the Debate over Short Term Missions from Chuck Holton on Vimeo.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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:
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11 comments:
What responsibility do parents, churches, church leaders bear in sending youth on short term trips? Are we avoiding the root of the problem by not equipping or limiting who we let participate in short term missions? Think about it, we require full time missionaries to go through intensive training before they are sent, why do we not require the same standards from short term volunteers?
My wife, over some summers in college, worked at a camp for at risk kids. She has said that she would often question how much of an impact spending one week with these kids made. There were so many other factors in their everyday lives working against the kids. And yet, in spite of this, there needed to be some moment in these kids lives where God was able to reach out to them. There needed to be some moment with the potential for a miracle, and the camp offered that week.
Perhaps the real issue with short-term missions is the lack of pre-trip preparation, especially with you. Before going cross-culturally anywhere, people should undergo some type of preparation for possible issues they might encounter, how to react to those issues, and also the do's-and-don'ts of the culture they are entering. An idea of "what they are getting into," might help short-termers be more effective.
Another issue that arises is dependency. True short-term missions, I believe, is most effective (for both the sending and receiving groups) when people work TOGETHER to accomplish a task. This, in effect, "forces" people to create relationships with those they are serving with, thus making the impact of the team more effective and more meaningful to both groups.
Wow, there's so much that could be said about this topic! Firstly, I agree with that man, forget who he was, the director of some organization, who was talking about the harvest being plentiful, and therefore many more career missionaries are needed. From the books which we have read so far in class, we know some of the do's and dont's of being a career missionary. I think that successful career missionaries are those who do become the "150-percent person" as we read in Ministering Cross-Culturally. So, even though we are in tough economic times, and even before this whole "crisis" started, the decline in career missionaries was very evident in the Church of the Nazarene. I think this is opposite to what needs to be happening. I think that properly trained career missionaries still need to be sent out in drives so that the unreached people can start hearing the name of Jesus.
Ok, so now on to today's topic. I think that short term missions can indeed work if placed in the right context. Like we saw in the first video today, this video too has a bias. I definitely agree with you Jason, that short term mission partakees need to work together with the locals. I think there is a place for short term missions, because while they can create dependecy in some contexts, they can also allow local ministries to get started or grow in a way that needs to happen ASAP, i.e. with the building of churches on short term mission trips to give a place for brand new, growing churches to meet. I have seen in Africa how teams will come and build the steel structure and roof for a new church and leave the walls to the locals, this builds a partnership and relationship with the locals.
Short term mission trips are indeed a time where those going on them can grow, but I agree with what has been said here and in class that there needs to be something more than this. Relationships need to be formed with the locals, and discipleship needs to occur or be put in place to occur with the locals who are left when the westerners go home.
- Roland
In response to Alisha Roberts on preparing participants for short term service trips. . .
It might be interesting to see what approach our fellow Jesus- followers in other cultures might have on sending their own people on short-term missons.
For example, in our video earlier today (Missio-Mexico with Azusa Pacific) One of the Mexican pastors mentioned that he now sends his own teams out to serve in other areas of Mexico. . .I wonder what type of training he might have his team undergo. Spiritual and biblical instruction? Cultural sensitivity instruction? Specific skill practice?
What if we did training on how to be a friend?
I am curious of other cultures might approach the subject with a bit more reverance and intentionality. Maybe not. Just curious.. . It seems that short term 'mission' trips have become such a fad in North America that we tend to try and get everyone to participate in these sensational experiences and thus don't have very high expectations for the participants. . .kind of a 'we just need warm bodies' mentality.
We DO want to help people see beyond themselves, develop a passion to serve and foster and environment where folks know they don't have to be a skilled laborer or theologian to join on GOD's mission. . .however, I don't think it would hurt if (at least in the case of trips, especially to foreign places)we were a bit more selective on who/how many participate and did intentinal training on relationships and what the mission of God is really about.
I think the key to any preparation/training for short term mission opportunities is to help redefine 'mission' and reacquaint our church culture with the fact that mission is FROM GOD and TO GOD. Mission does not just happen when someone is on a trip of sorts, but rather is the nature of God. . .and should be of the church.
Many folks still view 'mission' as a program or experience. . .we need to change that, and a great place to clarify the meaning of mission is to intentionally teach this principle to short term mission team members before they participate.
I found one part of the video very disturbing. One of the pastors was talking about what he would like for Americans to understand about the church in Mexico. He kept emphasizing that they are "professional" people, "educated", capable basically. That was hard for me to hear because of how often people assume others are stupid or ignorant because they speak a different language or do things differently. This is a point we must focus on when preparing people for cross-cultural interactions. It must be two-sided, as well. I once had a Spanish-speaking friend who I had known for months get excited when they finally heard me speak English because I spoke it so well. My native language! They seemed almost relieved that I was not as stupid as they had thought all along. I guess it comes down to respecting those of another culture, and the always important suspension of judgment. By avoiding negative assumptions, we leave the door open to growth and learning from and with each other.
it is undeniable that in ministry there is always possibility for major mistakes. Short term missions can do great things for both those sending and those recieving, but perhaps the issue is preperation and the issue of expectations. Expectations for why we are going and what we will be doing on short term missions needs to be more than a fun cultural experience or a good deed done. Short term missions should be about ministry and the edification of the body of Christ.
Short term missions conflict with the intention in long term missions to exist within the lives of the people- short term missions relies on quick experiences with people - long term allows for unrushed relationships- both have their place, but should we put as much as we do into short term- putting the emphasis on quick experience instead of lasting relationships?
melissa
Though there can be a lot of negative aspects of short-term missions, I think a positive thing that we shouldn't over look is the idea of allowing blessings (or grace). A lot of time (especially in America) we like to deny people of blessing us. By doing this we deny ourselves the chance then to bless others. The same thing goes with short-term missions; if we deny a church or a team from going and blessing a church cross-culturally, then we are also denying the cross-cultural church a chance of blessing someone else. I think the question needs to not be is short-term missions okay, but instead it should be how can we allow God to have the maximum blessings and grace on the world through our short-term missions.
Wesley Phillips
After discussing short term missions in class today and viewing both of these video clips the word that comes to mind is balance. Short term missions is not all together negative but there needs to be a balance to the work being done cross culturally. The balance should be something mutually respected from both parties involved. Instead of American teams going down and building buildings with only American force, why not partner with existing projects to help support the local culture and include those people within the culture.
There is not solve all solution to the apparent problems of short term missions but I think people just need to be made more aware of the negative consequences. Help individuals to understand through communication and not assume the information is implied.
Hannah Beers
Definitely agree with Jason's, comment about being some sort of pre-exposure to both of the groups participating in the short-term mission, that is the local church and the short-term missions team. Which invites dialogue and encourages that incarnation of the 150% personification we read about in our last reading.
Without a doubt its difficult to try and incorporate all the equipping in a limited time frame, and like mentioned in a previous comment as well, but we must acknowledge that leadership (of pastors, youth leaders, etc) does play a vital part beginning and encouraging the engagement of such development and processing of the experiences of short-term mission trip participants.
And I believe that its in those moments of openness of both dialogue and practice of being intentionally aware and sensitive to His spirit - we see God move, and we realize that this more than just about the task at hand.
Liliana
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