Seminar: Help! We're Going on a Short-Term Trip! • Dunwoody, GA • Aug 2026

SEMINAR OVERVIEW

CULTURELink seminars and resources are designed to equip you to make disciples of those who will make disciples of all nations. CULTURELink partners with mission organizations and churches to train them in the “how-to’s” of team development while preparing them for cross-cultural challenges. This class allows team leaders the opportunity to experience being part of a team themselves prior to assuming their leadership roles.

While simulating the process of equipping a short-term team, our seminars are informative, interactive, and highly relational. Each participant receives a Team Leader’s Manual complete with lesson plans for training sessions, step-by-step guidelines for discipling team members, and directives for planning the logistics of a short-term mission trip. Participants also receive a Team Member’s Manual filled with a collection of articles, devotions, and worksheets that cover all aspects to develop effective cross-cultural servants.

Whether providing disaster relief, correcting social injustices, meeting physical needs, or expanding and developing Christian ministries, CULTURELink's practical training and resources prepare teams to successfully integrate into new cultural environments.

SEMINAR INSTRUCTOR

Led by an experienced CULTURELink instructor, seminar participants are guided through ten training sessions that equip them to prepare their teams before, during, and after their cross-cultural experience.

This seminar will be taught by Ryan Hurlburt, Assistant Director at CULTURELink since 2011. Previously the Team Director for another mission organization, Ryan has led multiple trips throughout Latin America, Europe, and Africa, with teams comprised of as few as five members and as many as eighty. Ryan leads teams of all ages, but his background in student ministry has specially positioned him to develop a specialty niche: youth teams. Ryan’s laid-back, highly intentional leadership style strategically develops servants to impact the globe.

Originally from Tampa, Ryan is a graduate of Trinity College of Florida with a degree in Biblical Studies and in Business & Organizational Leadership. He and his wife, Katharine, have lived in Atlanta since 2009. They have three boys, Asher, Alistair, and Ari.

*On occasion, the class instructor changes due to scheduling conflicts.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

CULTURELink is an approved Resource Provider of MissionExcellence (previously known as the Standards of Excellence, or SOE). To learn more and read about the Seven Standards, visit .

I have experienced the damage, locally and globally, that short-term teams can cause to the work that took long-term missionaries years to build because of a lack of training. Having now received numerous teams trained by CULTURELink, our local and global ministries have been blessed. This training helps to deploy servants that build up our work and partner with us for the long haul.

~ Adili Kea • Liaison, Royal Kids School (Kenya); COO, SERV International

I remember the first time I attended a “Help! We’re Going on a Short-Term Trip!” seminar years ago. Ever since, we have used CULTURELink’s curriculum at COD and require our leaders to attend a training seminar before they take a team. The focus on ministry trips as a disciple-making and spiritual process adds incredible value to our team members, missionaries, and national partners. Larry’s knowledge in local church missions-related areas is an encouragement and resource to me. Thank you for your partnership!

~ Don Delp • Outreach Coordinator, Church of the Open Door (York, PA)

SEMINAR SCHEDULE

FRIDAY • AUGUST 14

8:30 - 9:00AM: Registration

9:00AM - 12:30PM

• Short-term Missions Training Philosophy
• Session 1: Getting Started
• Session 2: Cultural Research

12:30 - 1:00PM: Lunch

1:00 - 5:30PM

• Session 3: Becoming Cross-Cultural
• Session 4: Ministry Preparation
• Session 5: Team Building

SATURDAY • AUGUST 15

8:30 - 9:00AM: Continental Breakfast

9:00AM - 12:00PM

• The Seven-Step Process
• Session 6: Travel, Packing, and Health
• Session 7: Final Countdown

12:00 - 12:30PM: Lunch

12:30 - 3:00PM

• Session 8: Living the Experience
• Session 9: Debriefing and Re-entry

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher CULTURELink, Inc.