Missions Trip Expectations
by Ashley Ramsey on 06/03/2009 at 1:23 PM
David Barshinger, the author of today's article, tells how he was transformed when a summer missions trip didn't measure up to his expectations:
As I had prepared over the months prior to arriving in Mexico, my vision for our team was to lead dozens of people to a saving knowledge of Christ. That was ministry. But this outreach in the orphanage didn't promise a revival in Monterrey — these kids couldn't even speak, not to mention understand the Gospel message. Yet this stripped-down, bare-bones love simply for the sake of love was what Jesus was all about....
The greatest lesson I learned from a short mission trip to transform the city at the foot of Saddleback Mountain was from a young girl whose mental capacity could never understand the truth she displayed to me. I, a drooling, cross-eyed spiritual cripple, am passionately loved by Jesus — not because of what I do, but simply because I exist.
Has there been a time when a service project or missions trip turned out drastically different than you expected? What did you learn? Did it change your definition of ministry?
1. BDB said the following at 2:30 PM on Jun 3:
I did my first trip to Mexico with our church on our regular monthly trip - we have an established mission right outside of Ensenada. The plan was to weatherize a shack a family was living in. The shack was made out of four garage doors. We built bunk beds for the kids (they had no beds) and brought materials to put on a new roof and paint the walls.
There were lots of American kids on this trip. They ended up playing a lot of soccer with the Mexican kids from the neighborhood. They also to learn to shout aquí when they wanted someone to pass them the ball. Clearly, the only thing children need to be happy is a soccer ball. Sorry Wii.
When we got to the painting portion, the American kids jumped in with gusto - painting the walls, the ground, each other. What surprised me was that as soon as an American kid put down a paint roller, a Mexican kid picked it up and started painting. My role changed from painter to using my limited Spanish to guide 7-year-olds who were enthusiastically painting this shack.
It was a useful reminder not only of how fast children imitate behavior, but also that teaching people how to do things may produce more long-term change than doing something for them. Particularly when they're already willing to learn.
It was a useful mindset change before arriving in Cambodia and discovering that all our translators were college students studying business, economic development, politics and Bible - all subjects I have degrees in. They're already keenly interested in studying the U.S. to figure out how to lift their own country out of poverty, and doing it in an ethical way the non-Christians don't understand. It's better to meet them where they're at and help them get to the next step.
2. Olivia said the following at 2:35 PM on Jun 3:
Last winter, the deaf ministry went out to an apartment building in Manhattan to sign Christmas carols and give out knitted scarves. We had practiced a few times and looked forward to fellowshipping with deaf residents. Due to some miscommunication, we ended up ministering to a floor with celebral palsy residents. I was able to share with them the Christmas story, see a woman give her life to Christ who was also deaf, and feel God move in a way that I had seldom experienced before. It was unexpected but also life changing. So much so, in the wake of that day, I ended a relationship because I knew that in trusting God, even in the unforseen, everything would work out as it should.
3. Becky said the following at 3:00 PM on Jun 3:
Last summer, I helped sponsor a youth group missions trip to Tampa, Florida. When I agreed to go on the trip, I was certain that God wanted me there, but as the trip approached, I began to question if I'd "heard" God right. We were to be helping with a football and soccer camp at a church, and I am just about the most athletically challenged person you'll ever meet. As we set up for the first night of camp, I had a horrible attitude--though I think I kept it pretty well hidden. Then I met "Derrick." Derrick had many physical and mental handicaps, and the camp director asked me if I would be his "buddy" for the week--not in sports camp, but in cooking camp! The week was a challenge (though not in the way I expected), but watching Derrick's unabashed joy as he sang to Jesus and hearing his good-bye at the end of the week ("Lady! Lady! I love you, Lady!") affirmed that I was exactly where God wanted me.
4. Tami said the following at 3:58 PM on Jun 3:
I think this can happen with just about any ministry. My initial picture never lines up exactly with what God intended to happen! I'm learning to let go and let God show me what He's planning to do with my (and my co-laborers') faithfulness.
Even if you've had the experience of God giving you a vision for something specific, it's really easy to be tempted into thinking it'll be hugely, visibly successful right away. And generally, that's not what happens. But I'm encouraged when I'm reminded that God's the one at work, and that He does intend for the ministry to work out successfully -- in *His* definition. And I'll always learn something in the process!
5. Adam said the following at 9:19 PM on Jun 3:
The most surprising thing that has ever happened to me on a mission trip was also the greatest thing that could have ever happened: I found out I was part of the mission.
Having gone to ATL for a week to paint a church building during the day that held a series of revival services every night led by our pastor, and helping run the lyrics for their worship, was what I came for. But my pastor's life story of how he had already begun a career in ministry when God convicted him and showed him that he didn't really have a relationship with Christ gripped me within an instant. I'd heard his testimony before in an abridged version. That night as he opened the message he began to read from Psalm 32, "Blessed is the man who's forgiven of his sins". It was as if a light bulb clicked on and I knew that wasn't me. I'd grown up in church. I thought I knew the Lord from a very early experience. But I'd been struggling with sin and failure recently that had been shaking my identity in ways that I finally realized were cause for legitimate concern. I was powerless to do anything about my sin and I did not have Christ in me to do anything about it.
I had to motion to the guy in the sound booth that I needed to get around him and go forward when the invitation time came and when it did, I grabbed our associate pastor and he helped me pray at this church's altar after I took another moment to confirm with him that this was what I needed to do. I gave my life to Christ that night. There were a lot of things about the rest of the trip that didn't pan out so great, and a lot of my friends don't have the best memories of it, but for me it was about not just experiencing the new birth but also realizing that God isn't confined to working in the way that we do when we decide to go.
6. KJ said the following at 2:41 AM on Jun 4:
I went to North Asia for a month to work with a Christian organisation a couple of years ago. I expected to learn heaps and hoped to be a blessing to the people I was serving. Those things did happen. Praise God!
What I didn't expect was the mentoring from the long-term missionaries. They cared deeply for me and I learned so much from serving with these amazing godly people. I'd never been mentored like that before. I learned and experienced heaps about mission and I also learned and experienced heaps about love and godliness. God is so good!
7. Keith said the following at 5:34 PM on Jun 4:
The problem with mission trips (and live in general) is that we have an ideal of what God should be doing, and then expect Him to be doing that, and if it doesn't happen we feel disappointed. My parents were on the missions field in Ghana (Africa) for five years, and I was with them for one of those years. It was a scary time!! There wasn't enough food, little security. Dead bodies lined the streets. Mosquitoes carrying malaria often struck. It can be hard to see what God is doing in such a harsh environment.
I think the solution is that we need to let go of any expectations of what we think God should be doing and instead open our eyes to what God is already doing in such a place. We know there is work being done, and we are called to be part of that work. But we need to humble our expectations and be willing to change ourselves to be part of His will, instead of expecting Him to follow ours.
8. Rachael said the following at 6:24 PM on Jun 5:
"But we need to humble our expectations [...], instead of expecting Him to follow ours."
Nice!
So...some hypothetical examples of how this might play out:
--people thinking it's all in the numbers. What if God wants only a few people to humble the leadership or for whatever reason He pleases?
--people thinking something is Satan. Might it be? Sure. Might it be themselves and not Satan directly? Maybe. Even if it's one of the above, God is ultimately in control. Might it not be Satan but God? YES!
--people consciously or subconsciously attributing more brownie points or a greater degree of holiness to seemingly blatantly good or 'awesome' acts of service. This can be subtle. In fact, I think I saw this attitude recently in a comment on this blog.
Etc. We don't know everything. God is in control...!!