3 Jul 2017

Short term missions are not the race

by | posted in: Missions | 92,973

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.

92973 Responses

  1. Income
    | Reply

    With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright
    violation? My website has a lot of unique content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but
    it appears a lot of it is popping it up all over
    the web without my agreement. Do you know
    any techniques to help prevent content from being ripped off?
    I’d genuinely appreciate it.

  4. Nebula Wealth AI
    | Reply

    Its like you read my mind! You appear to know
    a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but instead of that, this is wonderful blog.
    A great read. I will definitely be back.

  10. Quantix Prime AI
    | Reply

    Great website. Plenty of helpful information here.
    I am sending it to several friends ans additionally sharing in delicious.
    And certainly, thank you to your effort!

  14. 웅진코웨이
    | Reply

    Today, I went to thhe beachfront with my kids.
    I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter andd said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She pput the shell too her ear and screamed.

    There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wats to go back!
    LoL I know this is entirely off topic but I had to tekl someone!

    웅진코웨이

  18. situs nonton bokep update tiap hari
    | Reply

    hey there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up anything new from right here.
    I did however expertise some technical issues using this website, since I experienced to
    reload the website a lot of times previous to I could get it to load properly.
    I had been wondering if your hosting is OK? Not that
    I’m complaining, but slow loading instances
    times will very frequently affect your placement in google
    and can damage your quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords.
    Well I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for much more of your respective intriguing content.
    Make sure you update this again soon.

  20. does iq blast pro work
    | Reply

    I was curious if you ever considered changing the
    structure of your site? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
    But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better.
    Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or 2 pictures.
    Maybe you could space it out better?

    my blog; does iq blast pro work

  21. plantsulin reviews
    | Reply

    you are in reality a just right webmaster. The site loading velocity is amazing.
    It kind of feels that you are doing any unique
    trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done
    a magnificent job on this subject!

    Feel free to visit my blog post; plantsulin reviews

  31. Bokep Indo Rindu Ngewe Janda
    | Reply

    I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone
    to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to find
    out where u got this from. cheers

  33. termination kits
    | Reply

    I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with the layout on your blog.
    Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
    Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see
    a nice blog like this one today.

  34. slot gampang scatter x500
    | Reply

    Just wish to say your article is as surprising. The clarity in your
    post is simply excellent and i could assume you’re an expert on this subject.
    Fine with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.

    Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work.

  36. Mia Pink
    | Reply

    I really like men who know what they want and look forward to horny conversations! If you like hot cam girls with big breasts, you’ve come to the right place.

Leave a Reply

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