Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Short-term Missions…How Things Have Changed!
By Cindy Judge
March 2006
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Building both buildings and relationships in STM |
Exact record-keeping on short-term missions (STM) has been impossible. But the numbers we do have are staggering. Some say close to one million Americans go on a short-term mission trip every year. STM can no longer be reported as a new movement. It is quickly becoming an institution. It has been around for over thirty years. It’s tempting to oversimplify and say there have been many successful trips and many not-so-successful trips. Objective evaluation is difficult; however, this should not surprise us as it was the same with the initial years of long-term missionary work. Scrutiny and evaluation trail behind enthusiasm and passion.
This enterprise of short-term missions continues on its learning curve, working hard at evaluating itself. Similar to the business world, the first question often being asked is, “Who is the customer—is it the person who goes or is it the field being served?” There’s been much debate about who benefits most by short-term missions. I propose that the benefits are many to all of the “customers.”
To ask the above question would be somewhat like asking, “When an evangelist leads someone to Christ, who benefits most—the person who came to Christ or the person who had the privilege of leading him or her to Christ?” It all depends on who you ask. The benefits run both ways. A third party may also enter this picture—the body of believers that this new Christian now becomes a part of. Indeed, it’s a blessing for everyone.
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The Missionary in STM
There are three entities involved in this whole thing called short-term missions: (1) the group who receives the team, missionary or national, (2) the person who goes and (3) the group that sends or commissions the missionary to go. There are definite roles that each party plays. Some say unequivocally that the person who goes always will benefit the most from a short-term mission trip. The individual comes home from a cross-cultural foray a changed person. He or she has grown, become aware of the world, seen God use him or her, been stretched beyond his or her personal comfort zone and been challenged to see this or her universe in a new way, both figuratively and literally.
Now we may raise our conscientious eyebrows at the expense and energy of sending teams overseas only with the purpose of changing the team participant. Estimating or evaluating the worth of a changed American Christian is difficult to say the least. However, in seeking to understand this value, we must see what organizations that have set up these trips have learned about the benefits to the individual. Many organizations acknowledge that the participant comes back blessed beyond measure and may want to go beyond this first experience to reach others. Some go overseas as long-term missionaries. Within a few months, a person is called to go, steps out in faith, obeys, prays, trusts, works in community with other believers, uses his or her gifts, perseveres and sees God at work. One mega-church surveyed its staff members and in answer to their most significant lifetime experience of spiritual growth, the majority cited a mission trip.
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Cindy Judge serves as director of global outreach of Wheaton Bible Church, in Wheaton, Illinois, USA. Judge authored the popular mission team member preparation guide, Before You Pack Your Bag, Prepare Your Heart. |