Chandler, Thomas W.  (MA Thesis) A Statistical Study of Short-Term Missions.  Pasadena,

Calif.: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1972.

Summary:

Outdated-30 years old-but breadth of study significant.

Surveys of STM program administrators, short term workers (here defined as 2 months-5 years), and missionaries and nationals affiliated with a wide variety of STM-sending organizations, and case study survey of short-termers in Java. 

Most interesting findings are that both missionaries and nationals said the primary value of STMs was its impact on STM participants, and that hardly anyone in either of these groups thought STM participants provided valuable assistance to nationals.  Interesting that these opinions were registered even for "STMs" much longer in duration than today's 2-week trips. 

Interesting observation: 80% of applicants came from urban areas, but served majority in rural areas.  "Even in this country, it is difficult for city dwellers to adjust to rural life."  (p.3)

Findings:

• STM Program Administrators

• The total number of short termers serving the various organizations surveyed increased 270 % between 1965-1970.  (p.3)

• 54% of the "short-term" programs included in the survey entailed 3 or more years of service

• STM Participants:

• Reasons cited for serving as a short-term (rather than career) missionary  (p.11):

§         Seeking guidance for future service (36.2%)

§         See if God could use them in another culture (27.6%)

§         Not ready for lifetime service (22.6%)

§         Fulfill missionary obligation (11.2%)

§         Skeptical of professional missions (2.4%)

o       Influenced to do short-term service by (p.12).

§         Former short termers (40%)

§         Program representatives (31.2%)

§         Variety of other influences (remainder)

o       Overall short-termers cited the personal impact on themselves as the primary value of their service, with assistance to full-time missionaries as a secondary value.  (p.12)

• Missionaries and Nationals:

• Missionaries and nationals agreed that primary value of STMs was the "impact on the short term worker."  (p.16)

• Missionaries and nationals agreed that short-termers had value in "assistance to the missionary."

• Only 9% of missionaries and 2% of nationals thought short-termers had value as "assistance to the nationals."

• Short-termers' adjustment to host culture:

• 47% missionaries rated the short-termers' adjustment to the host culture "well," and about 30% rated it "average."
• 47% of nationals rated it "average," and around 30% rated it "well." 
• The rest of the categories got between 5-10% votes from each group.  (On a scale of Very Well/Well/Average/Poor/Very Poor).

• Short-termers' helpfulness (survey respondents asked to choose "helpful", "adventurous", "tourist", "naïve", or "ineffective" to describe short-termers):

• 67% of missionaries, 41% of nationals said short-termers were "helpful."  
• 22% missionaries, 33% nationals said "adventurous."  (p.17)

• 87% of nationals said value of STMers not in what they do but in what experience will mean to national church when they return as career missionaries and learn language and culture better.

• Short-termers in West Java, Indonesia

• Problems most frequently rated "difficult" or "very difficult": language, social life, sanitation, field assignment, climate, health habits.    (p.20)

• Those who said they had experienced very difficult problems said they tried to remedy them by consulting career missionaries (60.0%), talking with other short-termers and with Indonesians (49.7%), and by talking with Indonesians only (10.3%). 

Methodology:

• STM Program Administrators:

• Author sent survey to 139 short term administrators (63 affiliates of Evangelical Foreign Missions Association; 45 affiliates of Interdenominational Foreign Missions Association; 31 not affiliated with either).  (p.1)

• 36 EFMA affiliates responded; 29 IFMA affiliates responded; 20 of those affiliated with other organizations responded.  (Total respondent=85 out of 139 surveys mailed).  (p.1)

• 40 of the 43 EFMA-IFMA that didn't respond did not have STM programs at time of survey. 

• STM Participants:

• Surveys sent to 80 former STM participants (one from each org). 

• 41.5% served 2-12 mos, 41.5% 1-2 years, 17% 2-5 years.  (p.9)
• All had at least a college-level education at the time of their service.  (p.10)

• Missionaries and Nationals:

• Surveys sent to 41 career missionaries (all US-born caucasians serving in Asia, Latin America, Africa, or Europe), 53 nationals (45 pastors and 8 evangelists, mostly from Asia) affiliated with the same organizations as the administrators and short-termers.  (p.15)

• Short-termers in West Java, Indonesia

• Gave surveys to 68 short-termers; surveys focused especially on adjustment problems.  (p.19)

• All who filled out survey aged 19-26
• 37 males, 31 females
• At time of survey, 28 had spent less than a year in Indonesia; 40 had spent a year or more.
• 85.3% had no previous experience outside US.