Two roles of a mission project leader

On any given short-term mission project, two roles must be fulfilled. Because a lot of leaders have never been trained in either of these roles, they rarely are performed well. Here are the job descriptions I give to my project leaders:

Spiritual Director

• Provides spiritual direction for the trip
• Ensures that our project mission and objectives are met
• Oversees logistics coordinator
• Equipped to train groups in listening prayer
• Leads debriefs
• Ensures learning
• Ensures unity of spirit and purpose

Logistics Coordinator

• Ensures safety
• Keeps things on schedule
• Compiles ministry charts
• Communicates logistics
• Understands and can enforce standards of excellence

The Spiritual Director usually functions best by overseeing the Logistics Coordinator rather than the other way around. The project is a spiritual exercise before it is a logistical one.

It is not important that the Spiritual Director have the skill of keeping detailed lists. The Spiritual Director must, however, understand and be able to ensure the team’s pre-determined standards of excellence. For ideas on what those should be, check this site out.