Leading an International Expedition

Short Term Team Playbook

If you are a first-time leader or want some ideas how to grow as a team leader, check out our playbook. This team manual will provide you with information we have learned, both from our successes and mistakes, to help you have a fruitful trip for your students, hosts, those to whom you will be ministering, and yourself.

View the Playbook

Register with Chi Alpha

Team leaders, the process of missions trip approval begins here. Team registration through Chi Alpha is only step one in a multi-step process. Once you’ve completed this step, an email will be sent to you with further instructions.

This entire process should be completed at least thirty days before your departure date. This process is how we protect our students and our ministry in the occasion of an emergency. It is not optional.

If you are traveling alone or with your family, you should also complete the trip form linked below.

Please email any questions to [email protected].

If you have international students going on missions trips, there are some steps they will need to take beforehand. Read more here.

Mandatory Team Insurance

AGWM Team

Important to Know

• The entire process outlined below should be completed at least thirty days before your departure date.
• There is no team member application fee.
• Insurance is $4.50 per day, per person.
• You will process your team with AGWM through wideopenmissions.org (after completing the online registration with national Chi Alpha).

Exceptions to the normal team process

1. If your trip is over one month long, you must register as MAPS volunteers.
2. If you are a credentialed minister traveling alone or with your spouse, you must register as a short-term minister abroad (STMA).
3. If you have a team of less than three members, or a family unit, you must register as volunteers.

If you meet any of these criteria refer to the wideopenmissions.org teams page for how to register.

AGWM Team Process

• Go to wideopenmissions.org.
• The AGWM online process is where you will complete mandatory assumption of risk forms and purchase insurance.
• When you complete the AGWM registration, you will receive an email from [email protected] with the subject “Trip Request Approved” after AGWM processes and approves your trip. Forward that final approval email to [email protected].
• Should you have questions or concerns, communicate with your AGWM team specialist directly. Should you need additional assistance, please email [email protected].

Thanks for leading!

Non-AGWM Team

Important To Know

• Save this information as a checklist and reminder.
• The entire process outlined below should be completed at least thirty days before your departure date.
• ALL Chi Alpha international missions teams are required to purchase insurance through Mission Assure. Exception: Teams working with Convoy of Hope do not need to purchase insurance with Mission Assure, as you will purchase your insurance directly through Convoy of Hope.
• The Mission Assure insurance is required even if the ministry with which you are working has its own separate required insurance.
• Insurance is $4.50 per day, per person.
• There is no team member application fee.

Step One: Obtain AGWM Consent

AGWM consent is protocol for all missions teams not working with an AGWM missionary. It is designed to protect both Chi Alpha and AGWM from sensitive, on-the-field issues that would be otherwise unknown to our Chi Alpha leadership. On rare occasions, teams could be asked to amend their trip itinerary in light of ongoing situations.

This is not a “control” issue, but rather a responsibility issue for the leadership of our worldwide movement. AGWM knows things that we can’t, and their insight is valuable.

Therefore, the National Chi Alpha Ministry Center needs the following information from you to obtain this consent:

What we need from you:

• A letter of invitation from the missionary or ministry with whom you will be working. This is usually an email.
• A completed U.S. Missions Overseas Travel Form if you are a U.S. Missions account holder. You can download the form here.

Note: We will email U.S. Missions Overseas Travel Form directly to each U.S. Missions account holder listed on your team sheet (CMITs, MAs, and Nationally Appointed Missionaries). Both of these items should be emailed to [email protected].

• You will be notified once AGWM consent has been given.

Step Two: Purchase insurance directly with AG Financial/Mission Assure

After receiving AGWM consent, you will purchase insurance directly with AG Financial/Mission Assure unless you are working with Convoy of Hope. These teams will purchase insurance through Convoy of Hope.

Purchase Insurance

Step Three: Send Insurance Confirmation to Chi Alpha

• Once you’ve purchased your insurance, you will receive a payment confirmation email from AG Financial. Please forward that email to [email protected].

Helpful Suggestion

Often, we want to give students as much time as possible to commit to a trip and raise funds (which is the real indicator of whether they will go or not). This can also cause us to begin the application process later than expected. Go ahead and process those team members, especially U.S. Missions Account holders, that have committed early. If other students join later, they can be processed as a separate team. It doesn’t matter to AG Financial that they are part of the same actual team.

Please email [email protected] if you cancel your trip or add any AGUSM account holders to your trip.

Thanks for leading!

AGUSM Travel Form

AGUSM requires all national missionary account holders to submit an overseas travel form to leave the United States for any ministry related purpose. This includes nationally appointed missionaries, missionary associates, CMITs, and anyone else who may have a national missionary account. You will need to submit a separate form for each account holder traveling with your team. Married couples can share a single form if they have a single missionary account. Please download the form here and email completed forms to [email protected].

AGUSM Travel Form