Week 14: Thoughts on Missions Trips

I read an article online which stated that short-term missions trips are losing popularity because they are simply not helpful and accomplish very little. They cited a few examples, such as the same church being painted a few different times in one summer by different groups, a building being built by Americans only to be torn down when they left, and the general lack of real change in lives of the people who go on the trips.

I think the article touches on something important: You shouldn’t just go into another culture without understanding what you’re walking into. You need to know the laws, the people, and you need to have a trustworthy contact in that country who can organize the trip for you. I do think it’s unwise for a church to plan a trip to another country on its own. However, I think short-term missions trips are great.

Short-term missions trips are notoriously expensive. The author of the article suggested that rather than spend money on the airline ticket, why not do work within the US? I don’t think that’s a bad idea. However, much of the cost of the trip is not for airfare or hotels, it’s to give to churches and help within the country. I can’t tell you how much help just $100 would be here in Ecuador, let alone the thousands of dollars that groups can bring in.

It’s not just about money though. I disagree that people’s lives are not noticeably changed on missions trips. I know a lot of people, including myself, who have received their call to full-time missions on a short-term missions trip. I know several people, including myself, who have fallen in love and gotten married as a result of these trips. I’ve never met anyone who was unaffected by seeing abject poverty and being able to do something to help.

On top of that, I can speak from the other side. I live here in Ecuador, and I know what happens when you leave here after two weeks. I know the blessing and encouragement it is to have people who come from around the world to build, paint, evangelize, or whatever they have done. Jairo has met a lot of different missions teams who came for short term missions and proudly recites the names of all the members of the groups in his pictures, some of which visited when he was just a little boy.

Short-term missions trips make an enormous difference in other countries. As with anything, we need to be wise about the way that we go about the trip. I am aware of situations when people from poor countries take advantage of Americans, but I think that situation can be avoided. There are dishonest people in every country, but there are also honest people who need help.

Jairo and I always talk about how much we would love for a group to come work with us for a few weeks. I think it’s wrong to write off short-term missions. Not only is it misguided, it’s also unbiblical. We are to go into all the world, not just our country. The whole world needs Jesus, and a $600 plane ticket is worth every penny if it means that a few people will spend eternity in Heaven and a few Christians will get the encouragement they need to be able to keep serving God.