About Us

DELTA Ministries sent out its first mission team in 1979 and was the short-term mission vehicle
for the Conservative Baptist Association of Oregon. Over the next 16 years, DELTA would send
out hundreds of teams and eventually come under the sponsorship of WorldVenture, the
national missions organization associated with Conservative Baptist Churches.
In 1996, DELTA became an independent, interdenominational ministry mobilizing over 100
teams and 1000 team members per year at its peak. At the same time, DELTA’s CEO, Brian
Heerwagen, joined the national steering committee for the writing of The Seven Standards and
the establishment of The Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission.
In October 2003, the US Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission was formally launched.
In time, the “US” was removed, and the organization was known just as Standards of
Excellence in Short-Term Mission or “SOE” for short.
From the beginning, SOE was the authoritative voice for all things short-term mission and was
effective at exposing weakness by presenting excellence. In 2017, DELTA and SOE merged —
SOE defined excellence and DELTA had the staff and resources to help members become
excellent.
Through these years, the staff and leadership have worked hand-in-hand with other partners
who were also called to promoting excellence in missions. This natural progression has now
collectively created a family of ministries that provide the comprehensive programs and services
needed by mission-focused people and organizations…