I love the article I am about to share because it was written by a foster mom at Sarah’s Covenant Homes, who oversees short term volunteers, including World Race Teams and Passport Teams.
You can read the original post here
http://hisstrengthnotmine.blogspot.in/2015/07/short-term-missions-help-or-hindrance.html
Short-Term Missions: A Help or Hindrance?
A friend of mine recently posted this article on short-term missions and asked for my input. The article makes the case that the way we approach short-term missions and volunteering overseas causes us to do more harm than good to the people we are trying to help.
In many ways, I couldn’t agree more. But yet I think there is more to it than that.
People ask me what I think of short-term missions a lot and it’s hard for me to give a straight answer. It is a tough question and I don’t think there is a black and white answer.
I’ve seen short-term missions done well and I’ve also seen it done very poorly. It really all comes back to the motivation and purpose behind the trip.
I believe the purpose of short-term missions should be to support and encourage the long-term missionaries and local churches who will be there serving the people long after the volunteer is gone.
If the work you are doing there in a week or even a few months is not sustainable after you leave, what was the benefit in the long run?
On a short-term trip there is no time to build up a relationship of trust with the people to the point where they will really listen to what you have to say. You may want to come and counsel a woman and help her through a tough time or have a heart-to-heart with a troubled child that will change the course of their life but these are people we’re talking about. Life changes take time. They take consistency and perseverance. They take relationship and trust. None of those things are something someone coming through for a few weeks can give. The more beneficial thing would be you pouring into and encouraging someone who will be there after you leave so they have the energy and strength to pour into that woman or child with consistency. It may not feel as good or as helpful or useful but in the long run will make a much bigger impact.
Bottom line, we just need to stop being so selfish when it comes to overseas ministry.
We need to constantly be looking ahead and asking ourselves what will happen the day, month, or year after we leave. We should serve with the future in mind, not just the present. Even long-term missionaries need to be asking themselves that question. We should be working ourselves out of a job, not making ourselves irreplaceable.
I’ve seen a lot of volunteers come and go through our organization and there seem to be two types – the ones who come to serve and do whatever is needed to support us and our ministry, and the ones who come for a new profile picture.
Now I’m not saying changing your profile picture to a selfie with a foreign child is necessarily a bad thing. What I am saying is check your motives. Do you even know that child’s name? Have you built a relationship with them? Or is that picture just for all the likes and comments you’ll get about how amazing you are?
We need to remember that behind that cute face is a person. Usually a person who is hurting and who has been through more in their short little life than you could ever imagine. That smile in your profile picture may cry themselves to sleep at night. Don’t lose sight of the person or the fact that they’ll still be there when you are gone.
If you go on a short-term mission trip, make sure it’s not about you.
Now don’t get me wrong – I love when we have volunteers come. We have had some amazing volunteers. They all seem to have a few things in common though. They put the ministry and the people here first, before themselves. They are ready and willing to do whatever is most helpful and needed. They put the children and their hearts first in every way even when it doesn’t feel as good. They look for little ways to bless and encourage the long-termers and staff.
That volunteer is the kind that leaves us feeling refreshed and encouraged and helps give us the strength to go on in the work we are doing. That volunteer is a valuable asset to our team.
If you are trying to decide whether or not to go on a short-term mission trip, here is my advice to you:
Check your motives.
If you want to go because it’s what good Christians do or to make you feel better about yourself, don’t go.
Save the money and send it to a worthy ministry.
If you want to go because you want an adventure or to experience different cultures, don’t go.
Take the money and go on a backpacking trip or travel around the world as a tourist.
If you want to go because you want to create big change in a community, don’t go.
Big change takes time and commitment, it doesn’t happen overnight. You’ll just find yourself disappointed and discouraged.
If you want to go to walk the streets and tell every person you meet about Jesus, don’t go.
Without a knowledge of the language and culture and without follow through, what good will that accomplish? Instead, go around your own neighborhood and tell every person you meet about Jesus there.
If you want to go because you found an amazing ministry that is doing wonderful things you are really passionate about and you desire to partner with them and empower them to keep doing what they’re doing however you can, fantastic! Go! Serve to the best of your abilities and let God use you to make a difference.
And if you haven’t gotten one word of what I’ve said up to this point, please hear what I’m saying now.
If you want to go on a missions trip because you know how much you’ll grow and change if you do, DON’T GO.
If you plan to use other people who are suffering and hurting to improve yourself, you need to take a new look at what you’re doing and why.
Yes, if you go on a short-term mission trip God will use it to change you and you will grow in ways you never expected. That’s wonderful. But that’s a PRODUCT of following God’s call and serving His people, not the PURPOSE. Please don’t get those confused.
God will change and grow you wherever He has called you, not just on the mission field, as long as you are chasing after Him and His will for your life.
Don’t go on a missions trip to change yourself. Go on a missions trip to leave something behind that will last.
And then in turn, you will be forever changed.
What do you think about short-term missions? What experiences have you had? I’d love to hear in the comments!
