Short-Term Mission Trips
by Ted Slater on 01/08/2009 at 3:09 PM
I appreciate Heather's bringing up the potential value of short-term mission trips. I say "potential," because, as she implied, sometimes they're more about the photos and the tans and the trinkets purchased than about serving those you're visiting.
I noticed that Heather values her second mission trip because of how it affected her, more than how she was able to affect those to whom she traveled to minister.
That's a common reality. And I think that's fine.
In my late teens, I went on a short-term mission project with my church to a small mountain village a couple of hours northeast of Mexico City. Our week was spent at a Christian ministry for indigenous Mexicans, building beds, working the soil, and doing other manual labor things.
I think we did some real and tangible ministry during that week in rural Mexico. It also changed me. So much so that I sent a letter to the director, volunteering to serve for up to a year, in whatever capacity he needed.
I ended up teaching a class in music, building furniture out of wood, picking coffee beans during harvest season, traveling to remote villages for baptisms, giving a message at the village church, translating for visiting evangelists, chaufering people to and from Mexico City, painting classrooms, and spending lots of time with the students.
Again, I think I was able to do tangible work for those I went to serve. And I was changed.
A couple of years later, I ended up leading a short-term project to Mexico City. Fifteen of us undergrad students drove 55 hours to get there, spend long hot days clearing out a site for a church and purchasing and laying brick for its walls. That really encouraged and motivated the local congregation to finish what we'd started. And it affected those who went. At least one of the students went on to do international ministry full-time as a result of that trip.
A few years after that, I found myself in Bogotá, Colombia, working for a couple of months with Operación Bendición Internacional. I helped them streamline their newspaper publication process, build a new radio studio, organize files, move from one location to another, minister at a community outreach, conduct interviews with local pastors, and so on.
During my time there, a group from Florida came down to "minister." My Colombian friends thought it was a flop: The leaders didn't speak Spanish, their skit was misunderstood by the glue-sniffing gamines who had come to each lunch ... they seemed more giddy about being in a foreign location than in humbly serving.
Yes, my week in Mexico during my teen years changed my life. My priorities and educational interests changed, for example: One of my undergrad degrees ended up being in Spanish, and one of my master's degrees ended up being in international communication, with ESL certification.
And that week in Mexico has changed more than just me. My friend Pablo in Mexico has benefited from my friendship; my friend Melqui in Bogotá has benefited from my friendship; my friend Pam in Michigan has benefited from my friendship. As well as numerous others whose names now escape me.
Yes, if you can go on a short-term mission project, I'd encourage you to go. In my opinion, the more foreign the destination, the better. The money you spend on it is minor in the big scheme of things; you'll spend more on a TV in a few years than you would on travel and expenses.
My strong counsel: Sacrifice and just do it. It'll be life-changing: for others and for you.
I just have to include some photos from the time I was in the little village in Mexico; click on an image to see it larger. You're free to ridicule my late-80s attire.
1. DannieA said the following at 3:19 PM on Jan 8:
wow Ted, those were some happening pants there! LOL I agree that the sacrifice is worth doing the trip
2. Sara said the following at 4:39 PM on Jan 8:
About short-term overseas missions that involve people doing non-specialized labour (like digging and building and such), in many cases, I think, the money should be used to hire the (often unemployed) locals. A 16-year-old going for two weeks to, say, Haiti to help build a school is kind of getting $25 dollars as an amateur. Why not provide temporary employment to a bunch of *Haitians*??! A foreign planning and leadership team sounds OK, but as for the labour itself, it seems like getting the work done locally would usually make the most sense.
And about overseas adoption, I remember reading in Lt. Daillare 's book (Daillare was the force commander for the UN mission in Rwanda) about his frustration over the fact that with the money it took for just one Western family to adopt one Rwandan orphan, a whole orphanage could have been established there in Rwanda.
Just some thoughts. "Direct" assistance internationally can take so much money, that a lot of that money might be better spent within the community.
3. Helen said the following at 8:50 AM on Jan 9:
Ted said: "In my opinion, the more foreign the destination, the better."
Ted - I'm just curious as to why you wrote this. What makes a short term missions trip to a very foreign location better than a local one also involving a different culture?
Could you comment...
Thx!
4. Kerrin said the following at 8:50 AM on Jan 9:
First, I can't agree more with the content of this post. The privilege of humbly serving others and trying to love them as Christ does has often taught me more than it can possibly impact those who I am serving. I find that short term trips bring me back to an awareness of what is really important.
However, I would disagree with one part of the article, which was stated as an opinion, and of course, what follows is my opinion.
Ted stated, "In my opinion, the more foreign the destination, the better."
I would disagree with that statement. Usually there are short term mission opportunities nearby, within a few hours driving distance that you can participate in. Once you have returned from the trip, there are always opportunities to return and to continue to build relationships with the people you have ministered to. Though it may not be exotic, or have the prestige of going to a foreign country, serving with an inner city ministry, or on an Indian Reservation is definitely exposure to a different culture, with poverty conditions that are extremely severe. I went on a short term trip with Sacred Road Ministries to the Yakama Reservation 3 years ago, and was so impacted by the conditions that I saw there, that I have returned each summer, and participated in various events throughout the year. I have not been able to do that with the people I have met on foreign trips. I think we should consider ministering to our "First Neighbors" and others who are in need in our local area as an option as well.
5. Jackie said the following at 8:51 AM on Jan 9:
Wow, Ted! Is that pan dulce I see? Yum. I, too, am in love with Mexico, and hope to drive south again, soon.
6. Peter said the following at 8:52 AM on Jan 9:
I would have to agree that the sacrifice is worth the trip. Last summer I went to Senegal for 10 days. It taught me a lot, most importantly that I want to serve others overseas. Because of the Senegal trip I wanted to go back longer. God directed me to Peru, and that's where I will be spending my summer. And just think I did not want to go to Senegal in the first place. It took some prodding but I made the choice to go and I certainly do not regret it.
I would certainly encourage people to do short term missions trips. Be encouraged God will take you there if he wants you there!!
7. Matthew said the following at 8:52 AM on Jan 9:
Sara, you make some good points. However, we do have to consider the effect that mission trips have on the people who go, who very well might over their lifetime contribute far more to employ Haitians or build orphanages in Rwanda than they would have otherwise, had they not gone on the trip.
Usually you don't get anything significant done in the place that you're working that others who are already there couldn't have done on their own unless you go for at least 2 months. And even then the greater (positive) impact is going to be on the people who go on the trip. You can also easily make a profound negative effect on the people who receive in a few days, which is why it's important to not just go on any mission trip but to choose a trip carefully.
Still, it's a good rule of thumb to not go on too many trips that are only a week long and make sure that you're thinking about the issues involved with the local economy & church-- how you'll be affecting both and how you can make the greatest impact for the people who go and the people who receive. I provided more specific links in my comment on Heather's post.
8. Rob Birch said the following at 8:53 AM on Jan 9:
Donde esta gringo?
Short term mission are really hard to make a judgement call on how much impact the make in the community, Sara. I agree with everything you say, its just there are are lot of intangibles i.e. the pastor of a south korean church became a christian because of a short term mission trip, sometimes short term missionairies are the only people that reached out to a dark area, also local are encourage by foreign brothers and sisters.
Anyway, a good book to read about charity and assistance is the Tragedy of America's Compassion. Great book but boring.
Hey, Ted....how about you do an article on people that haven't heard the gospel and die? Can you open up that messy can of worms plz?
9. Jenna said the following at 8:56 AM on Jan 9:
I can't agree with you enough, Ted! It's always been my dream to go on short term missions, and since I felt that this is likely the best time for me to go (I'm 19) in July I joined one of YWAM's DTS's in Bali. I know, I know...suffering for the Lord in Bali, right? Well being in Bali certainly was nice, but the amount I grew spiritually during the three months of lectures was what really meant the most to me. It was an invaluable time of growth and learning! The last three months had more outward focus as we split into teams and traveled out to nations God was calling us to serve. My team ministered in India, Jakarta and Timor Leste, which was incredibly fulfilling! In each location we were able to reach out to the needs of the people in tangible ways, intercede, and build meaningful relationships. I have no doubt that we made a difference, perhaps most in the remote villages of Timor Leste. Through all of this I learned that my future will involve full time missions, that God is preparing me for something amazing! I would encourage everyone here to honestly consider short term missions with your church or organizations like YWAM. There's a world of need out there and we are called to be Jesus to all of those needy people. Pray about it and see where the Lord leads you. It'll change them and you, without a doubt.
10. TINA said the following at 8:56 AM on Jan 9:
One of my dreams is to go on a missions trip short or long... i admire your work for the LORD..great pics some are breath taking....
11. obewan said the following at 8:57 AM on Jan 9:
I agree more with Heather's 1st experience than Ted's.
I went on a 3 week trip to Mexico, and it was 90% tourism and "visitation" with nationals. I left feeling my money could have been better spent if I had made a donation to the church that sponsored us.
I think a "life changing" experience can be had for a lot less money by simply attending your church missions banquet and viewing the slide presentations of sponsored missionaries, or by visiting the website of World Vision or Compassion International and sponsoring a child. A third world child could be sponsored for 3 years with the money spent on just one mission trip by one person.
I suppose though that if a person is going to spend their vacation budget on a missions trip, that it is a good investment. But, unless there was a clear agenda with lots of construction work or heavy helps projects, I would call it a vacation and leave it at that.
12. Jen said the following at 11:25 AM on Jan 9:
Sara - thanks for what you said, I agree with you for the most part. Direct contributions are VERY effective.
I also agree with others who encourage short term local missions.
The thing is, both options glorify God and advance His kingdom, so one isn't better than the other.
However, the cost/benefit and impact does vary. As someone in college ministry and who has only done local missions trips (long and short term) I see people go on 2-6 week long trips to Ethiopia, and sure they didn't accomplish a lot, but God accomplishes a lot in them. And they come back and become missionaries in a sense. Sometimes God sends us "to the ends of the earth" for a little while so that we can be missionaries in our own "Jerusalem and Judea".
I cringe though when I see short term missions have no tangible transfer back to every day life, and it just becomes a series of hit and run missions - people trying to feel more spiritual and help people, with no lasting impact on either themselves or the place they went to. To me, that is a shame.
What I would LOVE to see is more encouragement for people to consider missionary work in the long run - both domestically and internationally. There is so much need, and I just pray constantly for the Lord to send more laborers out into the fields. Maybe we can have an article about what it means to sacrifice and be a missionary as a job, not just an "experience"? :-)
13. Charles H. said the following at 11:25 AM on Jan 9:
Sara (#2) and Obewan (#11), thank you for giving voice to something I've been thinking for awhile.
I think shorter-term missions (like say a month - I fail to see the point in anything much shorter than that) serve a purpose in letting people see whether they can actually endure the conditions that go along with Third World mission work. Better that someone should return from a month in Africa and say "I can't do that" than that a church should expend considerable energy and money getting him set up for semi-permanent mission work there, only to find after a month that he doesn't feel he can do it.
But it's hard to get past the economics of it for me: spending $1000+ in plane fare to "make a difference" by handing out a few hundred bucks in food does not seem like the best use of resources. This goes double for when said food distribution (or house building, or cleanup, etc) is done by people who can't even speak the local language to witness. I'm just going to say it bluntly: if you feel called to an area, learn its language.
14. Ted Slater said the following at 11:56 AM on Jan 9:
Odd. It sounds like a good number of you are implying that it was wrong for me to go on that one-week-long short-term mission project when I was a teen, that the money spent would have been better spent elsewhere. Did you not see how the Lord seems to have used that small event to shape my life and affect those around me?
Those of you who are considering short-term mission projects: Your considerations are not necessarily sinful.
I agree with Charles H.: It is MUCH better if you speak the language of the people you're going to serve. That said, don't disqualify yourself if you don't yet speak their language.
I don't understand obewan's statement: "I agree more with Heather's 1st experience than Ted's." How can you "agree" with an experience? Maybe you meant "resonate"? If you do mean "agree," then you're saying you disagree with what I did and what the Lord has done in my life and others' lives through that experience?
I had written, "In my opinion, the more foreign the destination, the better." I'm not sure, Kerrin, why you would disagree with that statement. The examples you give are of traveling to a "foreign" culture to serve: an inner city ministry, an Indian Reservation. I wasn't specifically talking about "foreign country," but more the concept of going outside your comfort zone to a "foreign culture." Doing so can stretch you in good ways.
For some reason, something Chesterton said comes to mind: "The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land." In the case of mission work, that's not the "whole object." But it is a part of it.
15. Matthew said the following at 2:25 PM on Jan 9:
Let me reiterate: there is a place and time for short-term missions, and there is a place and time for direct assistance. The two are complementary and not necessarily in opposition-- one only hurts the other when they are out of balance. If you're obsessed with getting the most money possible to a place, you're probably denying yourself and other the joy of cross-cultural interaction and the opportunity to mature through service & sacrifice. If you can't stop taking 1-week trips to places that already have strong national leadership because you really like doing puppet shows with Mexican children, you're probably denying the local church the opportunity to do good things in its community and using resources that might be applied more wisely in directly supporting the ministry.
16. Matthew said the following at 2:25 PM on Jan 9:
Ted (#14),
I hope that I was not one of those you had in mind when you mentioned people who implied that it was wrong for you to go for a week! If that was the case, I did not mean to imply it at all. I certainly want to affirm the tremendous benefit of 1-week or 2-week trips (there was one in particular that totally changed my life for the better), but I just wanted to make the point (similar to the one that I made on Heather's post) that we have to be the most careful about 1-week trips because they tend to have more potential to harm to the local (receiving) church and they are also less likely to have the same long-term impact on the goers. However, I think that most Christians ought to go on one at least once-- so long as they choose a good one.
I've just heard enough horror stories to know that we have to be wise, prayerful, and do our homework first in order to best glorify God on these trips. Also, there are some people who have gone on so many 1-week trips that it would be more beneficial to give away the funds that they would otherwise use to go themselves.
17. Shannon K said the following at 4:30 PM on Jan 9:
Ted wrote: "It sounds like a good number of you are implying that it was wrong for me to go...Did you not see how the Lord seems to have used that small event to shape my life and affect those around me?"
God can use many circumstances in which we place ourselves to "shape our lives and affect those around us." Some people stubbornly pursue a life of sin, and it is only when they hit bottom that they surrender to the Lord. God, in His sovereignty, is able to use their sinful decisions to ultimately bring them to Himself, and can make them into powerful witnesses to others around them.
Please don't misunderstand me -- I am most definitely *not* equating a short-term missions trip with sinful depravity. Clearly, giving of one's time and money to aid/bring to the gospel to others around the world is a motive superior to trying to debauch oneself :). If God specifically calls a person to mission work, whether as "short-term" as witnessing to the person next to them on a plane or as "long-term" as full-time mission work, then it would be sinful to not do so.
What I am trying to say by using an extreme example is that the fact that God is able to use some action or set of circumstances in my life does not necessarily mean that my action was God's perfect will for me or that it is His will for other believers to do the same.
One thing that seems to be missing from the discussion so far (though I haven't read all the comments) is seeing what precedents the Bible sets for missions. Two come to mind: Jesus sending out the 70 (Luke 10), and the "missions trips" of Paul and his companions (Acts).
The 70 proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of heaven to cities where Jesus was "about to go." In Acts, Paul et al. proclaimed the gospel and established churches in many different cities, often staying until forceably kicked out. I can't remember any passage where we find immature Christians being sent en masse to erect buildings, distribute food, perform skits to music in the streets, or anything of the sort. When other bodies of believers were in need, collections were taken up and sent (2 Cor. 8-9). Young believers did prepare for lives of ministry -- Paul discipled Timothy and Titus, and John Mark was allowed to accompany the more experienced missionaries Paul and Barnabas.
Okay, this is really long and I'm done. I've probably missed mentioning other examples which might shed more light on this question, so everyone feel free to enlighten me :).
18. BDB said the following at 4:31 PM on Jan 9:
My pastor was a Y-WAMer once. We still have a strong mission emphasis as a church - both overseas and in North America.
We do implement a number of the things suggested here. For example, we have long-term commitments to specific spots in the world:
1) Ensenada Mexico - a guy that's been going there for 20+ years and a Mexican pastor on-site.
2) The Mai Le refugee camp in Thailand - where we've built at least one building.
3) A church in Nigeria
4) A Pastor in Malaysia
5) A church in Cambodia, and the YWAM base there.
In addition to the church's long-term commitment, we send short-term missionaries to these same locations. This serves several purposes:
a) The Americans in those places, who are very few, are encouraged by more Americans coming to visit. They get to have conversations in English for a week or two.
b) Where we teach English, it gives the other English-teaching missionaries a vacation for a week. It also helps the learners by talking with more native-English speakers.
c) In Mexico, we do actually do construction-type work. A big thing is building bunk beds for people who are living with their children in tiny shacks and everyone on the ground. The kids love the bunk beds.
One thing to keep in mind is that resources need to be tracked so they are not wasted. Our pastor has been to all these locations at least once. But he relies on the teams that go each year to report back on what they see. The ones we work with are very good about scheduling our short-term activities to ensure that people get exposure to the culture (not just the tourist areas), the food, and understand the poverty that exists in the world. It makes people more sensitive to the poverty that exists here.
Unfortunately, in a lot of these places, there's a lot of corruption. If they get a chance, a lot of people will divert resources to enrich themselves. Americans will often be quoted a higher price than in-country nationals. The money goes to enriching the corrupt, rather than actually helping people in need. Mexico has banned importing things like construction materials to force people to buy them in Mexico - at prices MUCH higher than we can buy them in the U.S.
If you bring 10 people who know construction, you can build a small building in a weekend. That makes a big difference in the missionary that lives there - they don't spend months building it as money comes in. It also helps avoid some of the security problems that occur with money and materials lying around for weeks at a time.
Though, ironically, there is an interesting effect of having a long-term mission in place. Another missions organization came and built houses for some poor families who were squatting on someone else's land. After they left, the Mexican government came to OUR mission church and told us to knock it off and not build houses for people on land that wasn't theirs - we've been there so long they assumed it was us!
19. Zane said the following at 4:32 PM on Jan 9:
It's great to read passionate words about mission trips.
I've always wondered what part of "GO" we don't get.
Sounds like everyone here gets it.
Short term trips changed my life. Seems that is what God wants; to change my life and others lives.
What has impacted me most from such trips has been the relationships and understanding that there are other ways of doing things and living life that are not wrong, just different.
Arranged Marriage.
Extended family compounds. Family bed.(Ma Pa and all the kids, maybe even grandma and grandpa)
Weird food; like I just ate dog for Christmas in Korea.
Learning what is not "wrong" but just different. It helps us understand the heart of God and his love for people. Also helps us understand scripture in a new light of culture.
I read great passion in each word on this blog. Must be something to this!
20. obewan said the following at 4:36 PM on Jan 9:
I don't understand obewan's statement: "I agree more with Heather's 1st experience than Ted's."
...Ted
------------------------------------
You are correct. I should have said resonate rather than agree. But if the extrapolation from your experience is that all missions trips are worthwhile, then as a result of my experience, I would not agree with that conclusion since my experience was different than yours. Had I worked on similar projects and had my time and money better used, then I would of course be saying the same things you are. I was in no way trying to say that your experience was not used by God to do great things or that your conclusions are wrong.
21. Helen said the following at 8:26 PM on Jan 9:
Thanks for your comments Ted and everyone else. My initial question that sparked this debate was not meant negatively at all... so I'm sorry if it did so. I've just finished a 2nd 3 year term working with the board and on the organising team with an international relief organisation that sends out teams to Central and parts of Northern America. We are located in Canada and at present are discussing the need in our own country and have been debating why we continue to send teams so far away when there is so much work to be done closer to home. We've realised, through these discussions, that often a team does more just by building relationships with Christians and other people in foreign countries. The construction work is important - but the relationships and the possibility of sharing Christ's love with eachother is so much more important. This makes us continue to send teams to places like DR and Mexico. Sure, there is work to be done here at home as well, but that doesn't take away from the work that needs to be done in foreign countries as well. We are given a wonderful opportunity to participate in this sharing of Christ's love through these relationships.
22. Allison said the following at 8:34 PM on Jan 9:
In Acts 1 the church was told by Jesus, not Peter, not Paul, not Ted, but Jesus, that they were to be wittness '...both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth.' The Holy Ghost fell, and we see a great Church in Jerusalem, people are being saved in Jerusalem, people are transformed by the power of God in Jerusalem... years pass, and all these wonderful things are still happening-in Jerusalem. Do you think they forgot something Jesus said? Yes, its great to enjoy the blessings of God and see our 'near-neighbors' come to Christ, yeah we can do great things for God in our local communities (but most of us aren't), sure, we can send money to missionaries and churches (which, believe me, makes more of a difference than you can know), we might even be pretty mature in our walk with God, but are we forgetting something? Is 'go ye into all the world' really in the same part of the Bible as 'teaching all things, whatsoever I have commanded you'? North American church (and we are all, no matter where we were born, part of the same Body) are we going to keep forgetting, like Jerusalem, waiting until God sends persecution to push us not only beyond our cities, not only beyond unnaccepted groups of society, but to those beyond our nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ? that He died, and was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures? This is THE best news in the world, and let me tell you, there are so many who've never even heard it... Let me tell you that the powers of darknesss affect peoples lives to the point of suicide, that the use of the occult is rising, that people in 'civilised' countries don't even know who Jesus is, that the concept of God, Our Father, has to be explained, 'cause their dad beat them, or worse. Why, 2,000 years later, is this still happening? Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives, to bind up the broken hearted and so much more, but He wants to use you and me. We are to be like Him. So why is my neighbor next door more important than my neighbor accross the waters? She still has a soul, that longs for Living Water, and her thirst has not yet been quenched. So where are we?
Have you ever seen tears stream down a woman's face, simply because you told her she was precious? I have. Have you seen an abused child's eyes light up as they feel, perhaps for the fist time, the presence of a God who heals? I have. Do you know what it feels like to give children their first peice of gum (couldn't have shipped it, would've been confiscated by the government)? I do.
No, I'm not a sixty year old missionary, nor am I a super-spiritual, super-natural person: I'm just a young adult on the 'mission field,' in the wild wilderness of the UK, who's obeying God's call. My missionary experience began as a young kid, rubbing shoulders with those on deputation; in the highschool years I went on three life changing short-term mission trips. On my first one God called me to missions, in a room full of sweaty American and Guatemalan teenagers, and also was a part of 67 people coming to Christ, on another I first visited th UK, and when I returned for what I thought would just be 10 months in Bible College, two of my classmates were from the same church we visited and we took some of the same street evangelism techiniques (real high tech, 'Hi, my name is... is their something we could pray for you? Would you like a home Bible Study?') to use and they are treasured ministerial peers- somehow, even then, I knew, I'd be back. Yes, God did heal me, and use His Body in another part of the world to minister to me, yes, my whole focus dramatically changed, yes, I'd do it again. Currently I am working with our National Youth Team and the Bible School in one of our new Missions endeavours, a short term trip to another European country to encourage a newly established Church, and, yes, to give them the same opportunity to give of themselves (which is more valuable than any money) that so many of us have experienced. The Youth board is also beginning to implement a program to mobilise our young people both in their local communities, and throughout this thirsty nation. Do we need Missions? Does the world still need missionaries (and most of them are getting older)? Does it really make a difference?
Mine is one story, there are so many more. Lift up your eyes, my brothers and sisters, and see that the fields are white unto harvest. Let's not repeat the good Samaritan scenario. Do you know that the benefits are out of this world? I do, but that's not enough for me or for God, we want all of you to know it, too.
23. Gabriela said the following at 9:47 AM on Jan 12:
Hey, Ted..i've always wanted to go on a missions trip,but have no real opportunities..do you know any Christian ministries that i could sign up with?
Please let me know,thanks Gbu
24. Kirsty said the following at 2:59 PM on Jan 12:
One of the benefits of short term missions is to be able to encourage and minister to the missionaries that you are going to visit. They are often a long way from home with little contact from others from their own country or church. To go and minister to missionaries on the field...that is a huge blessing (to them and us ;)From my own experience of short term missions, it is a good opportunity to experience first hand missionaries day to day lives, joys and struggles and then to share that with your home church. My most recent trip to Nicaragua was like that. Our home church had no idea about the real conditions of our missionaries that we sent out from New Zealand to Nicaragua until some of us went. Now we have been better able to pray about and understand their needs, and the bond between us and them is much stronger and that equals stronger support for them on this side of the world.
25. Jo said the following at 3:01 PM on Jan 12:
Allison 22 said:
"I'm just a young adult on the 'mission field,' in the wild wilderness of the UK..."
See, this is the thing. Why can't the UK be *my* mission field too? Why do we call it a mission field only if it's thousands of miles away from where you were born or in a totally different culture or whatever?
And for that matter, why do we only call it a mission field if you're acting under a Christian banner? If your job description doesn't mention evangelism can you still call your job a mission field?
I think what most of us really need to learn is that where we are right now is our mission field. And the point is not that we need to get out of our comfort zone every so often, but that we shouldn't even HAVE a comfort zone. I need to realise that I'm a foreigner in the world and my own backyard needs Jesus more than I can possibly imagine - and *I* am the person God has placed there to be a light to these people!
I guess I sometimes wonder whether they help people to realise that, or whether they just reinforce the idea that mission fields are somewhere else. Thoughts?
26. TINA said the following at 9:55 AM on Jan 13:
May i say.........if a trip to your local inner city helps people you are doing the work of the LORD...ministry is a way of life some are called to go abroad for short trips some long,some are ment to witness at the local gas station,or store,work place,Drs,park,I think the point is made.. How great it is that one short trip of Teds GOD used to bless not only him so many other people....his article was informational and inspiring to think one little trip could change someones life and have such an impact.......wow if thats not GOD!!!!:}good thing Ted listen to the direction of the HOLY SPIRIT to go on the short trip this article would not exsist,nor the blessings that followed due to his obiedence...
27. Kate (who is applying to law school!) said the following at 10:03 AM on Jan 13:
I never realized it, but I guess I went on two short-term mission trips in high school!
My youth group went down to West Virginia the first time and than Virginia to help repair low-income churches.
Though I would like to lovingly suggest that the group find a new name for the trips. For some reason completely beyond me, the minister called it Work Camp.
As in, "Hey what did you do this summer?" "Well, my minister took us to work camp!" Cue a horrified look before I hastily explained that it wasn't that kind of work camp. Good times.
The trips were great though. Just needed to work on the PR.
28. Loris said the following at 10:05 AM on Jan 13:
I'm from a missionary family (Asia) that has been on the receiving end of missions trips. From my perspective, if you cannot stay several weeks or a month, it is easier for the missionaries if you send money. We had many college groups come through that never got beyond the culture shock and the jet lag before we had to send them back to the States.
On the other hand, the church I attend now has built a relationship with a church in Uganda and their yearly visits are very productive.
29. Carrie (the original) said the following at 11:07 AM on Jan 13:
Loris (#28) . . . you're church wouldn't be working with a certain, tall, "retired", Dutch professor, would it??
30. Carrie (the original) said the following at 2:41 PM on Jan 13:
I meant "your church".
31. Loris said the following at 7:34 AM on Jan 14:
No Carrie, my church goes to Uganda independently, which surprises me, but it works...And yes, that Dutch professor was VERY tall, wasn't he? I know a lot of folks that went on his Uganda trips and ended up married. Was it the tallness or the Dutchness that was the catalyst? I wonder....
32. Rachael said the following at 11:47 AM on Jan 14:
28 wrote: "On the other hand, the church I attend now has built a relationship with a church in Uganda and their yearly visits are very productive."
-->That's cool that they are regularly expected. My guess is that that really helps with the rapport and relationship-building efforts.
33. Lou said the following at 11:54 PM on Jan 29:
I'm looking at a letter from a California adult second cousin who would like support for her two-week "exciting opportunity... mission trip" that is going to cost $3800 each for the 22 participants. I fear I must ask the "Judas question" - could not those $83,000 be better used to support one language and culturally trained career missionary for a year (or more); or better yet to hire nationals to do the "work" that these volunteers will be doing?
Over my 35 years as a career missionary I saw the decline in the giving which led to the decrease in the number of missionaries from our agency go from 130 to 87; my observant conclusion was that the money was being siphoned off for well-meaning but self-indulgent STMers.
Sorry folks; there are other more cost efficient ways to both learn the lessons of crosscultural missions and accomplish what we say we want to do: show the love of Jesus. And those ways will be more overall effective as well. "Think globally, act locally" in this case means "evangelize/serve your nearby neighbors while at the same time investing yourself more economically in missions abroad."