Can We Modify Our STEM Team?

In a nutshell, yes! Our STEM Team structure is designed primarily for 1st-time short-termers — and for 1st-timers, STEM’s “packaged” structure usually works best. But if you’ve already got some related experience, or if you need to modify something in order to better fit certain criteria on your end, we’ll do our best to modify and customize your short-term outreach with STEM.

FAQs About Modifying Your STEM Team

Can we modify the 2 weeks? — or min/max number of people?

Most of the time, yes!

  • FEWER DAYS: You can shorten the 2-weeks — especially if your group is younger (a Children’s Team or a Junior/Middle High School Team), or if your church or organization is still a little wary because this is their very first short-term mission. Or maybe all your group members simply can’t get two full weeks off of work and school. If needed, STEM can shorten your outreach to as little as 5 days. (Most domestic STEM Teams run about 5–7 days.)
  • MORE DAYS: You can also lengthen the 2-weeks — especially if your group is a repeat Team with STEM and you’re working on an on-going specific ministry project. (We’ve done 3- and 4-week STEM Teams.)
  • FEWER TEAM MEMBERS: Sorry — STEM Ministries cannot reduce the minimum number of Team Members to less than 12 (it’s a budget mandate); if team size falls below 12, your team may actually need to raise additional budget money.
  • MORE TEAM MEMBERS: Some of our field locations can occasionally accommodate  more than 30 team members; however, we need to clear that in advance prior to booking your Team, along with making sure we can provide sufficient leadership and on-field logistics. (We’ve had STEM Team sizes in the 40s and 50s — and we may be able to do even larger teams in certain locations at certain times of the year.)

Can we modify STEM’s 3-fold mission outreach activities?

(evangelism, construction, and mercy/service/creative ministries)

Yes, somewhat. Ideally our Field Facilitators like to have each STEM Team bring in a healthy balance of these three mission outreach activities. However, if you’ve got a professionally-trained and talented musical group (that’s our creative ministries strategy), or an adult group with specialized training in a given craft or skill (that would be our construction or mercy/service ministries strategy), we can shift your group’s on-field activity emphasis from an average of 33% in each of our strategic areas, to 50–70% in your specialized area of proven skill — with the remaining time (30–50%) split between the other remaining areas of our strategic 3-fold outreach activities.

Can we provide our own Team Leaders?

Not totally — but you can share the task equally with our trained and certified STEM Team Leaders. A typical STEM Team has our Sending Partner Leaders doing all of the pre-field recruiting, fund-raising events, much of the pre-field Team Training, and coordinating the myriad of remaining details with the STEM office. Most Sending Partner Leaders like the fact they can finally take a “leadership break” while on-field, letting STEM Team Leaders and STEM Field Facilitators take over. But if you want more leadership responsibility while on-field, we’ll be glad to share that with you!

Can we form a STEM Team to a nation we don’t see listed on your website?

Very likely, yes! STEM may need 6–12 months (or more) of preparation time on our end before taking your group to a nation you don’t see listed. We’ll first need to form a long-term partnership in that given nation with one or more local people or local churches/organizations that will become our official long-term STEM Field Facilitators. If you’ve already got good contacts in that nation, and if you’re able to provide some funding for STEM staff to do an on-site “familiarization” trip (that’s where we form our partnerships and begin writing up specific Team Training materials), and if it appears likely that we will be able to bring other STEM Teams there on a regular basis in the future, it will speed up our process.

Can we modify STEM’s dress & clothing guidelines?

Sorry, not very often! What may seem archaic and “old-fashioned missionary” to you (and to us sometimes, too!) is what our Field Facilitators and the national people tell us they want to see when missionary visitors come to their nation. Again, because we’re guests in their nation serving them, we strive to honor their requests. Once in a great while, however, your STEM Team Leaders may be able to temporarily override the dress code because of a unique circumstance. But generally girls and women need to have their shoulders and chest well-covered and often times need to wear a dress. The boys and men need to have slacks and decent-looking shirts. Bathing suits need to be modest, and everyone needs to dress up for the local national church services. In some nations, modest shorts will be acceptable.

Can we do a home school or children’s Team with STEM?

Yes, absolutely! We’ll taylor your ministry outreach activities and your on-field itinerary to age-appropriate levels. God absolutely can use young people in mission! For home schoolers, be sure to check out our Home School Groups and the vast unit study/curriculum possibilities you can set up.

Can we do a family Team with STEM?

Yes, absolutely! Your family can either join any existing “open” Team. If you’ve got 2, 3, or more families you can even form your own STEM Team (with a minimum of 12). Be sure to check out our Family Mission Trips page for more information.

Can I visit my sponsored child during the STEM outreach?

Maybe. Since our Field Facilitators are primarily in charge of organizing each Team’s on-site itinerary, it’s our Field Facilitators who make the final call on whether you’ll be able to visit your sponsored child. If your child lives very near the areas our Field Facilitators have scheduled your team to work, it’s usually very easy to make arrangements for a visit. But even when an itinerary has been organized, it may need to change last minute — especially in the developing nations where STEM works. That means your Team may be re-routed to another location within that nation, and not be near enough to visit your sponsored child. So you’ll need to be flexible on whether your visit can actually take place. But we will at least attempt to make it happen.

Can I do a longer-term overseas internship with STEM?

Yes! Especially in Haiti and Honduras where STEM has our own full-time staff who function as Field Facilitators. You’ll need to go through a STEM staff application process and provide all of your personal living support. Summer internships generally work very well.

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