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Are you a graduating student about to launch into a career? A current grad student in professional training? The professional skills you're training for may be your passport to world missions. Short-term mission projects are "win-win propositions" for professional students and mission agencies. Students (and recent graduates) usually have flexible schedules and need to gain experience in their field, while ministries need the skills you possess. Consider the following avenues for short-term mission service.

Medical, dental, and nursing students: The Christian Medical and Dental Society organizes worldwide projects that care for impoverished people in Jesus' name. Skills of all health care workers are utilized, with projects lasting one or two weeks. Check out their web site at http://www.gocin.com/cmds, call (423) 844-1000, or send a message to mgm@christian-doctors.com. You can obtain a complete list of upcoming projects. Medical and dental students regularly participate in these projects to gain invaluable experience while serving Christ.

Education majors: Lengthy summer vacations provide teaching professionals extended time for short-term projects. During summer breaks, consider training other teachers, organizing libraries and teaching specialty courses in one of the many schools run by mission organizations. On a short-term trip to Belize, for example, we held a Vacation Bible School in a mission's classrooms. Some education majors on our team noticed how outdated the textbooks on the shelves were. Later, they secured surplus textbooks and supplies to send to the mission school.

Opportunities for teaching English also abound and are particularly effective avenues into closed countries.

Accounting students: Many mission agencies need accountants to conduct internal audits, establish sound fiscal procedures and ensure conformity to tax laws. Accounting students can practice their skills by helping mission field offices bring their financial records into compliance with high fiscal standards. Most missionaries are so busy with people-focused ministry that it's difficult to keep financial records organized, so accounting assistance is often a real encouragement.

Counseling students: Cross-cultural ministry is stressful, taking its toll on some missionary families. It also separates missionaries from the resources of the counseling profession. Some missionaries struggle for years with loneliness, depression, fear, and frustration.

Counseling students may also have to volunteer a certain amount of hours to qualify for state licensing. If you are Scripturally grounded, sensitive to cross-cultural issues and willing to travel abroad, you can be tremendously helpful to missionaries experiencing emotional pain.

Seminarians: Experiencing God at work in another culture enhances a seminarian's vision, while renewing spiritual vitality. The wealth of knowledge and information which theological students bring with them is greatly appreciated by those on the receiving end. Congregations led by a cross-culturally sensitive pastor will reap the many benefits inherent in fulfilling the Great Commission. Therefore, many congregations desire to hire mission-minded pastors following graduation.

Veterinary studies: Veterinary students bring advanced knowledge that is extremely valuable to communities overseas. The Heifer Project, International, (501) 889-5124, translates donations from churches into livestock for impoverished areas around the world, thus enabling people to establish businesses and feed their communities. Veterinary students partnering with the Heifer Project decrease poverty by helping others develop self-reliant businesses.

Farming and Engineering: Opportunities for farming and engineering students usually center around community development projects. By setting up useful systems and practices, teaching effective farming techniques, supplying valuable equipment and knowledge, and building irrigation and storage facilities, whole communities can be transformed. Eliminating disease and providing adequate nutrition is a big payback on an investment in community development. Besides, when people's physical needs are cared for, they become more receptive to the gospel. Most major denominations have mission programs that use farming skills overseas.

I know an engineer who takes a group of engineering students from a Christian college on a short-term trip each summer to construct dams and install water treatment systems in third-world countries. In doing so, this engineer is also training a new breed of engineers to integrate their profession with short-term missions!

Making Connections: Not sure where to start? InterCristo, a Christian job referral service, matches 230 occupations with over 18,000 mission opportunities throughout the world. Call (800) 251-7740 or check out their web site at http://www.halcyon.com/ico/ to receive an application and an information packet explaining their services more fully. InterCristo will process this application for $42.50 and send you a three-month subscription of customized mission possibilities.