It’s about working together for the greater good.
WHAT WE DO
We have a rich history of resourcing the mission world that is both practical and authoritative.
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…
MissionConnexion was established in 2001 by missions pastor Bill MacLeod in Portland and has become a premier mission mobilizing conference and focus event organizer. Reaching over 5,000 individuals and hundreds of churches and organizations through numerous annual events, MissionConnexion has now become the primary outreach and equipping ministry of MissionWorks.
MissionGuide was formerly ShortTermMissions.com and was launched by Mission Data International in December of 2000 as a quality collaborative resource for people to discover, learn about and engage with short-term mission trips and other Christ-centered service opportunities. It was also an effective way for mission organizations to get the word out about their mission opportunities. In 2020, it joined with SOE and is now the MissionWorks website tool that helps people enlist in mission trips that fit their gifts and calling.
MissionLinked is the newest member of the MissionWorks family of ministries and is currently under development. By offering a comprehensive suite of tools, it allows the mission or project organizer, participant, sender and host to stay informed as well as interact and engage with supporters. Launching in early 2023, MissionLinked will be the ultimate missions fundraising tool in the MissionWorks suite of ministries.
MissionArmor issued through MissionSafe, provides travel medical insurance that protects and covers individuals and mission teams in the event of an illness or injury. This insurance is helpful when traveling outside of your country of residence and provides key medical benefits in case of an emergency. MissionArmor ensures MissionWorks mission participants, so they are safe and sound while on mission.
MissionExcellence rounds out our family of ministries. MissionExcellence helps leaders plan mission trips that honor God, their hosts, and those they are serving by effectively implementing best practices called the Seven Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions.
So, if you’re just starting out to expand your mission, looking for a short-term trip or finetuning your organization’s mission, you’re in the right place.
That’s because at MissionWorks, our goal is to see more people like you doing more in mission and doing it better.