Why Short-Term Missions

Since we have several folks from the church heading out on short-term missions this summer I thought it would be appropriate to share some Biblical perspective on Why Short-Term Missions. Why short term missions? WHY SHORT-TERM TEAMS? As we contemplate the possibilities before us—supporting more than one overseas short-term team for the third straight year I’ve been doing some thinking about why we would say “yes” and why we might say “no”. Why say no? I think the number one reason for reluctance is resources. Regardless of how the discussion is framed the bottom line is the bottom line when it comes to influencing our decisions. There is no doubt that financially supporting a number of individuals on overseas projects is costly ($2,000-$3,000 per person). Spending $20-$30 thousand dollars on short-term projects is a lot of money. Stateside projects seem to offer more “bang for the buck.” There is concern that repeated requests by our own people for support, amounts to putting a guilt trip on members of the church who find it much more difficult to say no to the people they worship with than to say no to a total stranger. It does cost a lot of money and we don’t want to presume upon our people or assume that they would or should give every year to these projects. But there are great blessings for both those who go and those who give. I believe that the benefits far outweigh the costs. Why say yes? First of all, we are commanded to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt. 28:19). Obviously this doesn’t necessitate an overseas project but those opportunities do give us a chance to obey this command. As we have sent people to Brazil to work in the orphanage we have incarnated James 1:27. When we are sharing the gospel in Hungary we put feet on 2Cor. 5:17-21 as we become ambassadors for Christ urging lost people to be reconciled to God. In both locations we are able to demonstrate the love of Christ to our brothers and sisters in Christ (1Jn. 4:7-8). Secondly, These projects provide us with a unique way to stretch our faith and they call for sacrificial service that deepens our walk with God in unprecedented ways. Through these opportunities we are forced to step way out of our comfort zone and to rely upon God to work in us and through us if anything of eternal consequence is to happen. They provide us with a chance to lose our lives to find them (Mt.10:39), to truly give up our rights, to humble ourselves and learn submission and dependence upon God that we rarely embrace here in the states. I can’t think of anything that has caused our people to rely more upon the power of God than our short-term overseas trips. These trips help keep us from becoming complacent and they keep us in touch with the truth of Hebrews 11:6. Thirdly, they provide an excellent training ground for developing servant leaders who learn to live by faith. Those who go come back excited about continuing to live a life of faith, serving in ministry that keeps them dependent upon God. Fourthly, these projects enlarge our ministry vision as a church by exposing us to what God can and is doing around the world. Fifthly, they serve to develop unity among the body as we mobilize our energy towards kingdom significant ministry rather than focusing on insignificant minutia at home. As far as the money is concerned I will not argue that it is expensive to send people on short-term assignments overseas. But I want us to remember a few principles. Luke 6:38 reminds us that we cannot out give God. 1Timothy 6:17-19 calls us to lay up for ourselves a firm foundation for the coming age through giving. We have been blessed and we are blessed when we give to the Lord’s work. We have the resources so we can go and therefore we should go and do something of kingdom significance and not just out of selfish interest. I believe the financial end is another area in which we can stretch our faith and see God come through. The past two years we haven’t missed a beat in meeting our mission’s budget—God is faithful. I believe we can trust God to continue to provide. I think it is helpful to remember that God will always finance His will. Additionally, our investment pays dividends among those we minister alongside. Our ministry results in follow-up opportunities for new Christians and struggling believers, the encouragement of believers in the countries we visit (especially the missionary staff), and financial support given to the ministries through short-term support raised (Every International Messengers short-term missionaries contributes a minimum of $500 to the overall ministries of IM). Recently Ben Oehler who has served in the Ukraine for nearly 10 years told us that one short-term team can accomplish more by way of evangelism and discipleship than his many years in that country. That may be an exaggeration but it is certainly true that working together the national missionary and the short-term missionary can accomplish significantly more than either by themselves. Conclusion: God has been so good to us and we’ve seen Him do some amazing things in the lives of our people and in the lives of those we’ve been privileged to minister to and with on several short-term mission projects. Since we’ve taken deliberate steps as a church to send more people on short-term missions God has done great things. My prayer is that we will continue to press ahead in short-term missions for the glory of God and the gain of His kingdom. I want to urge you as individuals or couples to give financially to the mission fund so we can fulfill our church obligation of $750 to each of our adult short-term team members going out this summer. If some feel lead to give to a specific team or a particular team member that would be great. I can’t emphasize enough the need we have for people to pray for the team members going out to Brazil, Hungary and to Rosebud this summer. May Psalm 67:1-4a become our prayer as a church and may we do our part. Sincerely, Pastor Steve