3 Jul 2017

Short term missions are not the race

by | posted in: Missions | 78,912

I am always amazed at the excitement and nervousness from those going on their first short-term mission trip, most of the time they don’t know enough to know what they need to be nervous about. There is an excitement in their eyes as they head into the unknown. They prepare testimonies and lessons, not knowing how God will use them or if they will be effective. They pack what is recommended and wonder if it will be enough. They comfort their parents and loved ones, and try to reassure them everything is going to be alright, while at the same time not knowing what the future holds. But through leading and prayer, the journey begins.

 

A lot of mission team members, especially those who have never been on mission before usually become broken spiritually sometime during the week of the trip. They discover a new outlook on sharing, faith, trust, and God. Why is this? It is simple, during the week they are constantly hearing the word of God either from others sharing or through the preaching or their own study. They also see the word of God come to life. That doesn’t mean that the bible gets up and starts walking around. But they see the Spirit of God begin to work in the lives of the people they come in contact with. They walk the streets with a single purpose, to find the person of peace with whom they can share the good news of the gospel. Some are hit with the hard truth that not all will accept the gospel, so they plant a seed not knowing the condition of the soil. Other times they begin to pour out water onto unknown soil, unaware that a seed exist and has been waiting for the moisture that God will use to bring it to life. They get excited and don’t know what to do when out of the ground springs forth life. A miracle, they get to see cold dead bones come to life. After that experience, they have a drive to share and no longer need to be pushed in front of people to share with. Oh what it would have been like in Acts to walk the streets and see God work, bringing people to life through the proclamation of the Gospel. But wait, could that still happen? And could it happen here?

After returning home and a couple weeks of rest, life returns to normal. The mission was accomplished, people were saved and now we are back comfortable, safe, fed, and loved. Or are we? There is always a sense of completion at the end of a mission trip. Not that that would be wrong in the short term, but there is a since of that was where we were on mission at, but now we are back and we have things to get done. Real stuff, school, work, friends, problems, and you know life. Right?

One of the greatest tragedies we have is short-term missions. I know you saw a bunch of people get saved, and God really “showed up”, but stay with me. There is a since of awe and wonder during the week of a mission trip. And we look forward to the next year when we can go and feel that same since of awe and wonder. But let’s compare it to a race shall we. Anyone who runs foot races understands that you have different splits. These are markers throughout the race to gauge your progress, and to ensure you are on pace. A short-term mission trip is sort of like a split. It is a time to see if you are where you need to be in your spiritual life, in your reading and study of the word, apologetics, doctrines, and if you can articulate them to the world around you. The shortness of the week gives you the opportunity to push yourself hard and to evaluate yourself. The tragedy is that the short-term is looked at, as the race itself. We return with a sense that we ran and will rest up to run again next year.

The race however is not over. In fact it is just beginning. When you return home, it is like passing the first mile marker. The street is no longer filled with cheering fans, the road narrows, and the reality of the race sets in. Here is where we must work our hardest. This is where we must pull from prayer and scripture, the strength to press on. Where most might sit and rest, we must run to win. We don’t just return to normal life, we return with a renewed sense of awe for what God has been doing and we must now trust even more so that He will continue His work. We saw on foreign soil God work in others lives. Now we must trust that He will work in ours for His glory and to reach those around us. We are home; this is where we must turn from our sins, where we must love God more than mother and father, more than friends and things. This is where we live out what we preach, if we believe that which we have taught. Did we believe it? Do we believe it? If so, then are we disciplined for the miles ahead? Paul tells the church at Corinth “I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified”. Are we disqualified or are we still in the race?

There are no short-term missionaries; there are only missionaries in different context. When we return to our Jerusalem, let us seek the hope that is only found in Christ. Let us not lean on our own understanding, our own wisdom, which is foolishness. Let us not fall victim to busyness and the lure of shiny objects that promise fulfillment. Let our knees be worn out for those nearest to us. Let our time be determined by the cross and His call, trusting that He will provide the time for work, family, fun, and ministry, as we continue the race. We have found our greatest joy in walking by faith; let us not check our faith with Homeland Security as we return home. But let us be reminded daily where our ultimate security is found and where our joy is greatest. Wherever you woke up at, wherever you find yourself, wherever you stand today, then that is your mission field. Time to get running.

78912 Responses

  1. tấm compact
    | Reply

    Hello! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group
    of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche.
    Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a
    extraordinary job!

  5. load balancer
    | Reply

    My spouse and I absolutely love your blog and find the majority of your post’s to be exactly
    what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content for yourself?

    I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on some of the subjects you write related to here.
    Again, awesome website!

  7. laser treatment of varicose veins singapore
    | Reply

    An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto
    a co-worker who has been conducting a little homework on this.
    And he in fact ordered me lunch due to the fact
    that I found it for him… lol. So allow me
    to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending some
    time to talk about this issue here on your blog.

  9. Pasang IndiHome Aja
    | Reply

    Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site.
    It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get
    that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal.
    I must say you have done a amazing job with this. In addition, the
    blog loads extremely fast for me on Opera.
    Superb Blog!

  15. Nida
    | Reply

    5 Must-Know French Door Refrigerator In Door Ice
    Maker Practices For 2024 what is the largest counter depth french door
    refrigerator [Nida]

  18. pepek
    | Reply

    Good web site you have got here.. It’s difficult to find quality writing
    like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you!

    Take care!!

  19. Mostbet
    | Reply

    An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I do think that you ought to publish more about this
    subject matter, it may not be a taboo matter but typically
    people do not discuss these issues. To the next! Kind regards!!

  23. Paito Taiwan
    | Reply

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
    You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?

  29. Mostbet
    | Reply

    If you are going for best contents like myself, just visit
    this web site daily for the reason that it presents
    quality contents, thanks

  31. Click here
    | Reply

    My relatives every time say that I am killing my time here at net, but I
    know I am getting familiarity every day by
    reading thes fastidious articles.

  37. veins Treatment Singapore
    | Reply

    Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided to check out your site on my iphone
    during lunch break. I really like the knowledge you present here and can’t wait to take
    a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded
    on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, fantastic blog!

  38. Royal
    | Reply

    I every time used to read paragraph iin news papers but now
    as I am a user of net therefore from now I am using net for
    articles, thanks to web.
    상품권 소액결제 – Royal –

  47. vach ngan ve sinh
    | Reply

    Thanks for some other informative website. Where else could I am getting that
    kind of information written in such an ideal method?
    I’ve a challenge that I’m simply now operating on,
    and I have been on the look out for such information.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *