Thoughts on Short Term Mission Trips

The focus of our most recent issue of our agency's magazine Unfinished is ministry in Central America. For my column, I decided to broach the subject of short term missions. I did this with fear and trembling. I have become known as a voice of caution among our staff in this whole phenomenon of short term mission trips. I've not wanted to be a wet blanket on what I know has been a very wonderful experience for so many people, but I've also sensed the need to speak truth in an area where wishful and romantic thinking sometimes dominates the discussion. What began as my usual column for the publication turned into an article. It was kind of funny for me to write on this since I've never actually been on a short term mission trip myself! (Well, it depends how you look at it. I spoke in a church a couple years ago and was introduced by the pastor as "The Ramsays who just returned from their mission trip to Kazakhstan." Hmmm - 10 years is one LONG trip!). Anyhow, upon joining the staff of The Mission Society four years ago, it did not take me long to realize that short term missions is a dominant them in missions especially in Central America. I've had several opportunities to see various aspects of the impact on the receiving end, still not having been a part of the "going" end of a short term team.

As I put my article together, I worked with our missionaries in Nicaragua since I had visited them a year and a half ago and was encouraged by what I'd seen them do with short term teams. It gave me the opportunity to approach the subject with honesty and to ask some of the hard questions that are often ignored, but to point to a case where those questions had been addressed. I was still nervous in submitting the article and begged our editor to change or even to reject the article if it came across as too harsh or judgmental. I really had no desire to throw cold water on something I know has rejuvenated the faith of so many in my home country. I've thrilled to see more people engaged in mission personally - not to relegate mission to a distant denominational department or a once a year mission focus weekend at their local church. It's great to see US church goers speak of personal experience of ministry in different cultures. Yet I wanted to invite those same people to a sober discussion of how these good intentions have created some real problems in the region as well.

Since the magazine came out a couple weeks ago, I've been relieved with the initial feedback. Our Church Ministry department plans to use the article in their short term mission training component. Some churches have asked for reprints. I am so thankful to the Lord that somehow my intent of writing the article seems to have been communicated. So I decided I would share this with my e-mail list as well in hopes that it might be interesting to you or a helpful resource to your churches. The link to the article is http://www.themissionsociety.org/magazines/unfinished/2010-47/198 . There are other related articles in the magazine by my colleagues and some helpful excerpts from books that are worth reading as well - you can see these by looking at the table of contents on the right side of the page. You can also subscribe to the magazine using a link at the top of the page. Our editor does a great job of making it an informative, teaching magazine, rather than a self-promoting, fund-raising magazine.