MODULE 3 - Section 5
Creating a Schedule
15 Minutes to complete section and related assignments
In this section you will learn:
The basics of creating a schedule for a short-term team
Tips for starting to create a schedule
The goal of creating a team schedule is to maximize the potential impact of a team while in the community. By giving a structure to their time, we create intentional spaces for the team to connect with locals, invest in community development and experience where God is at work.
In this module, you have already covered all the key elements that will create the basis for a team schedule:
Lodging
Meals
Transportation
Orientation
Final Debrief
Daily Debrief
Community Engagement Activities
Rest Days/Times
Cultural Activities
This section will be devoted to creating a schedule. Below is a sample schedule to get you started. You will see that it contains the major elements of a short-term team.
The Goal of a Team Schedule
Creating a Schedule
Imagine a short-term team and the time they spend in the community like a glass jar. Their engagement, much like the glass jar, has limits and is contained within a finite period of time.
The foundational aspects of a short-term team are like larger rocks put into the jar. Start with these when creating your schedule. Complimentary activities are like pebbles that naturally fill in the remaining space.
When building out the team schedule, we recommend starting with the “non-negotiables” such as arrival/departure times and meals. Based on a team’s arrival time, schedule in an appropriate time for introductions and an orientation. Prior to a team’s departure, be sure to build in time for their final debrief. Within the other spaces provided, build in community engagement activities, meal locations, periods of rest and daily team debrief time.
tips to consider
Use a schedule format that is easy for you to navigate, read, and edit.
If a team arrives late at night/early in the morning after a red eye flight, build in time to rest and become acclimated before jumping into orientation and activities.
When building in any type of activity/event, calculate time for transportation to and from the event.
Consider any activities your community/team participates in on a weekly basis and how a short-term team might participate in those pre-existing activities.
Consider alternative events/projects and record them somewhere. Just as we ask teams to be flexible, part of the ability to be a flexible host-coordinator is to be prepared if something forces a change to the schedule.
Each section of this module contains additional insights into each of the key schedule elements above.
Highlighted Resource
Schedule Planning Worksheet
Use this worksheet to help you create a schedule for the team during the week.
Be sure to use the tabs at the bottom of the document to see examples of additional layers of scheduling detail.
