Make Every Mission Trip a Faith Venture

On the last day of a trip, a mission worker falls ill with an infectious disease. Due to government orders, she is not allowed to leave the country. The rest of the mission team has no choice but to board their flight back home. The mission worker is 150 miles from a facility that offers the care she needs. Alone, sick, and without transportation, the worker’s U.S. sponsor tries to help coordinate care but is having trouble negotiating from overseas. 

Mission work carries untold risks for travelers. From an onsite injury to a vehicle accident, there are multiple ways a medical emergency can compromise a mission. Short-term mission workers may be unaware of the bodily dangers and financial risks they face in the field

Travel insurance is often overlooked because many mission leaders assume it’s unnecessary or expensive—which isn’t always the case. What’s the risk of going without? It’s about more than just lost luggage. Travel insurance offers emergency medical coverage to care for you when an injury or illness forces you to seek immediate treatment.

That added coverage is critical. “Most health insurance plans generally provide little to no coverage outside of the U.S. For some, their health insurance doesn’t even work out of state,” said Erik Sorensen, a business development and operations manager for Faith Ventures®, mission trip travel insurance specialists. Without coverage, finding skilled care, medications, and emergency transportation requires connections not always readily available.

“Travel insurance is protection for the things you can’t imagine happening—but do,” said Sorensen. For medical emergencies in the mission field, time, distance, and funds create barriers to care. Without travel insurance, overseas short-term mission workers risk getting entangled in potentially dangerous and costly scenarios that put you at the mercy of people looking to cash in on your misfortune.

“Say, you break your leg. A friend of a friend of a friend says that he can drive you the 300 miles to the nearest hospital,” said Sorensen. “These types of arrangements are offered only if you have the cash. A lot of cash.” And that’s if locals assist you. The price tag for an ambulance run or a medical airlift skyrockets beyond a mission worker’s careful budget. “Medical and security evacuations aren’t cheap,” he said. “Without insurance, the worker may be on the hook to arrange and pay for emergency transportation, hospital stays, and medical care themselves.

When a situation goes sideways, the mission worker often is left with limited help and no good options. Mission travelers assume that the sending organization will cover them. The reality is that most organizations leave it up to the traveler to secure their own coverage—often mentioned as an afterthought in the planning
phase, if at all.

“When that happens, word spreads that the organization doesn’t protect its travelers,” warned Sorensen. As a result, reputational damage hurts the organization and its mission, families, and financial resources.

Faith Ventures Protects Traveling Mission Workers

Not all travel insurance is built the same. Many exclude coverage in high-risk regions. That puts Christian mission work, in particular, at a disadvantage. It’s in these very areas where need is greatest, and where many mission workers find their calling. 

Here’s where Faith Ventures is different. Faith Ventures understands the why at the forefront of Christian mission work. “Christian mission work is the reason Faith Ventures exists,” Sorensen emphasized. Faith Ventures offers affordable travel insurance designed specifically for the mission traveler following a heart for service.

“You can prepare as much as you want to for a trip, but you never know when something is going to go wrong. And something almost always goes wrong,” said Sorensen. “That’s what travel insurance is there for, to provide that added protection to cover the unknowns.” 

Organizations can emphasize traveler safety without taking on the cost. Make safety a priority by requiring travelers to purchase travel insurance. Review plans at faithventures.com/compare-plans/, then provide guidance to travelers and their families on which plan fits the mission best. 

Posted February 23, 2024

The information in this document provides a brief description of the coverages offered through Faith Ventures®. Insurance and travel agency services offered under the Faith Ventures name are provided in collaboration between Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company and Fly For Good, Inc. (which also does business as AFC Travel). This document does not provide coverage of any kind, nor does it modify the terms associated with any insurance product. All coverages are subject to conditions, coverage limits, limitations, and exclusions. Available coverages may vary in certain states. For precise details of coverage, please refer to the actual policy documents.