Endorsements

“Insightful, challenging and life changing….. a must read for those doing short term missions work. DJ and Phil have done a great job of peeling away the layers to get to the heart of mission work by sharing years of experience of what works and what doesn’t. It will challenge you to look at how you have been doing things and finding ways to do things in more creative and effective ways. For those just entering the mission field, following their guidance will help you get to the heart of short term missions and avoid many of the pitfalls. When done correctly, it will be life changing for those serving and those being served.”

Dave Hessler, Founder, Life in the Canyon Ministries, Tijuana, Mexico 

“Long over due. This insightful short-term missions book is unlike any other that I have ever read! After forty years of leading and hosting teams, “Reciprocal Missions” changed the way I think about missions. DJ and Phil’s vast experience offers team leaders and hosting ministries insights into living their mission relationships more reciprocally, deriving meaningful trips and spiritual growth!”

Greg Amstutz, Founder, Genesis Diez & Genesis Expeditions, Baja, Mexico

“As the leaders of an international ministry that has hosted hundreds of groups and individuals, Phil and DJ spoke directly to our hearts. Reminding us that God is bringing people to us because He is about to transform their lives forever. It is our privilege to get to be a catalyst for this transformation.

This book is a must-read for all missionaries and mission organizations that receive short-term mission groups, as well as all leaders or sending organizations for short-term missions. We can’t wait to get this book into the hands of all our partners!”

Pastors Johnbull and Stacy Omorefe, Co-Founders/Executive Directors City of Refuge Ministries, Ghana.

“Over the past 30 years I have led hundreds of short term teams on mission trips around the world. I’ve seen the benefit those trips can have on both the team members as well as the host countries and people when they are done right. Sadly, I’ve also seen the damage that can be done when they aren’t done right. DJ and Phil get it right! They present the most comprehensive, strategic and fruitful approach to short term missions I’ve read. I would say this is required reading for any youth pastor, missions pastor or leader of short term missions teams.”

Glenn Schroder, Regional Coordinator, Vineyard Missions, Mexico & Central America

“Finally a guidebook that helps us as leaders plan our trips and prepare our team members to serve with the focus on things that count for an eternity. We at Club Dust learned we are doing some things right, need to adjust some of what we do and confirmed that short term missions matter!

Phil and Dj have shared their experience in an easy to read, inspiring guide for anyone leading groups to serve in Mexico or anywhere in the world. The book will save your group from making the common mistakes that happen when good intentions lead us into other cultures to serve without the focus on things that really count for an eternal change to occur.”

Ray Meltvedt, Founder and President, Club Dust, Baja, Mexico

“Phil and DJ are not writing from a vacuum, they are writing from lived experience among those they serve alongside and learn from. Phil and DJ lay out a clear understanding of how short-term missions can be and is a beautiful life-changing experience. They also show how short-term missions can do damage if not done in a way that honors the local culture, local traditions, local economy and local community. Phil and DJ draw from their vast experience to help us all understand a better way to do short-term missions. If you think short-term missions is a mistake and should not be done, you should read this book. If you are going on a short-term mission trip or considering going on a short-term mission trip, you should read this book. If you are someone who cares about our global neighbors, ways we can learn from them and serve alongside them, you should read this book!”

Matt Krick, Lead Pastor BayMarin Community Church, San Rafael, CA 

“Excellent book!!! On any page that you open, this is the living experience of its authors. More than a book, I see it as a powerful manual, highly recommended for anyone who wants to make a difference. If you receive the call to be a missionary, or wish to become involved in missionary trips, this book offers the necessary tools (values, principles and experiences) that you must consider, so that your mission positively impacts those around you. It will help you to give a bigger meaning to your next mission.”

Gabriela O. Velazquez, Executive Director, Genesis Diez, Baja, Mexico

“I have worked with both Phil and DJ for the past 12 years on the mission field in Mexico. If anyone has the expertise and knowledge of how to run a superb ministry on the mission field it is DJ; and if anyone has the wisdom and aptitude of how to make short-term missions work, it is Phil. This is the dream team. If you are interested in how short-term missions should be done correctly, this book is for you. Don’t discount what a short-term missions trip can do for you, your church, and the ministry where you go to serve. This book is packed with insight from people who have done the “real work” in missions.”

Heidi Elizarraraz, Founder and Executive Director
Open Arms Childcare Ministries, La Mision and Camalu Baja Ca, Mexico

“Reciprocal Missions is a must read “guide” for anyone wishing to serve orphanages and needy communities in Mexico, as it provides an insightful perspective from both sides of the equation based on the writers’ many years of experience. A clear message in this book is the importance of understanding the culture and the limitations of the community you wish to serve, and to ensure that any projects or assistance you plan to provide is designed to meet the real needs of that community. Sometimes it is best to work through an organization that understands your target community and can guide you as you plan your mission. I appreciate the great insights in this book, and I know that everyone in our organization will benefit from reading it.”

Hilda Pacheco-Taylor, Founder & President, Corazon De Vida, Irvine, California

“DJ and Phil have written a must-read guide for anyone involved in short-term missions and cross-cultural volunteer work. Having hosted dozens of volunteer teams during the past several years, we have experienced firsthand the many benefits of healthy short-term missions–and the unfortunate damage caused by uninformed or wrongly-motivated groups. “Reciprocal Missions” tackles these issues head on and provides an excellent template for mutually-beneficial, relationship-building missions trips.”

Brendan and Sarah Mayer, Co-founders, Siloé Ministries, La Mision, Baja, Mexico

“As a long-term missionary who first got my start in missions many years ago with a short term trip to Kenya, I appreciated DJ and Phil’s book from start to finish. Now working with many short-term groups and individuals, we see the challenges discussed in these pages and we also see the redemptive path forward. DJ and Phil speak with years of wisdom and experience under their belt, and their words offer such hope for reciprocal relationships between on-the-ground organizations and their volunteers. As someone who helps to oversee hundreds of volunteers each year with our organization, this will be a book that we will recommend to everyone who passes through our doors. Filled with challenging insights, a sense of humor, and biblical truth, DJ and Phil carefully lay out how to build healthy, life-giving, Christ-centered, reciprocal relationships that will help shape and grow both the volunteers that visit and us as an organization.”

“Together, DJ and Phil have over 40 years experience hosting and leading short-term missions groups. They have acquired an unmatched level of knowledge on what does, and does not make a successful team and trip. Not only have they shared what it takes to have a great mission trip, they also meet, head on, the arguments popping up in church circles today against missions in general. What they share in this book should be required reading for mission leaders, their pastors, and anyone thinking about supporting missions.”