Reviews, Interviews, News, Commentaries, Excerpts, My Top 5 Books, Wilson's Bookmarks, Book AwardsHow Can Short-Term Missions Best Advance God's Mission?
How would you reform the guiding narrative of short-term missions?
The place to start is a robust theology of mission. It's not about just evangelism or just humanitarian aid, but the missio dei—God reconciling humanity to himself and reconciling humans to one another. Everything we do on a short-term mission trip should be seen through that lens. So, the time that we spend in work, building a home or spending time with orphans—that's mission. But so is going to a museum, talking with the mayor of a local town, or even going to a beautiful beach.
Doesn't this make short-term mission trips sound like Christian tourism? What makes it specifically a missions trip?
We think of tourism—things like visiting a beach or museum—as being "self-centered," "shallow," and "secular." By contrast, we equate "mission" with being "spiritual," "generous," and "sacrificial." So we might plan a "tourist day" into our trip, but we might feel bad about that, or think that the "mission" portion is over. But I'd actually like to see this distinction broken down. When we travel—whether we're building a house, visiting a beach, or even just moving through the airport—we're on God's mission. We shouldn't differentiate between "mission" and "not mission." The whole trip should be an experience of learning, growing, and serving God. Listening and learning from people, about people, about places, about what God is doing—this is God's mission, and it should be ours as well.
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Dave B.
Excellent article. What is more than ridiculous is to think that almost everyday you have "Short term misson" trips going to places like Jamaica and Costa Rica - places where there are several churches in each square mile, whereas there are millions in Asia and other places who have NEVER, EVER heard the name of Jesus Christ! Indeed, many of these short term mission projects are nothing short of mere tourism experiences. As "missio dei" is what it is all about! So... churches, mission boards, parents, etc. should be prayerful and wise about where, what, when and how "short term missions" operate.
Rick Dalbey
Laura, the churches I am acquainted with send short time missions people into situations where they pray for the sick (sometime desperately ill), such as Randy Clark's trips to Brazil or Bethel Church's trips to Mozambique. Young people are shocked to discover that God can work through them, heal the sick and bring people to salvation. The deaf are healed, crippled people walk and the blind are healed, people are delivered from demons and many are saved. This is the Deacon Philip's paradigm. He was nothing more than a waiter at a Jewish home for the elderly who was driven out of Jerusalem by the persecution. With no experience and no theological training he turned Samaria upside down. That kind of activity will revolutionize a young person's life.
Laura Stammberger
I think that so many first time cross-cultural evangelists, especially students, are not yet fully equipped to be effective. Their first step is to go to the country with a servant's heart, learn from the church and missionaries already long established, and learn to appreciate the multi-faceted beauty the Lord has gifted that nation. Presenting the short-term missions trips as learning opportunities might make the goals of these trips more realistic and more satisfying to the participants.