3 Jul 2017

Short term missions are not the race

by | posted in: Missions | 243,932

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.

243932 Responses

  1. learn here
    | Reply

    Very good post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site.
    Keep up the good writing.

  4. Pumpfun Volume Bot
    | Reply

    Unquestionably believe that which you stated. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the net the easiest thing to be aware
    of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people think about worries that they plainly don’t know about.
    You managed to hit the nail upon the top and defined out the whole thing without having side
    effect , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more.
    Thanks

  5. Mixparlay
    | Reply

    Hello to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is
    getting more from this website, and your views are fastidious in favor of
    new users.

  6. kora live football
    | Reply

    First of all I would like to say superb blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like to ask if you do not mind.
    I was curious to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts prior to writing.
    I’ve had trouble clearing my mind in getting my thoughts out there.
    I truly do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are usually wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any recommendations or hints?
    Appreciate it!

  9. Lester Greer
    | Reply

    In today’s electronic age, where shopping is expanding, the function of customized product packaging can not be undervalued. It not just protects the item throughout transit however additionally works as a powerful marketing device Custom packaging near me

  11. 미프진
    | Reply

    Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
    The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Chrome.
    I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with web
    browser compatibility but I figured I’d post to let you know.
    The design look great though! Hope you get the issue resolved
    soon. Many thanks

  12. check out here
    | Reply

    If some one wishes expert view on the topic of blogging afterward i suggest
    him/her to visit this blog, Keep up the fastidious work.

  13. click now
    | Reply

    I’ll right away seize your rss feed as I can not to find your e-mail subscription link or newsletter service.
    Do you have any? Please let me know in order that I could subscribe.
    Thanks.

  14. child porn
    | Reply

    Hey there! Do you know if they make any plugins to assist with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted
    keywords but I’m not seeing very good gains.
    If you know of any please share. Thanks!

  15. SodoFC
    | Reply

    If you would like to obtain a great deal from this post then you have to apply these methods to your won blog.

  19. visit here
    | Reply

    I every time used to study piece of writing in news papers
    but now as I am a user of web thus from now I am using
    net for content, thanks to web.

  23. read more
    | Reply

    Heya i’m for the primary time here. I found this board and I
    find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give one
    thing again and aid others like you aided me.

  26. read more
    | Reply

    Good day! I just wish to offer you a big thumbs
    up for your excellent info you have got here on this post.

    I am returning to your site for more soon.

  27. read more
    | Reply

    Nice answers in return of this query with genuine arguments and telling the whole
    thing about that.

  28. read more
    | Reply

    Wow, this piece of writing is nice, my younger sister is analyzing these things,
    therefore I am going to tell her.

  30. j 88
    | Reply

    Today, I went to the beach with my children. I found a sea shell
    and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She placed the shell to
    her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched
    her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off
    topic but I had to tell someone!

  31. read more
    | Reply

    It’s very trouble-free to find out any matter on net as compared to
    textbooks, as I found this piece of writing at this web page.

  32. Lucille Cole
    | Reply

    What a helpful guide on choosing the right heating and cooling service provider! Correct installation is critical for effectiveness. For even more recommendations, have a look at furnace tune up .

  36. read more
    | Reply

    Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post!
    It is the little changes which will make the largest changes.
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

  38. read more
    | Reply

    It is not my first time to pay a visit this website, i am visiting this
    web page dailly and get fastidious data from here everyday.

  41. Lexoro Byte
    | Reply

    Thank you for every other excellent article. Where else may just anyone get
    that type of information in such an ideal approach of writing?
    I’ve a presentation subsequent week, and I’m on the search for such information.

  45. Tips Teknologi
    | Reply

    hey there and thank you for your info – I have
    certainly picked up something new from right here.
    I did however expertise several technical points using this website,
    since I experienced to reload the website lots of times previous to I could get it
    to load correctly. I had been wondering if your web host is OK?
    Not that I’m complaining, but slow loading instances
    times will sometimes affect your placement in google and could damage your high quality
    score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Anyway I am adding this RSS to my email and could look out for
    much more of your respective intriguing content.

    Make sure you update this again soon.

    https://illinoistechcon.com/

  46. trash chute t handle
    | Reply

    I would like to thank you for the efforts you have put in penning
    this website. I am hoping to check out the same high-grade blog posts from you in the future as
    well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has
    inspired me to get my own, personal blog
    now 😉

  47. live draw china 6d
    | Reply

    My developer is trying to convince me to move to
    .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because
    of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on a number of websites for about a year and am anxious about switching to another platform.
    I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress posts into it?

    Any kind of help would be really appreciated!

  50. online casino sites
    | Reply

    Everything is very open with a clear explanation of the challenges.

    It was definitely informative. Your website is useful. Thank you for sharing!

Leave a Reply

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