Help for the church that sends
Most churches send teams with a waiver nobody has read, a partner nobody has visited, and no written plan for the day something goes wrong. Not because anyone stopped caring. Because nobody on staff has the time to own it, and it never becomes urgent until it does.
Five questions worth answering
- Who wrote your waiver, and has an attorney ever read it?
- If a sixteen-year-old on a trip discloses abuse on day three, what happens in the next hour? Who calls whom?
- When did you last see your partner's actual financials?
- Who can cancel a trip, and can that person do it alone, without a vote?
- Your longest-running partnership — what's the exit plan?
If some of those were uncomfortable, that's useful information rather than a verdict. Very few churches can answer all five, including churches doing genuinely good work. We'd be glad to talk any of them through with you.
What we help with
Sixth Hour works alongside church staff and missions committees on the parts of a global program that rarely get anyone's full attention.
Knowing who you're partnered with. We visit mission partners in person and look at governance, finances, child protection, and leadership before we recommend anyone. If you already have partners, we can tell you what we'd be looking for.
Preparing the people you send. Seven areas of preparation before departure, from cultural readiness and safeguarding to the harder teaching about when helping hurts.
The policies that protect everyone. Waivers and informed consent, safeguarding, medical and emergency protocol, and a clear go/no-go framework with someone empowered to say no.
Running the trip itself. Full logistics, or support for your own leaders if you'd rather keep it in house.
Start with a conversation
No commitment, no proposal attached. Tell us what your church is doing globally and what you're least sure about, and we'll tell you honestly whether we think we can help.