentionality and a clear purpose behind the ministry I’m doing, I have been incredibly blessed to find a partner that operates that way as well...every aspect was well thought out and helped our whole group understand what mission is really about... For every mission trip we do in the future, I will be utilizing the mission training they offer. If you’re on the fence about the value, I encourage you to take that step and go for it, as I trust that you’ll find it as valuable as I have.