The Netherlands

Prayer Support

• Personal prayer for yourself and the host site.
• 5-7 Prayer supporters (those who will support you and the team in prayer).
• Providing updates as needed.

Relational Support

• 2-4 Relational supporters (those who will support you by asking questions about how you are doing and listening to your answers).
• Providing updates as needed.

Financial Support

• 60-75 financial supporters contributing $3,900 (those who will support you by contributing financially toward the team’s ministry).
• Providing updates as needed.

Leadership

Students will engage in leadership roles throughout the trip. Opportunities include leading devotions and/or prayer times, preaching/teaching, and graciously stepping into roles the host site provides students.  In some cases, the host site might offer students the opportunity to plan and/or lead activities.

• Preaching / Teaching
• Sharing Testimonies
• Working with children
• Working with homeless & Trafficked people
• Street Evangelism

Global Evangelization

Perspectives in World Mission course seeks “to mobilize by educating the Body of Christ in the USA to strategic engagement in God’s global purpose”. By exploring the biblical, historical, cultural, and strategic dimensions of global missions, students gain the knowledge and insight needed to serve effectively on an international LEAD mission trip.  Students will recognize some of the challenges of advancing the gospel in their host country and the realities of living cross-culturally for the sake of the Gospel.

• 102 nationalities reside in the Netherlands
• Refugee ministry
• Partnerships with national and international ministries
• Post-Christian Society

Support

The International Trip experience requires that students raise prayer and relational and financial support. Support raising is a part of all gospel ministry, so all LEAD students will raise support for their international trip.

Students will complete all LEAD support-raising assignments which include having four face-to-face conversations.  Students will invite others into intentional prayer, relationship, and financial partnership. All LEAD Missions support raising is done with a TEAM approach morally, ethically, and compliantly.

Alliance Connections

By the end of the trip, LEAD students will have meaningful connections to international workers and ministry. The trip will include a long-term plan to stay connected to the international gospel movement and each student should make a plan to keep in contact with some of the international workers they interacted with.

Students will ideally interact with multiple Alliance structures (aXcess, CAMA, Envision, Marketplace) during their trip. If this is not possible, intentional discussions should be had about how the four Alliance Missions structures interact around the globe and how individuals and local churches support these branches.

• Unique partnerships with Dutch Alliance Churches (Alliance World Fellowship)
• Connections to missions from the Netherlands to the world

Rigor

Students will be stretched throughout their mission trip both by the nature of international travel and ministry and by intentional activities/interactions that the student will encounter.

Throughout the LEAD journey, students have discussed keeping their Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, and Mental buckets full. These buckets will be depleted during this trip in some of the following ways:

Mental – Students will learn about their host culture and the challenges of reaching this people for Christ. The goal is to understand the history of the Alliance in the host culture and global evangelization as a whole. On most LEAD mission trips, students engage in a language-learning activity that will stretch their mental abilities. Students will be challenged as they even listen to others speak a language they do not know. Students will be challenged to be “okay” with not knowing all the details of the trip and how things get done.

• Post-Christian society (robust history that has no impact on modern people)
• Representation of major world religions
• The celebration of sexual sin

Spiritual – Students will face what “spiritual darkness” looks like (or how it manifests) in the host culture. They will discern how “spiritual darkness” looks the same in their home culture compared to the host culture. They will also ask and answer questions about how “spiritual darkness” manifests differently in their home culture.

• The celebration of sexual sin
• People congestion
• Historical realities

Emotional – Culture shock, time away from family, unexpected events, the need to be flexible, visible armed police/security, traffic congestion, and living and ministering with the team will tax a student’s emotional energy.

• Lots of walking, bike riding, and public transport
• Air conditioning is not used the same way in Europe as in the United States, and this part of the year will be HOT!

Physical – LEAD trips are physically demanding. These physical demands can include lots of walking, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, and unfamiliar weather. Team members will be exposed to local foods and cultural norms that may make them uncomfortable. There are many long days, “alone time” isn’t always available, and travel about the country is sometimes laborious.

• Personal space and personal time are rare because the team is together a lot, at gatherings or on public transportation.
• The cultural norms are similar to Western culture, but some differences can be frustrating, and the Dutch perspective can differ significantly from ours.
• Students will engage in a Dutch language-learning session to understand the mental and emotional strain of language learning.

Cultural Team Experience:
We build a day for culture and/or fun into each LEAD trip. This is an opportunity for international workers and students to enjoy a laid-back day, connect, and experience different aspects of the host culture. In the Netherlands, this might be visiting a historical location, exploring city centers, or riding bikes. There will also be a chance to do some souvenir shopping. These are certainly not the trip’s goals, but this memorable day/experience positively impacts the students and the host site. It often gives everyone time to process and interact with each other.

Vaccinations:
Each student should talk with his/her doctor about what vaccinations he/she should have before traveling. Remember that being up-to-date on routine vaccinations is recommended. Review a quick list of standard vaccination requirements for the Netherlands.