Honest Discussions About Short-term Missions

You might be surprised to find the word "Missionary" does not appear in the Bible. The concept is absolutely there, but the word is not.

The first usage of the word "Missionary" in the English language is widely attributed to Edward Chaloner, an English clergyman, in 1625. He used the word to describe the practice of sending Christians into foreign settings to share our Christian faith.

The term "Short-term Missions"?

It came into vogue in the 1960s and 70s. Definitely a term of modern derivation.

A Hearty Bunch

In the early days, Christendom almost always sent out our best, brightest, and Spirit filled into the Mission Field - think the Apostle Paul or William Carey .

These folks typically had years of theological learning and years of proven holy living before "Going".

And they went for the long-haul!

Some going so far as to pack their family's worldly possessions into caskets instead of trunks on their way to the Mission Field. They knew they weren't coming back alive.

Fast Forward - Today

Things have changed a bit since the days of the Apostle Paul or Mr. Carey.

A study by Liberty University found that 29% of youths ages 13-18 had been involved in some type of mission project. (including local missions...)

That's a lot of kids!

Airfare is cheap, Americans have fabulous amounts of disposable income, and personal standards for biblical exegesis are low at best.

The result - almost anyone who wants to GO to the Mission Field to experience a "Short-term Mission" can do it!

Saved, unsaved, sixty years old, or twelve years old - the criteria is pretty loose.

You can play soccer for Christ, sing songs, hand-out medicine or candy, build a house, crochet, or distribute Bibles - you pick.

Go for three-days, go for a week, take a gap summer or a gap year, spend $500 or $10,000 - whatever fits your personal schedule and budget.

Can Un-holy People Share a Holy God?

Yes, I am stirring the pot here. But hopefully, it will cause some great discussions🙂

What started out in the early days as God's holy people going out into the world to share a Holy God has changed - dramatically in some cases.

Eddie Arthur from Wycliff notes:

...if we are ever to get to grips with some of the issues that face the (modern) mission movement, we are going to need to step away from things that push us to value pragmatism and activity over and above character and holiness.

Rather than saying God is a missionary God and therefore we should do mission, we might be better saying that God is holy and that we should be holy. This doesn’t mean that we don’t do missions – but it shapes the way we go about it. (Mr. Arthur's article HERE)

Mr. Arthur's Article really got me thinking: "Can un-holy people actually share a Holy God?"

And if not, what does that say about our modern approach to Missions?

Honest Assessment

At One Village Group, we are NOT against Short-term Mission trips! We LOVE them!

But we are also NOT against honest assessments and discussions that promote healthy, well-rounded Short-term Mission trips.

Three Quick Questions that might help start bigger Short-term Mission's discussions :

• Are our trips about fulfilling Christ's Great Commission or about team members "having life-changing experiences"? You can do both, but the "weighting, prioritizing and preparing" to pursue these two opportunities on the same trip is very nuanced, requiring a lot of discussions and planning.
• Are we preparing our people spiritually before they GO? How about a six-month long, mandatory Bible study class for anyone who wants to "GO"? After all, can a person share what they do not actually possess themselves?
• Are we preparing our people culturally before they "GO"? If we really love the people we are going to share Christ's life-changing message with, shouldn't team members be aware of how to best culturally approach these people😊 Trent Delouch at CIBC in Atlanta, GA is a great resource for how to prepare your teams culturally before they GO. You can contact him at trent@cibcfamily.com

The Profit is in the Discussion

My father always told me, "The profit is most often found in the discussion." This is especially true when we are discussing doing God's work.

The Apostle Paul admonished us to:

...consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds... (Hebrews 10:24)

I hope I have spurred some of you on to have amazing, fruitful discussions about Short-term Missions in your congregations.

We have an amazing God and Savior - let's make sure THAT message gets through whether we are walking across the street or flying around the world, handing out Bibles or handing out blankets.