Should you cancel or reschedule that short-term mission trip?

For most of us, the decision to cancel or reschedule a short-term mission trip was made for us with the cancellation of international flights and other quarantines.

That still left the remaining question of having to simply cancel the trip all together or reschedule it for a later date. Both have their reasons and both have their benefits.

Let’s unpack the two sides to better assess which might be best for your organization.
 

Here are a few times when it's good to strongly consider CANCELLING?

• When it’s time specific

• When the team you’re visiting isn’t on the field any longer

• When there are fixed variables

• Project was time sensitive

Here are a few times when it's good to strongly consider RESCHEDULING?

• Because of government travel restrictions

• Because it’s the wise thing to do

• When you have a flexible team, team leaders, field host, and logistics

Have you made your decision yet? Here are a few questions you could/should be asking:

• Is it possible to reschedule?
• Do you want to reschedule the trip?
• Would participants be able to reschedule?
• Can we accomplish the same goal if we reschedule?
• How much work will it be to reschedule the trip (and is it worth it)?
• What are our absolutes for rescheduling?

Hopefully, for those of you considering cancelling or rescheduling, we've helped you unpack the two sides to better assess which might be best for your organization. 
 

This is one post of many we're doing related to the current crisis. Download Cancelled: A Guide to Maintaining Missions Engagement When Your Short-Term Trip is Cancelled.