Can going on a mission trip do more harm than it can good?
As someone who has been on multiple trips both in and out of the country, I would have to say yes. There are many reasons that going on a mission trip for the wrong reason can cause more harm than it can good. Sharing the gospel is such an important thing and I think sometimes the importance of it can be lost and disguised by parts that look good.
Going to a country like China where the great wall is, or to anywhere in Europe pretty much sounds like a great idea doesn’t it? There is so much history and so much beauty that it is exciting and fun. Why not take a once in a lifetime chance to travel to the beautiful parts of the world and see things you may not ever get to see again. While it is enjoyable and fun to be in some of the these places, that is not the purpose. It isn’t called a vacation. It is a MISSION TRIP and the mission is to spread the gospel. There are times that people see and use the opportunity to fund raise and go to another country for cheap as the opportunity for a vacation. While I will be the first to admit, it is fun to cheaply travel the world and see all these places, we can't let our desire to just enjoy the trip take us over. Here is why:
You aren't supposed to be comfortable.
Going to another country is supposed to be challenging and hard. You are supposed to face culture shock and foods that are disgusting. You should see things that no one ever has to see in their life. You should connect with the people of that area and if your goal is to have fun and be comfortable you take the risk of not being able to fully connect with the people and culture of that place.
People's eternity is at stake.
There are people all over our world that have never even heard about Jesus. There are these people that will face eternal damnation because no one has told them how they can go to heaven.
In a sermon by David Platt, he says, "There are people who have never heard the good news of how they can be saved. Nobody has ever told them that God loves them so much and has sent His son to die on the cross for their sin."
He then quotes Carl F.H. Henry saying, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there on time."
If this thought and idea doesn't shatter your world then maybe you should reconsider going on that trip. If this doesn't give you the urge to do nothing else but tell everyone you come in contact with about Christ, give your money to someone else.
If your focus on this trip is to have fun, you are missing the idea. What you do or possibly what you don't do could leave these people's eternity at risk. While yes good things could come out of you being there, we must be cautious of our focus and our focus must be on the idea of sharing with these people how they can get to heaven.
It's not going to be all fun.
Your van will break down, your luggage will get lost, you'll fail, and you will hurt. You are going to see and experience things that will put you down and all you will want is to go home. It's not supposed to be fun. If we are there for easy and fun we are going for the wrong reason and will end up extremely disappointed.
My friends, it is so easy to serve in all the right ways for all the wrong reasons.Todd Eckhardt says "The further away from that primary motivation you get, the more potential damage you could be doing both to yourself and to those whom you are serving." Our motivation and goal should be to see lives changed for Jesus.
I pose this challenge to you. Before you are the first to sign up to go and enjoy our beautiful world, consider your motives. Are you going for the leisure or are you going to share the gospel and see lives changed?
