Making the Most of a Mission Experience Through Journaling | Lausanne World Pulse Archives

Short-term mission trips transform lives. But experiences need to be written down and reflected upon for maximum impact.

Taking teams on short-term mission trips was unheard of some thirty years ago. Today nearly every church, Christian college and mission agency in the United States is involved. Of the estimated forty thousand short-term sending organizations in America today, there are more than one million short-termers of all ages involved. These experiences must be more than simply “the thing to do.” They must be carefully planned and orchestrated so they do not become glorified vacations with little lasting benefit. As responsible Christian sending groups, we must be sure these trips provide the maximum benefit for both the field where the team is going and the team members.

In 1964 my husband and I took a group on our first short-term mission trip. We did not know what we were starting but were delighted that our trip met a need both on the field and with those who went. After a few trips the Lord gave us greater vision; we started a mission agency and purchased a forty-passenger airplane. Within a few years we were taking people from various cities in the US all across Central America, South America and the Caribbean. During the next forty years we took over six thousand short-termers to countries all over the world.

The Development of Through the Eyes of Christ
Although I thought as leaders we were doing everything right, one day I realized something was missing. During and after each trip participants said they would never forget their experiences on the mission field. The sum total of their response, however, was simply to save money for the next trip. This did not seem right; surely a greater response was possible. I soon had the idea for a journal, Through the Eyes of Christ: A Short-term Missions Journal, which would help team members discover how the Lord was leading them. The journal was designed to make participants think more deeply about their experiences.

Essential Elements of a Journal The primary purpose of the journal is to help Christians who are giving both their time and resources in a short-term mission trip to have a significant personal growth experience with the Lord. They are seeing things they have never seen before; they are relating to people of another culture, both Christian and non-Christian. Questions of values, responses and direction in life arise. Participants are mentored by these experiences and it is important to grasp what the Lord is trying to teach them. The following are six essential elements in a journal.|