Short-term Missions
A cursory google search of “short-term missions not cost effective” and you’ll find plenty of ammunition to attack the idea.
- An article on Gospel Coalition titled “Why You Should Consider Cancelling Your Short-Term Missions Trip.”
- A Center for Student Missions article titled “Why Most Mission Trips Are a Waste of Time.”
- A Huffington Post article titled “Short-term Mission Trips: Are They Worth It?”
The reality is that three weeks is not sufficient time to really make a change in a community the way most people think about change – constructing buildings, installing running water systems, etc. But what people often forget are THE PEOPLE –long-term workers and local believers in the country we’re visiting. When you send spiritually hungry people and partner with local believers, short-term missions can change people’s lives.
The World Race, unlike most missions, is marathon of short-term missions trips – a whirlwind of culture shock, weird foods, and questionable bus rides through 11 countries that use languages they didn’t teach in your high school. Expedition, Adventure in Mission’s newest track, takes this journey to a new level of dependence on God through a deliberate effort NOT to make any plans in half of the countries we visit. This means no translators, nobody to show you around on arrival, no greeter saying, “Welcome! Let me tell you tell you about the city and where to get all the essentials.” Instead of plans, we walk by faith and allow God to lead us into divine encounters that show how HE wants to use us.
April Expedition’s Trek to Tien Shan Mountains, in Kazkahstan, with Their Students
6 Months Complete, 5 Remaining
Looking back on the past 6 months, I’ve traveled over 150 hours by bus, plane, and train over 3 continents encountering 7 languages in cities across Africa, Asia, and Europe. I’ve met hospitable people of all religions – Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Atheism, and most are kind-hearted people. Meeting them made many of us look at ourselves and ask…
“How are we supposed to show these people life in Christ is better?”
“How do we explain why they need Christ if they are happy?”
Encountering these questions, we wonder whether we are truly having an impact given our time constraints in each area. After some introspection, I’m 100% convinced that the answer is “Yes!” Not only has this squad led people to accept Jesus Christ and follow his teachings, but, because of the “open” nature of expedition, our teams have simply walked into divine encounters with local people in each country. This has led to…
Serving refugees through local soup kitchens in Greece and learning how one family escaped their hometown when a plane’s bomb made a hole in the fence that ISIS placed around their city.
Establishing a network of local contacts in Kars, Turkey, for a missions team to plant a church.
Running day-camps in Kyrgyzstan and surf camps in Morocco for orphans.
Encountering long-term workers and dinner invites to share our stories – what God is doing in each country we visit.
And these are only a few of the examples.
My Teammate, Amanda La Rue, and I ministering to a local woman in Turkey
Photo by Emily Zanke (Her blog here)
God’s Moving in Mongolia
This past month in particular, in the small city of Olgii, Mongolia, our squad arrived with NO PLAN, just a vision from Chris Scott to open Western Mongolia for World Race Teams. Because we arrived with NO PLAN, we met Derek*, a long-term missionary from America, who had been praying for a short-term team to come to Olgii. Now we get to be God’s answer to Derek’s prayer. Within the week, Derek and other long-term workers connected us to the underground church – 800 believers, trying to bring God’s kingdom to a largely Islamic city. One team is living in the home of recently persecuted Christians (read Thomas Ruhland’s amazing blog post here). Another team has a bucket for a toilet. And none of the teams have showers or potable water in their homes. But this is why God placed the squad in Western Mongolia – fixing a dilapidated ice rink, repairing believers homes, and encouraging the 10 local, long-term workers and their children.
And that doesn’t even touch Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia, where the squad leaders and raised-up Squad Leaders (Chelsea, Bethany, and I) are partnered with Antioch Church to support the anti-sex trafficking ministry (Unbound Mongolia), talking clubs at Mongolian International University and Papa Cafe, and a English teaching school.
April Expedition’s Squad Leader Trip to Tsonjin Boldog (Ghengis Khan’s Statue) with Exodus English School in Mongolia
Do a Few Hours Matter?
After nine months in Afghanistan, I’m no stranger to missing home. But even with this experience, I am once again reminded of what it is to miss my family and the comforts of home. Given that long-term workers spend years, if not decades in these countries, I can only imagine the solace of a brief encounter with someone from their homeland. THIS is a significant and often neglected component of short-term missions – the impact on long-term missionaries in these countries. As young Christians, we are blessed with the unique opportunity to show long-term workers that part of my generation deeply desires to see all people groups know the freedom of life in Christ (Galatians 5:1).
We see their appreciation for our youthful energy and vibrant faces, their heart-felt responses, and our strength is renewed to listen to their stories, pray for their families, play with their children, and regale them with tales of the amazing things God is doing around the globe – healings in Morocco and Greece, meals with Muslims in Turkey, and dances with our English students in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Picnic in the Mountain with Our English Students in Kyrgyzstan
Why Does Expedition Matter?
Expedition Matters because God is leading us to the people who need us. He knows who needs encouragement or a timely prophetic word. He points out the gentlemen at church in Bishkek and you find out that he’s had nasty headaches for the past 4 days and would love some prayer. He provides connections to local workers to help build a dirt bike track and host a competition for the kids in their village. From individual interactions to crowd-sized events, we’ve had opportunities that we could not arrange in our wildest dreams, opportunities that he is arranging through the open nature of World Race Expedition.
These are the reasons the World Race Expedition matters. Because it’s about HIS kingdom, not our kingdom. It’s about HIS plans, which are far more awesome than our plans.
***********FUNDRAISING NOTE***********
I’m 90% Complete with Fundraising!
With 5 months remaining, I have officially exceeded 90 percent of my fundraising goal of $17,561. That’s incredible! Thank you to each of your who have contributed thus far. Currently, I am looking for people to donate monthly in the in any of following amounts for the last 5 months of my journey.
12 people to donate $25 per month
6 people to donate $50
3 people to donate $100
These amounts will help me raise the remaining $1516 I need to be fully funded.
Thank You ALL For All Your Prayers and Support! I am Blessed Beyond Words to Have an Incredible Network of Veterans and Christians Sending Me Messages, Comments, and Promises from God’s Word Each Day.
*name changed to protect identity
