SPACE's evolution - Progression into Partnership (3 of 4)

Progression was an important idea. We didn't want our teams to contribute to the statistic that most mission trips do damage to their local hosts. Therefore, it was important to give students experience in serving and relating in their own culture before sending them to a foreign one. We would progress them both in physical proximity as well as cultural distance.

As a global missions launching pad, GCC already had significant friends around the world. Partnerships were very deep since most of these cross cultural workers came from within our own community. The most logical step was to take advantage of these extended GCC families. We would also reduce the unknown, have local hosts that understood us and our context, and have partners that we could trust. Overseas teams therefore, when we could, would work with GCC families.

Progression stretches students. We would deepen students view of the world by introducing them to friends they never knew they had.

Photo: A shared community service project; the second overseas SPACE team; Londrina, Brasil, summer 2005.
[Related: SPACE's evolution #1 - The Real World and #2 - Culture]