Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Short question... How do you feel about Short-term Missions?

Background... I have been involved in short-term missions for teens for a couple of years now. % years ago, I led a team of 15 youth and adults from my home church to Honduras to support a medical missionary we had there. Two years ago I led a team of 11 to Brisbane, Australia with New Adventures In Missions (A.I.M.)and last Summer I returned to Honduras (Tegucigalpa this time) with a team of 17 youths. I believe in short-term missions and what they can accomplish in Long-term Kingdom goals. (Maybe I'll get into that a little later.)

Here's the why for the question, while I have been widely supported by the congregation here... there appear to be some people who disagree with short-term missions as a whole. (Some even Missions as a whole) How do YOU feel about it?

-- Anonymous, October 25, 1999

Answers

Response to What's your opion of Short-term Missions?

Nate.....

My doctorate is in missiology. I have served on the field in Jamaica both on short term mission trips as well as President of Jamaica Christian College.

I can tell you from first hand experience.....if it wasn't for short term missionaries a lot less would have been done on the island. There is just too much work for a few full-timers.

In addition to the work that is done....the short-termers are always a shot in the arm to the missionaries.

I think what you do with your kids is great!!!!! I think it ought to be a national High School requirement that every kid travel to a third world country and serve in some way. Maybe they would come back thinking, "You know....the world doesn't owe me anything."

One more thing.....the strongest mission field in the world are often those that are only served by short-termers (China for instance). Because there are not full timers there....the short timers emphasis planting indigenous churches. Missionaries that promote indigenous churches (i.e., self supporting, governing, etc.)......always end up with the strongest churches.

I think the days of planting churches that are dependant on missionary support.....are fastly drawing to an end.....and that's good. In fact....that's New Testament.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Sam Burton....

I was in Jamaica off/on from 1987-1998.

Nate.....

Your words are quite true. Think about it....most "longtimers".....started of to one degree or another as "shortimers."

As per the objections of the "longtimers"....I think some of it may be valid in regards to more difficult fields (i.e., where language training is required, etc.).

But....on English speaking mission fields....I firmly believe...when organized correctly....STMs can accomplish much good for the kingdom.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Jim....

Put another one on the "barbie" for me!!!

-- Anonymous, October 27, 1999

Having been a missionary for 13 years in Scotland, I concur with Danny. I'm sure he'll sleep better for knowing that. Especially in the early days, when local workers were hard to come by, short term visits were useful. The key was having the on site missionary prepared and for the group coming to be prepared to work. We did have a handful of people come over for a glorified vacation. Boy did they get surprised! And short term workers were good for us financially. They went home to their congregations and shared what we were doing and their churches sent money. I always encouraged churches to send people over. I maintain that a missionary can come to the States and tell people anything. But if you send your people there you can see for yourself. BTW - I'm going to Honduras in January. Our Church sponsors some missionaries in Tegu. Also, Danny, when were you in JA. I took a few trips there about a million years ago.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Nate -- I gotta jump on the bandwagon here and agree with the above. I have been involved in short-termed missions work in a variety of areas during my 15 years of vocational ministry. Within the US, overseas, both are great fields for this work.

A number of folks I know who are presently in missions work full-time got their start on short-term trips through their youth groups. It is a great breeding ground for future missionaries.

And the concept that they come home and get their folks fired up about missions can't be beat.

But I know where you come from with regards to those who don't agree. One youth minister I know of here in SW PA wanted to put together a two-week trip over the coming summer to head to Jamaica and help with their sumer camp program there. His senior minister shot it down, stating that short-term missions are an absolute waste of time and money, and the church would be better to send the finances directly to the missionary on the field and forget about the short-term stuff. Now, knowing what I do about this senior minister, I am not surprised at his short-sightedness. It is a shame that young people in congregations such as this miss out on great opportunities. I suggest the youth minister have those young people who are interested contact CIY or any one of a number of great organizations that sponsore these types of trips.

Also, my bride spent one summer with Go Ye Chapel in NYC and another in Japan teaching English and the Bible. I know she would concur with my thoughts, and might even be a bit more vocal about the subject.

Keep it up!

Darrell H Combs

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

I don't mean to break up the party, but the more I read "missions writers" (like Ralph D. Winter, Nate Saint, etc.) the more I find the idea of short-term missions trips being looked upon with some concern. If I understand what I read, while STM (Short Term Missions) trips are great and helpful and inspirational for the ones going on them, they seem to be enjoyed less and less by the ones being visited. A lot of writing is coming out that is critical of STM. The writers say that the effects on the indigious peoples being visited are negligible at best, and damaging at worst, because they see the lack of long-term actions (like learning the language, learning the culture, learning not to offend unknowingly, treating the "natives" like little children who are being sacrificed for by the "Great White American Christians Coming To Show How Things Ought To Be")as denigrating to those who are supposed to be being served, as as undoing a lot of the hard work and spiritual progress made by the long-term missionaries.

Now, note that I have not been involved in any mission trip personally, so I do not know first-hand what is true in this case. I speak as one whose congregation has sent and will again send both youth and adults on short-term trips, and who wants to do what is best for all concerned. And again, I don't intend to bring down the level of enthusiasm here, but there are some loud voices being raised among experienced mission personal, questioning and even rejecting the STM experiences.

I don't really know what to think.

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

Here I am trying to stir up some trouble, and all I get is lukewarm at the worst! :-D

Well, how about some more thoughts to chew on?

I firmly believe in the lasting, and long-term effects that STM (shor- term missions) have. While it is true that in some cases the "Ugly American" can come out in all of us, you might be surprised at how forgiving the Nationals can be. (Usually poor planning and or training is the culprit.)

I led my team to Tegucigalpa, Honduras this Summer to work with Mision Caribe' and I think that Larry Kunas was pleasently surprised at how good our team was. Yes, he had complained about some of the other Mission teams that had already been down this year, but he is always ready to take on more. They are a "Shot in the arm" and more for his mission there.

My team was trained (here comes the free plug again) at New Adventures In Missions, Bloomfield, Indiana. (1-800-PROCLAIM, ask for Jimmy Miller)

I believe that STM for teens leaves lasting effects...

1) Perhaps not directly with the Nationals, but certainly indirectly...

2) The Missionary benefits by being encouraged and lifted up enough to know that this own people care for what he is doing.

3) The Church that participates in the STM (they are the prayer- partners and financial supporters of those who go... they learn to freely give and to pray daily. (Getting into the habit of daily prayer has GOT to be positive, no?)

4) THEY reap the benefits when their ST missionaries return with fabulous tales about how the people in ??? love the Lord and are praying for their Brothers & Sister in America. It "spurs them on toward LOVE and GOOD DEEDS"

5)There's a lot more.... but space is limited.

My whole goal was to get my kids there safely, have a positive project, work them hard and then return them home safely. I never intended to become emotionally involved with the Nationals like I did. I was wrong in a few of my assumptions, that the Nationals were indifferent... They were happy that we were there. That they weren't as smart as Americans, they were (maybe not as educated) but certainly as smart. That they didn't know God's Word there. I was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! I was shocked to see that they could find scripture and quote it and apply it faster than I could. By brother Isaac, the Minister in their congregation was a fabulous preacher of God's word! His loving spirit showed me what God wanted us all to be. His knowledge of the Word was as good or better that those I've seen in this forum. Their Sacrifice is a greater sacrifice than WE will ever be called to make.

We can do other things with our money, but I think none are more important to me than the speading of God's Word where the people are HUNGRY for it. STM's gets me fired up!

What about you?

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

I believe in the short term mission trip. I have used them to further the Kingdom around the world. I believe that for too long we have made foreign churches American churches. Short term missions teach people to depend upon themselves instead of America. If they are not faithful in small things they never will be in greater things.

These trips have worked in Russia, India, England, India, and thanks to Danny Jamaica! In 2 weeks I will be going to Australia for 16 days.

Jim Spinnati

-- Anonymous, October 26, 1999

I am missions minister at Central Christian Church, San Jose, CA. We send both youth teams (mostly to Mexico to build houses) and adult teams. While there are certainly stories from missionaries about the "Short-termers from hell", such stories are generally due to lack of preparation and simple good sense. There are MANY good resources to help you avoid the pitfalls. Feel free to contact me or any church that regularly sends teams and you can find out what resources they use. That said, I feel that the benefits FAR outweigh the downside of STM. Not only do people in your church become interested in areas they had never given much thought to before (after their kids/friends were going there--and they are helping to send them!), but for the people going there will be an effect beyond our calculation. An example: a young lady told the church a couple of years ago that while sitting around a campfire in Mexico, she came to realize that the thing she feared most in life was discovering at the age of 80 that she had never done what God called her to do! She's in bible college now. One more example: (there are many!) another young lady--veteran of 2, 1-week trips to Mexico, 1 summer in Mexico, and finally, 14 months there--came home, finished her bible college degree (strong emphasis on exegesis--she'd learned her lack and why it was important!) and is now leaving for South Asia to work there as a part of a team of evangelists. Pretty good return on the money spent on short terms, quite apart from several houses built in Mexico, children's and youth programs built in a couple of churches there and quite a lot of personal evangelism outside Mexico City!

So--be prudent, be smart, be prepared, but GO!

Don Hart, San Jose

-- Anonymous, October 30, 1999

Amen, Brother Don!

-- Anonymous, November 01, 1999

Anyone who has the opinion that STM are a waste of time has not truely experienced what STMs are all about. Personally, I've been on 3 STMs. Two of those "projects" were with Adventures in Missions. One of them was a Mission to Mexico with my church. Honestly, I can prolaim that I would not be the Christian I am today if I had not gone on those STMs. I probably wouldn't be at Bible College, I wouldn't have fellow believers and friends world wide who I pray for and think of constantly, those little kids in the mountains of Mindanao Island, Philippines, wouldn't have rice to keep them alive, the children in a neighborhood in Belfast, N. Ireland wouldn't know about Jesus, and two families in Mexico wouldn't have houses to sleep and live in. My one question is this: If STMs aren't worth the time, money, and energy spent, then why are we here? What have we been called to do? Any pastor or church leader who cannot answer these simple questions is an embarassment to the Christian faith. I will continue to pray and support organizations such as AIM and individual churches who are seeking God's path and proclaiming Christ to the nations! God Bless!

-- Anonymous, November 04, 1999

My initial experience with a STM trip came while I was a junior at Milligan College in Tenn. I went to the National Mission Convention in Knoxville and met a missionary from Haiti. I was invited to spend my winter break at the mission. It was eyeopening. I stepped off the plane back in time! I had never experienced poverty at such levels. It deeply changed me. The next winter during my senior year I led a group of college students back to Haiti. Their lives were changed as well. One bible major changed his major to medicine and is now a successful surgeon and professor of medicine. Two couples who had not dated before the trip, were later married and served in mission areas. I returned to Haiti after my senior year to spend the summer working as a surgeon's assistant in Leogane, Haiti. My only draw back to STM from a personal standpoint is the amout of money some teams have to spend to get to the field compared to the outcome of the visit. In some cases the thousands of dollars spent may have been better utilized as a love offering sent to the mission field without the team going! Again, I agree with the concept of proper advance planning. An advance team should work closely with the missionaries to clearly define work needed and make sure materials are in place to make the trip productive to all involved. My inspiration comes from my father, Wyburn Osborn, who has made such a difference in Haiti and South America by helping make missionaries lives easier by doing stateside hospitality and gathering/packaging/shipping of supplies. All in all, STM trips can be life changing to young and old alike. When I returned to the States from Haiti (where I've been over 12 times now!) I appreciated my "easy" life in America and have looked for new avenues to better help the Christians in other lands. Morris "Morry" Osborn, Esq. B.S., J.D., LL.M.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 1999

Well, I'd have to say that I'm all for STM. Here's why: at the age of 24, I went as a leader with AIM to Australia. Through the experience of this project and two others, I decided to commit my life to full time ministry. I will graduate this year from Bible college with a B.A. in Youth Ministry. Although I feel God calling me to search for a ministry in the states, I think of STM's as a high priority. Sometimes, the biggest benefit is not for the people that you are visiting (although they do benefit in many ways); sometimes the benefit is for the person that you are taking. I have seen so many young people who thought that they had a hard life realize how easy they really had it. I have seen several young people give their life to full time ministry as well, so I don't see a complete negative in any STM. That's all for now, but keep up the good work everyone!

-- Anonymous, November 06, 1999

Hi Nate, I have enjoyed reading the thoughts of ST Missions and decided I wanted to add something as well. I have heard a teenager say how much their life has been changed in just three or four weeks. When a teen arrives at New Adventures In Missions they are put together with other teens desiring to go to the same mission field. Many of these teens have never met until they arrive at AIM. Their ages are from 13-19, and some have never been away from their parents longer than a weekend, much less out of the country. These teens give up their summer, TV, Radio, newspapers, friends, etc. They arrive at our campground and begin the morning at 7:00 a.m., have breakfast, spend 30 minutes alone with God (Bible study and prayer time-)uninterrupted. Each day they will participate in a challenge course that prepares them for working together, making decisions, and over coming their fears; they will have speakers that will prepare them for what they are about to witness, train them to do clowning, VBS programs, street preaching, make and pour cement, lay brick/cement blocks, hang drywall, paint, etc. By the end of the project these teens are inseparable. When they return home they share stories of the work they were able to accomplish, the children they met, the adults they met. We have sent our teens to another country to share God's word -- little did our teens know that the people in a foriegn field would actually be changing our lives as we touched theirs.

I have had the opportunity to go on one ST mission project at the age of 43 as an adult assistant leader. I had the privelige of going to Bois Content, Jamaica. While I was somewhat amazed at the simple life they had and the many things they did not have that we have and take for granted everyday. The one thing I appreciated the most was the simplicity of their lives and how they wanted to spend time singing and praising God -- to hear God's word. We worked at tearing off and putting back on a tin roof, digging footers, painting the inside of their church, VBS, Clowning, and sharing with the folks I found that they wanted to help us just as much -- to be a part of what we were doing, just to be with us. One thing we all had in common -- JESUS CRHIST. I may never go on another mission project to a foriegn field -- but who says one has to go out of the country to be a missionary?

I consider my mission field Beechwood Lake Christian Camp -- the home of New Adventures In Missions. I have served my God there for the past eight years. I have fed many young and inspiring missionaries and future ministers -- and who knows, maybe even a future President of the USA. Recently I attend my first National Missionary Convention. I was able to meet some of the missionaries our teens have gone to work with. Some of the neatest people I saw were New Adventure in Missions veterans. One young man whom I have known now for about four years stopped by to tell us he had just accepted a youth minister's position there in Illinois. He already wants to make plans to bring his youth to New Adventures In Missions so they to can experience the same thing he already has. His mission field is beginning in his own church.

What does it take to become a missionary?? You might be saying that you can not be a missionary -- you might think you are too old, physically not able. Our volunteers teach our teens to make cement, lay block, dig trenches, clowning, etc -- Oh did I mention? This man is 80 years old and his wife, well she works in the kitchen. Maybe you are not physically able to do mission work, but do you think you could send some money? Say a prayer for the teens that are going?

Today your mission field might be your neighbor, co-worker, brother, aunt or uncle, mother or father - and you would never have to leave your city -- tomorrow it could be on a ST mission project to New Adventures In Missions where you plan to serve those preparing to to the mission field. You may have the privilege of cleaning toilets, mopping floors, replacing screens in the windows, washing dishes, cooking, answering a telephone, mowing the yard, planting flowers, watching teens swim in a lake for a little cooling off after a long day of work. Do you have the picture yet????

Take a good look at your 2000 calender folks, if you could give one tenth of your vacation to New Adventures In Missions (or any mission organization) you would be blessed 10 times that.

How do I know all of this?

I have been volunteering my time for the past 8 years at New Adventures In Missions as one of their cooks. I work a full time job, have a husband, four kids, a son-in-law and three grandsons. I cater dinners and weddings, cook at our church, write murder mysteries, find time to fellowship with friends, and use my vacation time to work at AIM. I presently am working with Jimmy and Josi Miller in the office working on the newsletter, and other office duties -- making plans for mission projects for 2000. There is always room for one more in the Kingdom of God .. WILL YOU BE THE ONE that will give up a small amount for such a great reward?

Has my life been changed by ST missions???? I could not say for sure -- but has my life been changed because I serve God. YES IT HAS!! PRAISE GOD FOR WONDERFUL CHRISTIAN PEOPLE TO WORK WITH.

By the way Nate Where are you going this summer??? I want to make sure I order plenty of SPAM for your team.

In Christian Love and Fellowship, Pat

-- Anonymous, November 08, 1999

I concur with the majority on the issue of Short Term Missions. Any scriptural foundation for my opinion has already been introduced by other brothers and sisters. It is clear to me that the number one Missions issue today in the Restoration Movement is a lack of long- term commitment by those who 'think' they want to be missionaries. Part of that is a reflection of our society: "what's in it for me?" instead of a biblical view of serving others. Part of that is a total misunderstanding of what it means to be a missionary. They see the attraction of travel and new experiences, but are soon disillusioned by the reality of commitment and the difficulties associated with living in a foreign culture. In relationships we spend time with a person to see if they would be someone we would like to marry. The same principle applies with short-term missions. I agree that sometimes the work does not always accomplish as much as desired for the missionaries on field or the people they serve, but it is sure-fire way to sift the servants. Unfortunately, very few people now a days feel "called" to be a missionary without first testing the waters. My aunt Isabel had never even set foot on a foreign land and yet she committed herself to a lifetime of service and never looked back. So I say let them test the waters - many broken hearts are the result of people blindly entering the field, only to leave after a couple of years never to return. Of course there is something to be said for having the maturity to stick with a commitment regardless of how one feels, but that is another topic all together.

In His Service, Larry Lewis

-- Anonymous, November 09, 1999

Danny,

Since you served in Jamaica, maybe you can be of help to me.

For some time now, I have been searching for information on the late Woodrow “Woody” Phillips. During his earlier period he appears to have been solid and orthodox, but he slowly shifted his views on Biblical inerrancy, the Charismatic issue, and the direct-support method of funding independent missionaries. His influence was felt at Overlake Christian Church (Seattle, WA.), Central Christian Church (Lancaster, CA.), Los Gatos Christian Church (San Jose, CA.), and San Jose Christian College (once SJBC and now William Jessup University), among other institutions. Yet, none of their websites feature in- depth bio info on him. I would appreciate any good leads, and even materials that would help me complete a profile. Was Phillips what you would call a “change agent” within the independent Christian Churches, working to produce change from within our ranks? If so, he was enormously successful.

-- Anonymous, April 13, 2004