It's a good question. Mission trips are expensive, and we must
show good stewardship of God's money.
As a general rule, I believe it is a good investment to get persons
from our churches into a different culture at some point in their
life. It makes them seriously grapple with God's world--the realities
that many nations face, and how we in the United States churches
can help advance God's kingdom work.
Many times, we diminish what God can do through these trips because
we do not prepare and follow-up effectively. As a result, lessons
may go unlearned and personal applications aren't acted upon. It
just becomes a "neat trip," with little lasting fruit.
What you should hope to accomplish through these trips is:
- Potential missionaries ready to take their next step.
- People ready to give of their resources to world evangelization
- Prayer warriors asking God to bring forth his harvest.
- Lasting relationships developed with brothers and sisters in
Christ in other parts of the world.
- A broadened world view and desire for involvement in God's
world.
We also must seriously consider who is on the team and what they
can contribute. For years, UBs have not been very purposeful in
designing their trip to fit their church and the needs of the target
country. We think a short-term mission project equals a construction
project. Many churches are broadening their horizon--considering
their destination, reflecting on the team members, and then shaping
that trip around what their team has to contribute. It may involve
construction, or it may involve other kinds of ministry.
Consider the Canada Conference. They set up a partnering relationship
with Haiti and sent their first group last October. As God put
the team together, obvious ministry focus areas became evident.
An audiologist signed up, a nurse, school teachers, youth leaders,
women's leaders, musicians--people from all walks of life. As a
result, they did no construction. Instead, they used the gifts
of the team members to bless the Haitian churches in other ways,
including medical help, children's ministry, and evangelism.
As stewards of God's resources, let's avoid being "short-term
junkies" who just like to travel. I believe God does call some
folks to make repeated trips--as leaders, or because they have
a special skill that is particularly useful in short-term missions.
However, we need to be purposeful in using God's money. Sometimes,
sending your money to help with evangelism or a construction project
accomplishes more than sending a group to add a second story to
a building.
I strongly believe in the value of cross-cultural trips. But
I don't want you to think, "We are a strong missions church because
we send out work teams." Missions is so much bigger than that.
A strong missions church has a workable, strategic plan to impact
portions of God's world. Short-term trips are one part of fulfilling
that strategy.