Leading a STM Medical Team
Overarching Principles
Goals
Major Goals
Service - to God, to patients or community, to our hosts, and to our team members;
Spiritual growth - through evangelism with the local host churches, through direct evangelism by the team, and in the personal spiritual growth of each team member;
and to
Have Fun - through an attitude of enjoying one another's company and the work of God that we are about, through the awarding of daily fun prizes, and through a team leader encouraging laughter, games, or pleasant times at meals or in the evenings.
Not-So-Minor Goals
The unstated goal - which the team leader holds dear as a guiding principle as decisions come and go - is that team members will finish
the trip with a strong sense that they will want to do this again. It seems that there can be an unending
number of decisions to be made at all stages of the trip planning and execution. Many require on-the-spot answers or solutions, without the luxury of
consultation, discussion, or thoughtful weighing of all the options. This unstated goal should undergird all decisions. The desires of the
host cannot endanger the welfare of the team, and an individual team member's actions or wants cannot endanger the welfare of the team.
The leader must be willing and able to act on the team's behalf with the host or anyone else who places demands on the team that might
harm the team's welfare.
As you will see later, we ask that team members sign a Code of Conduct during the team training. This gives the
team leader wide authority to protect the team from an unreasonable team member. Argumentative or complaining behavior of even one team member
can spoil the experience for everyone. Team unity and cohesiveness, combined with a strong sense of purpose, will inevitably lead to individual team
member satisfaction. The team should strive for this from the beginning - even during the interview of potential team members.
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