I have a good friend in youth ministry who would say, “Why take students to another country to tell people about Christ when those same students don’t even tell people about Christ in their own school.” I know another person who would say, “Why take students on a mission trip if we can only be there 2 weeks. How will we see any lasting fruit?” Both of these guys (for different reasons) would say Short Term Missions is pointless. I wholeheartedly disagree.
Part of the reason is I’m biased. I admit it. In 1996, I went on a short term trip with Youth Reachout to Peru that changed my life. It’s a huge part of why I’m in ministry today. But part of the reason is philosophical. I think there are two huge reasons why Short Term Missions is an absolute MUST in student ministry today.
Reason One:
It’s more about the change in the students than the change in the country.
My friend whose biggest gripe is that two weeks is not enough time to change a country is missing the point. First, even if only one life was changed because of the trip, if only one person were saved…. wouldn’t that make it worth it? You might say no because you could invest your time somewhere else and see more reward. But God’s economy doesn’t work that way. If you ask the person whose life was changed, I bet they’d say it was worth it.
Second, the biggest change that happens on a short term trip is not in the country anyway. It’s in the students and leaders who go on the trip. Like I said, my trip was monumental in me answering the call to ministry. So now, multiply the lives changed on that trip in 1996 by all the students who went on the trip who are now ministering to hundreds of students themselves. It’s mind blowing. Many of those are now in other countries and have their entire lifetime to minister in other countries. That may never have happened if we had not gone on that short term trip.
Reason Two:
It’s about getting out of your comfort zone because that’s when God stuff happens.
I think we’d all agree, the time when God most impacts our lives seems to be when we’re way out on a limb somewhere. Rarely is it when we’re nice and comfy in our pj’s on the couch watching re-runs of LOST. We’ve probably all used the illustration that it takes a lot of pressure to change coal into a diamond. God uses pressure, stress, and other out-of-our-comfort-zone means to mold us into who he wants. Nothing gets a middle class American kid out of his comfort zone like walking though the sewage filled streets of a mountain town in Peru, seeing utter poverty and desperation on the faces of men, women, and children! That’s when the God stuff happens!
So, if you’ve been thinking of a missions trip but are struggling with whether or not it’s worth it, let me encourage you: IT IS! We’ve even got some great resources at Word of Life to help you. Check out Reachout.
