God's Mission

I recently read a book which was just published a few months ago by Sociologist, Robert Wuthnow titled "Boundless Faith: The Global Outreach of American Churches" in which he describes the changing global dynamic, but also describes the place that all Christians have in God's global mission. As we look at how we are to be Christian and how we are to be a Christian witness in our world, it is challenging. The following video is by Dr. David Livermore which addresses this same theme.

Global Mission: The Local Church's Response from Derek Rottman on Vimeo.

The Short-Term Mission Debate

Short-Term missions is one of the greatest paradigm changes in missions in the past 10-15 years. I have spoken to many people who say that a short-term missions trip transformed their life or the life of someone they know. Just this past weekend I was with a group of youth from a Reformed church in Michigan who were serving in an urban short-term mission project on the west side of Chicago. Most of the 16-17 year old participants had been on many trips and told me that the trips opened their eyes to the world and had made a change in their lives. To the contrary, other people have done research that indicates that short-term mission has very little long lasting impact on the participants or on those who receive the participants. I am currently doing research related to this with the goal of understanding short-term missions better and also to find ways to be a positive part of what God is doing in the world. The following is a video clip that describes some of the debate. I would love to have your input on this whether you disagree or agree with the perspectives of those who made the video:

the Debate over Short Term Missions from Chuck Holton on Vimeo.