Short Term Mission Trips - Should churches sponsor them?

[Constantlyreforming]

Our church just commission sending 15 people to Calcutta, India to do “mission work”. Basically, their duties while there were to pray over sick patients in hospitals (if the patient would permit it), feed the poor, and speak at a protestant church in the town, with the help of a translator.

The cost was $2500 for each person for lodging, airfare, and food. $37,500.00

From my understanding, the total cost could have funded 10 full time missionaries for 10 years in Calcutta.

Call me a party-pooper, but I just do not see the point of Short term mission trips. It seems like they are the new “hot commodity” in the evangelical churches. You have a pastor and group of elders get together some in the congregation who have money to go, and you spend 4-15 days doing what you can to make a difference. I do wonder what full time missionaries feel about short term mission trips like these.
There seem to be 6 reasons (likely more) why people go on these short term mission trips that I do not think are valid:

- “ What will people say or think of me if I don’t go?”
- “I want to have the experience”
- “I want my world-view changed”
- “I want to help as many people as I can”
- “I don’t want to be left out”

I am NOT saying that people, every day people cannot go and spread the gospel. I just wonder where the command is to everyone to do mission work. The great commission is to go and spread the gospel. It is not specifically a call for everyone to go and do foreign missions, correct? Those who were commissioned by Christ to go, did all go and do foreign missions, or did they do mission work individually where called?

I see a reason for short term mission work for those who are considering missionary work for their life calling. I think it would be helpful in the soul-searching someone does when considering full time mission work. I just do not see it as being a good thing to use to “get a correct worldview” or to change oneself. Both of these things focus around the individual going, rather than on the gospel, which should be the SOLE focus of mission work.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

 

[Sviata Nich]

I think churches should use their money to send full-time missionaries and/or sponsoring native missionaries. However being on two short term mission trips myself (not funded by my church), I think they can help both those going and those there and be God glorifying. It is a much better thing to spend one's vacation serving others and getting a sense of the way the world is for most people, than say, spending two weeks on a beech in Jamaica.

 

[Constantlyreforming]

I agree. I do have a hard time seeing it as anything but being more glorious, dangerous, and "neat" to share the gospel with those across the world, rather than down the street. At least if they don't like you, you can come home and never see them again.

 

[Tripel]

As with anything else, short-term mission trips can be done very well and very poorly.

I understand your concerns regarding the cost, but comparing it with what the money could have been used for (long-term missions, as you mentioned) is not always a fair comparison. Yes, short-term mission trips are expensive, but they are important for reasons other than what you listed.

For one, it is massively important that churches have a vested interest in the work that their supported missionaries are doing. It takes more than just prayers and money. Making a sacrifice to be physically there and seeing the work in person is a large source of encouragement and support to the team.
Also, a short-term trip is a wonderful recruiting tool. There are many current missionaries who first felt a call to missions while on a one-week trip. If a church can afford to send 15 people to the field to get a first-hand account of what missions looks like, that can be money well spent.

With all of that said, I whole-heartedly agree that there is a problem with the way many trips are done. They can be very poorly organized and yes, be a waste of money. But I don't think it is necessarily a waste to spend lots of money on short-term trips. There is definitely a benefit to being united with a strong missions organization, one that oversees career missions, one-week trips, and everything in between.

 

[Pergamum]

I just got done hosting 4 interns to my own country of service. All of these had, as their future plans, long-term missions work as a "highly probable" future. I had some others desire to come but we screened the interns such that we could count any money and time spent on them as a good investment, and so we only accepted a select group who seemed to be at a state of readiness to do this next step and then return home to make more concrete, future plans towards long-term service (Andrew Thronquist from the PB being one of them who we believe will have a very blessed ministry).

We do not even use the language of short-term missions, but we refer to these trips as "internships" where the main focus for the interns is not on ministering, but on learning and on planning further steps which will result in them getting out here on a long-term basis to serve.

How insulting it is for an aged African elder to receive and be taught about personal holiness and perseverance amidst trials by soft-looking teens from the US wearing ipods and band t-shirts. And yet, I see many church groups in the US doing just that. Instead, most of these teens sent (often with church funds) need to learn how to sit down and shut up and learn from others before they ever presume to teach others. Maybe some of these learned indigenous evangelists should be paid to come to the US on a short-term trip to teach the US youth, instead. I am actually planning as much in 2014 or so.

However, concerning short-term missions in general:

If screened carefully, these trips can be a blessing to all involved. I believe I just read that about 2/3rds of long-term missionaries took at least 1 shorter term trip prior to preparing and going long-term.

By the way....

....If you can cancel just one of those short-termers and divert those funds to Dennis here on the PB (Steadfast) you could help him with his chronic under-support problem. It is almost infuriating to know that there are good men suffering deprivation while attempting to deeply learn the language and culture of that same general area, and a teen's 2-week trip fund could get them out of their straits if only diverted to a better cause.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

I think instead of fussing at your elders, you ought to praise them for reaching out beyond the US borders and to learn from them in their global concern for needs outside your own little area of the world.

 

[Tripel]

If I were a long-term missionary and a church told me that they could either increase their financial support or send a team of 12 to join with me for a week, I'd much rather have the team of 12. NOT just because they can help get a lot of work accomplished, but because I think it is important for them to see the work that God is doing on the field, and to be greater linked with our ministry.

 

[Pergamum]

Daniel,

Your hypothetical situation depends greatly on which 12 they send!

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

[/COLOR]

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

I think instead of fussing at your elders, you ought to praise them for reaching out beyond the US borders and to learn from them in their global concern for needs outside your own little area of the world.

I don't want to be flippant, but who can we count on to come over here and evangelize, provide medical care, construction work and anything else needed for these folks at home? I fuss when I see these very emphasized and common "quick trips" as "observational vacations" as opposed to dedicated "mission work." I have yet to see a big change in the missions budget as a result of any of them. If the enthusiasm which resulted meant we ponied up more money to support more long term foriegn missionaries, then it might see it as a more responsible use of funds. The aftermath of Katrina brought home to me how much we as churches and christians ignore what we can do locally. It was a travesty to watch. If we supported both local and foriegn work with equal fervor and finances, it would be a win/win. Yet we do not seem to do so. I do not know what the answer is, I only know I am deeply concerned for both those at home and overseas.

 

[FenderPriest]

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett helped me fill out my thinking on the same hesitations that you're having. I think the Western church needs to drastically rethink how they approach mission efforts locally and in foreign lands. I don't doubt that God meets people in and through these times, but I think when we step back and consider the vast amount of resources being expended and the outcome they're producing, I think we could spend our money more wisely and with better fruitfulness.

 

[steadfast7]

I'm a missionary in India, whose financial support from church has failed and it has forced me to come off the field, so I can identify with the loss or misuse of funds for what amounts to little more than "Christian tourism." However, I'm also very sympathetic to STMs; every long term missionary once took a short term trip, and if they had the experience of raising their own funds through the church, they had a good opportunity to see how a missionary's life feels. The STM is a means to a very important end, so it must not end. But there's much that can be done to improve them.

Very few churches fully fund STMs, but if they do, it's sad and probably because the church has nothing else going on in the area of missions (ie. supporting long termers), so they blow their annual missions budget on summer STMs.

few thoughts:
1. the distinction between frontier missions should be distinguished from mercy ministries and local evangelism. They are not all the same, nor do they have equal priorities.
2. STM trippers should learn the value of support raising for their own funds.
3. churches should learn the value of sacrificial giving, and not neglect sending long termers.
4. STM trippers should be adequately debriefed on their experience and encouraged to commit themselves more deeply to the work
5. churches should learn to appreciate how much of burden it can be for the long termer when the wrong sorts of people show up on an STM, and screen them thoroughly before sending them over.
6. the western church should NOT be too quick to send money directly to Christian workers in the developing world. In general, it does more harm than good.

 

[Rich Koster]

I just got done hosting 4 interns to my own country of service. All of these had, as their future plans, long-term missions work as a "highly probable" future. I had some others desire to come but we screened the interns such that we could count any money and time spent on them as a good investment, and so we only accepted a select group who seemed to be at a state of readiness to do this next step and then return home to make more concrete, future plans towards long-term service (Andrew Thronquist from the PB being one of them who we believe will have a very blessed ministry).

We do not even use the language of short-term missions, but we refer to these trips as "internships" where the main focus for the interns is not on ministering, but on learning and on planning further steps which will result in them getting out here on a long-term basis to serve.

How insulting it is for an aged African elder to receive and be taught about personal holiness and perseverance amidst trials by soft-looking teens from the US wearing ipods and band t-shirts. And yet, I see many church groups in the US doing just that. Instead, most of these teens sent (often with church funds) need to learn how to sit down and shut up and learn from others before they ever presume to teach others. Maybe some of these learned indigenous evangelists should be paid to come to the US on a short-term trip to teach the US youth, instead. I am actually planning as much in 2014 or so.

However, concerning short-term missions in general:

If screened carefully, these trips can be a blessing to all involved. I believe I just read that about 2/3rds of long-term missionaries took at least 1 shorter term trip prior to preparing and going long-term.

By the way....

....If you can cancel just one of those short-termers and divert those funds to Dennis here on the PB (Steadfast) you could help him with his chronic under-support problem. It is almost infuriating to know that there are good men suffering deprivation while attempting to deeply learn the language and culture of that same general area, and a teen's 2-week trip fund could get them out of their straits if only diverted to a better cause.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

I think instead of fussing at your elders, you ought to praise them for reaching out beyond the US borders and to learn from them in their global concern for needs outside your own little area of the world.

I agree with you about screening candidates.

I would add that another reason to send someone "short term" is to aid an established worker(s), on the field, during a time of crisis.

 

[Tripel]

Daniel,

Your hypothetical situation depends greatly on which 12 they send!

Very true! I'm making the assumption that the people they are sending want to be there. I'm also assuming that the group would be a mix of ages. I think it's problematic when churches just send a big group of kids on a mission trip. Ideally, you'd get a mix of youth, parents, and church leadership. At least that's what I'm most familiar with.

 

[Pergamum]

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett helped me fill out my thinking on the same hesitations that you're having. I think the Western church needs to drastically rethink how they approach mission efforts locally and in foreign lands. I don't doubt that God meets people in and through these times, but I think when we step back and consider the vast amount of resources being expended and the outcome they're producing, I think we could spend our money more wisely and with better fruitfulness.

That is a great book.

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 AM ----------

I just got done hosting 4 interns to my own country of service. All of these had, as their future plans, long-term missions work as a "highly probable" future. I had some others desire to come but we screened the interns such that we could count any money and time spent on them as a good investment, and so we only accepted a select group who seemed to be at a state of readiness to do this next step and then return home to make more concrete, future plans towards long-term service (Andrew Thronquist from the PB being one of them who we believe will have a very blessed ministry).

We do not even use the language of short-term missions, but we refer to these trips as "internships" where the main focus for the interns is not on ministering, but on learning and on planning further steps which will result in them getting out here on a long-term basis to serve.

How insulting it is for an aged African elder to receive and be taught about personal holiness and perseverance amidst trials by soft-looking teens from the US wearing ipods and band t-shirts. And yet, I see many church groups in the US doing just that. Instead, most of these teens sent (often with church funds) need to learn how to sit down and shut up and learn from others before they ever presume to teach others. Maybe some of these learned indigenous evangelists should be paid to come to the US on a short-term trip to teach the US youth, instead. I am actually planning as much in 2014 or so.

However, concerning short-term missions in general:

If screened carefully, these trips can be a blessing to all involved. I believe I just read that about 2/3rds of long-term missionaries took at least 1 shorter term trip prior to preparing and going long-term.

By the way....

....If you can cancel just one of those short-termers and divert those funds to Dennis here on the PB (Steadfast) you could help him with his chronic under-support problem. It is almost infuriating to know that there are good men suffering deprivation while attempting to deeply learn the language and culture of that same general area, and a teen's 2-week trip fund could get them out of their straits if only diverted to a better cause.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

I think instead of fussing at your elders, you ought to praise them for reaching out beyond the US borders and to learn from them in their global concern for needs outside your own little area of the world.

I agree with you about screening candidates.

I would add that another reason to send someone "short term" is to aid an established worker(s), on the field, during a time of crisis.

Can you give examples? During a time of crisis, the long-term worker will be under extra stress and wouldn't need to become a host and a translator for those who do not know the language or culture.

 

[cih1355]

My church usually sends its pastor, elders, or leaders to a foreign country in order to preach and teach the word of God at a church conference, worship service at a church, Bible school, Bible institute, or seminary. Moreover, my church has sent laypersons on short-term missions trip in order to proclaim the gospel, teach at a Vacation Bible School, and so on.

 

[Pergamum]

Some tips for effective short term trips:

-Screen the people in order to make the trip a first step in a continous course of preparation for long-term service,

-Prepare the people to go as learners and not teachers and to bring a book and expect down-time or flight delays (every flight was delayed or cancelled except 2 or 3 for us last month),

-Invite people gifted in photography or videography in order to maximize their use in capturing the face of the field and communicating what the field is like to folks back home; make this a requirement of the trip ("Your purpose is to produce a powerpoint or youtube video describing the field"),

-Do pre-trip prep and post-trip debrief

-Have the visitors carry over items that the missionary cannot normally get on the field. In my case, the interns each carried over 5-10kg of stuff each and, no kidding, this probably saved me 300-400 USD in shipping costs. I was able to get English-language theology books, protein bars and a nerf gun for Noah. Use visitors as Pack Mules - it is good stewardship.

-Have the visitors carry back artifacts and cultural items to send to churches in order to gift supporters.


Some scenarios that might make good short-term trips:

-We had Charles Leiter out to teach through his book Justification and Regeneration after we translated it into Indonesian.

-Some docs come out to do cleft palate or cataract surgery.

-Some pastors have come out to meet the locals.



A note on pastors or other visitors coming out rather than laymen:

-Beware, some people come out to assess and advise about the situation on the ground. It is annoying to have your guest become your evaluator and you get tempted to dump them by the roadside in some foreign town. Pastors are worse about this than laymen, a few always seem to have the final answer to questions that the long-term missionaries have struggled with for years.

-Some pastors will count the "success" of their trip by how many times they taught or preached rather than how many local Christians they met or how much fellowship they shared with local believers. I had one preacher ask me, "Is this worth my time" when he was invited by a poor family to come and dine with them, because a teaching session wasn't involved (he wanted to stay back and finish another chapter of his book he was writing, which he brought to the field). My local host was aghast.

Other advice:
-Some visitors have mannerisms or ways about them which make it a constant need to explain or excuse their behavior. We had one man so afraid to eat the local food that he just never did, he refused many offers of hospitality and appeared rude to the people.

-Many Westerners are terribly out of shape. Even a reduced schedule will be too much for these, since they are overcoming jet lag and getting used to heat, etc, new foods. This is, sadly, especially, true of many older American pastors.

- Many Westerners want to have every hour of every day scheduled out and they count blank spaces in the schedule as an evidence that their trip was not properly organized. No one wants to sit around, but if they want to get used to the mission field, then they need to be ready to have things run late, flights to get delayed, etc. We even had our heli go to the wrong place and had to add 3 hours to our hike and overnight in a village with hardly anything except unripe bananas to eat last month. Flexibility is a key missionary trait.

 

[Rich Koster]

When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett helped me fill out my thinking on the same hesitations that you're having. I think the Western church needs to drastically rethink how they approach mission efforts locally and in foreign lands. I don't doubt that God meets people in and through these times, but I think when we step back and consider the vast amount of resources being expended and the outcome they're producing, I think we could spend our money more wisely and with better fruitfulness.

That is a great book.

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:31 AM ----------

I just got done hosting 4 interns to my own country of service. All of these had, as their future plans, long-term missions work as a "highly probable" future. I had some others desire to come but we screened the interns such that we could count any money and time spent on them as a good investment, and so we only accepted a select group who seemed to be at a state of readiness to do this next step and then return home to make more concrete, future plans towards long-term service (Andrew Thronquist from the PB being one of them who we believe will have a very blessed ministry).

We do not even use the language of short-term missions, but we refer to these trips as "internships" where the main focus for the interns is not on ministering, but on learning and on planning further steps which will result in them getting out here on a long-term basis to serve.

How insulting it is for an aged African elder to receive and be taught about personal holiness and perseverance amidst trials by soft-looking teens from the US wearing ipods and band t-shirts. And yet, I see many church groups in the US doing just that. Instead, most of these teens sent (often with church funds) need to learn how to sit down and shut up and learn from others before they ever presume to teach others. Maybe some of these learned indigenous evangelists should be paid to come to the US on a short-term trip to teach the US youth, instead. I am actually planning as much in 2014 or so.

However, concerning short-term missions in general:

If screened carefully, these trips can be a blessing to all involved. I believe I just read that about 2/3rds of long-term missionaries took at least 1 shorter term trip prior to preparing and going long-term.

By the way....

....If you can cancel just one of those short-termers and divert those funds to Dennis here on the PB (Steadfast) you could help him with his chronic under-support problem. It is almost infuriating to know that there are good men suffering deprivation while attempting to deeply learn the language and culture of that same general area, and a teen's 2-week trip fund could get them out of their straits if only diverted to a better cause.

---------- Post added at 02:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 PM ----------

I am not in a position to judge who does what, and most cost effectively (sp?) for the Lord. However, I do often fuss at my Elders for sponsoring mission trips to Haiti, Mexico, etc, when we have all the "missionary work" we can handle just upstate in the Mississippi delta, if not here on the coast.

I think instead of fussing at your elders, you ought to praise them for reaching out beyond the US borders and to learn from them in their global concern for needs outside your own little area of the world.

I agree with you about screening candidates.

I would add that another reason to send someone "short term" is to aid an established worker(s), on the field, during a time of crisis.

Can you give examples? During a time of crisis, the long-term worker will be under extra stress and wouldn't need to become a host and a translator for those who do not know the language or culture.

I'm referring to helping the missionary personally, not the people they are ministering to. I'm talking about lifting the burden so they could continue to minister and not be overwhelmed with family duties. For example: If someone needed ongoing medical care or help with family care, and didn't want to leave the field, it would be appropriate to send a well supplied helper.

 

[Marrow Man]

When I was in seminary, a discussion similar to this came up among the students one day. One of the students was from Mexico, and I asked him point blank if he was in favor of STM. He did not hesitate to say he was not.

I asked him to explain, and he said that for too many of the trips he had seen, it was like a sanctified vacation. Church folks come down, see the foreign country, pick up a brick and have their picture made, and then go back home with their consciences soothed that they did something for the kingdom. He agreed with the OP that it was a lot of money spent for little benefit.

So I asked him what could be do different. "We can pick up bricks and build buildings ourselves," he said. Yes, specialty labor is beneficial, he admitted. But the great need he said was the training of pastors. He said that we need to send our best and brightest to this countries to train pastors so that they can more effectively minister to their flocks.

Of course, I think this would vary in different contexts. My wife and I have been on a short term domestic missionary trip in this country (to a M*s*m community), and I would have gone back again this year had not my mom taken ill. It is very inexpensive to do this kind of work. But our foreign missionaries are being particular hard right now (at least in our denomination) because of the weak dollar -- it just does not go as far as it once did. Giving has also declined, and we have been forced to recall some missionaries.

 

[steadfast7]

The desire and drive to travel and see the world is greater than the desire to be good stewards of money and time. We're not living in the days when missionary had never seen the country where they would serve the rest of their lives. It's too easy to travel nowadays. I'm currently waiting for my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore which cost me a total of $25! There's no stopping STMs, even if they are simply sanctified vacations. People are going to take vacations anyway and there's nothing we can do to dissuade them. That's where doing a mission trip well can have incredible lasting impact, just as it did in my first STM experience at the age of 17 and then my confirmation to go into missions after a year in YWAM (which I don't recommend, btw). I have a love-hate relationship with STMs, I really do, but I don't know how else genuine explorers of God's call to the nations can be born without them.

 

[AThornquist]

To be general, I am in favor of short-term trips if the purpose of the trip is to explore the possibility of doing long-term missions work in the future. Otherwise, the cost of short-term trips is often grossly not worth the fruit of the trip; often, those involved get their exotic little trip where they did a little work and earned the right to come back and express their shock that another culture lives so poorly, and then life continues as usual. That's not worth the cost, especially if it's on the church's tab. However, if people are raising their own funds, I suppose doing a trip such as that is a better investment than going on a fancy vacation.

Like Pergamum mentioned, I was an intern this summer in his place of labor. Though it was an amazing experience, the money still wouldn't have been worth the trip if long-term labor were not the goal; after all, I can barely advance the Great Commission through a short trip, whereas a long-term missionary could do much more with the same money. There are exceptions too, such as pastors doing training seminars for indigenous pastors; those can be worthwhile even if they are short because the effects of the trip are not only to the men who are taught but to all of the sheep in their care.

 

[Marrow Man]

So, are you back in Owensboro, Andrew? If so, you need to do a short-term trip to Louisville (or halfway) so we can meet up!

 

[elnwood]

My quick thoughts:

"When Helping Hurts" is not only a great book, but I consider it the best, most helpful book I've read in the last five years (a period of time that covers my entire seminary degree). It is concise, readable, accessible, helpful, and profound.

"Every long term missionary goes on a STM" -- actually, not true. Certainly the William Careys and Adoniram Judsons of the world didn't, but I know a missionary family serving in Guinea (West Africa) who were sent long-term without ever taking a STM there. I don't remember if it was Carey or Judson, but one of them had written about the missionaries that only served two or three years and went home, and said that they were essentially a waste of his time.

Having said that, my missions organization generally requires a short-term trip to the desired field before raising funds to go there long-term, and that seems wise.

Also, $37,500 won't cover anywhere near 10 full-time missionaries for 10 years. $375 per year per missionary? Not even close. That wouldn't even get you a flight out of North America, much less to Calcutta. Health insurance alone would cost several times more than that. $37,500 would be closer to supporting a missionary with no spouse or children full-time for a year in a place with a low cost of living.

 

[Mushroom]

Most STMs I've seen are vacations for the over-priveleged to make a gazing-stock of our less materially blessed brethren to try to impress the young to be more grateful for what they have. That's just wrong. We know how to read in this country, and there are videos and documentaries galore to aid those with reading comprehension problems so as to ascertain the plight of these people. If they can't be convinced of the need and discern a call to that ministry through those, expensive vacations to treat these poor people as a freak-show won't do the trick either.

Note from the CIA World Factbook concerning India: GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,700 (2007 est.). That means that the cost of these trips per person is very nearly the median annual income for the folks they'll be 'ministering' to. It's hard for arrogant, spoiled Americans to perceive of how asinine they'll look to these grindingly poor people. Their tennis shoes will have cost more than many of their beneficiaries have to spend on feeding their families in a month. If you want to help them materially, send the money via a vetted charity. If you want to help evangelize them, send the money to a vetted ministry. A member here on PB is an Indian national pastoring a Reformed Church and mission, his name is Raj. He could certainly help with that. But please don't use our suffering brethren as a spectacle to scare your kids into caring or to placate some misplaced need to 'minister' in such a ridiculously extravagant manner.

I try to use the analogy of having a bunch of non-english speaking Swedes arrive at our churches in limos dressed in gold, furs and silk to 'help' us evangelize, minister to the poor, or build playground equipment. How would that make us feel?

 

[Pergamum]

Many churches send their elders to teach one-week sessions in India or Columbia or other places. Voddie Baucham is coming to Indonesia in January. Many Reformed Baptists I know teach theological modules in other countries.

If done right, and translated right, these mini-course or conferences can prove to be a limited blessing. Though they still don't take the place of long-term workers who build relationships and learn the language, and though ticket prices can be high, and though the local people will say that they were blessed even if they barely understood the guest all week, these short-term trips by pastors can be a sign and an evidence of the love that the churches in the West have towards their brothers in other places.

 

[AThornquist]

So, are you back in Owensboro, Andrew? If so, you need to do a short-term trip to Louisville (or halfway) so we can meet up!

I fly back to Owensboro on the 18th and classes start the 23rd. I'm sure any trip to Louisville will need to wait until I am a little ways into the semester so I know what the work load will be. As much as it depends on me though, I will certainly trip to get up to see you all; I'd love to enjoy a Lord's day with the saints at Midlane Park.

 

[baron]

I do not agree with short term missions at all. The money as mentioned in other post could be used better by the missionaries already there. They could buy medicine, food, hire labours who might not be christain and have a positive testimony to them. Years ago my former church was helping a missionary who specialized in training the native folks how to spread the gospel, and native pastors, and elders. They know the language, used to the food, dress like every one else. He told me he discouraged short term and suggested that they were there to spy on his work and report back to their churches. For when he did have short term people come they went back and reported how he could be doing better, and how he should spend the money he received. I do not know how true it is but a few missionaries I spoke with tell me that it seems that churches don't trust them. They want to know what they spend their money on. Also that American churches do not think that a native person should be spending their money how they want, but should be directed by the church or churche's that support them how they should spend the money.

 

[Reformed Roman]

I think short term missions can be okay in a few cases that Perg said.

I know my church has some missionaries who plan to go overseas for at least 4 plus years. Probably even longer (like 10 years or even more),

and they are trying to raise finances. If some church would give them 37 thousand dollars. That would be HUGE to helping them get the necessary money they need. So I do think money is wasted on short term missions, but some short term missions are needed.

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

By the way....

....If you can cancel just one of those short-termers and divert those funds to Dennis here on the PB (Steadfast) you could help him with his chronic under-support problem. It is almost infuriating to know that there are good men suffering deprivation while attempting to deeply learn the language and culture of that same general area, and a teen's 2-week trip fund could get them out of their straits if only diverted to a better cause.

I agree whole heartily with this assessment. Dennis was working with Raj who is also a member on the PB. Dennis is effectual and has a gift I believe. He is very teachable and has a brave spirit given to him from Christ I believe. He has traveled far and done a lot for His King and the kingdom. It isn't a hobby nor trivial pursuit for him. I am praying for Dennis to learn how to gain the means for his continued pursuit of following Christ. The Lord is teaching Dennis a lot right now. Dennis is humble and probably not one to go around looking for a hand out. I think it is hard for him to make his needs known because he wants to fully trust in Christ's provision. Dennis has sacrificed a lot for his King and has been doing things for Christ beyond anything I have ever imagined doing. May God keep Dennis and provide him with the wisdom to know what to do, where to go, and what to say.

 

[Pergamum]

I do not agree with short term missions at all. The money as mentioned in other post could be used better by the missionaries already there. They could buy medicine, food, hire labours who might not be christain and have a positive testimony to them. Years ago my former church was helping a missionary who specialized in training the native folks how to spread the gospel, and native pastors, and elders. They know the language, used to the food, dress like every one else. He told me he discouraged short term and suggested that they were there to spy on his work and report back to their churches. For when he did have short term people come they went back and reported how he could be doing better, and how he should spend the money he received. I do not know how true it is but a few missionaries I spoke with tell me that it seems that churches don't trust them. They want to know what they spend their money on. Also that American churches do not think that a native person should be spending their money how they want, but should be directed by the church or churche's that support them how they should spend the money.

Yes, I believe the potential of the PB is not merely to debate about theoretical issues, but it has proved to be a real blessing to be able to network with people and advance the cause of missions as well.

I believe it is within our capacity, should we endorse someone's work, to be able to help them through a hard time, connect them with potential supporters, or at least encourage and pray for them.

In another place it was John who wrote:

when he did have short term people come they went back and reported how he could be doing better, and how he should spend the money he received

Sadly, I have known missionaries whom have received elder visitations, and also normal guests as well, from their US churches and, after only a few days, the elders judged the work of the missionary.

This is a strange dynamic to come and visit a culture one knows nothing about, for only a short time, to see only a small snippet of the missionary's life, and then have the gall to send a list of recommendations or even a list of improvements that the missionary could make. Or for short termers to come and presume to teach wise older indigenous elders (many of which have endured poverty and persecution for years). Just because they are white and Western doesn't mean they don't need to earn the right to be heard. I wonder how a plane load of YWAM teenagers wearing ipods and 200 dollar sneakers appears to older Third world pastors when they come in a world-wind and hold a decisional meeting and call for a show of hands (which they usually can get because they people want to please their guests) and then depart again, reporting success, while the folks on the ground have to pick up the pieces of this shallow, false conversionism so rampant in short-term missions.

On 4 or 5 occasions now I have heard short-termers make judgment calls on certain actions of the missionaries and the work that they witnessed on the field after only a very short visit - much of which was not charitable.

On one occasion, a missionary took a week of work to put gravel on his mud drive-way and this earned the scorn of the watchful eyes of the short-term worker who told me of how this missionary was wasting his time when he should be spreading the Gospel. On another occasion I have heard the size of a missionary's house criticized, because "he should be living like the people" (easier said than done).

On several occasions I have heard of reformed baptist churches (mostly in the NE of the US) requiring that any missionary sent out from that home church receive an elder visitation once every year or few years. This was basically a "check-up" on the missionary on the field. If this is done in a humble way, okay, but the wording of this policy appeared to be somewhat controlling and their view of "accountability" was basically one in which the missionary on the field I am sure would be uncomfortable with. Missions cannot be run from 1,000 miles away.

However, the field missionary is often slow to complain because the money is flowing from one side of the ocean to another. Some people and some churches are not truly gracious givers, but use money as a form of control - and they breed resentment on the part of western missionaries and especially poor, indigenous evangelists (South Korean-funded missions are often the very worst at this, but Americans can be bad as well).

Also, many US sending churches highly stress the need for "accountability" on the part of the missionary, but few speak of their own accountability and obligations to the missionary. If the building fund gets in the way, let's cut the missionary. If the missionary disagrees a bit with our advice, let's cut him. If the economy goes through a bump, then let's cut the missionary.

I know 2 churches now in the past 3 years that have defaulted on their pledges and forced the missionary either to come home or to suffer immensely. SHAMEFUL!

Accountability goes both ways, and many local churches drop the ball.

Many in the West expect the missionary to suffer on behalf of the Gospel; but not all are willing to suffer any on behalf of the missionary or to tighten their belts in order to free up resources for the sending-out of the Gospel.

 

[Kevin]

I am at the end of a week long visit by a short term mission team & I am glad that they came. They provided the man-power that my church plant could not, to reach number of people In our city + they helped us solidify contacts with local people.

in my opinion this team was a good idea.