I am going into my sophomore year with a major in Intercultural Studies and a concentration in Missions. This past year was an incredible time of insight for me as I started to dive deeper into all that goes on behind the scenes with missions. From an early age, I started going on short-term missions trips (STM) and I thought it was so invigorating and educational in a spiritual and experiential way.
I could never have imagined that anything was wrong with these trips, because, of course, we were being "good christians" by traveling the world for His purpose. What could go wrong? As I was in my Global Missions in the Church class, I grew defensive as we discussed things done improperly in STM's. I thought, "My missions team and I could not have possibly done anything wrong on our trips! We were doing God's work." I had to do some work to break through my pride and let this class open my eyes to the many things that need to be changed today in STM.
My professor brought up some amazing points which stirred around and around in my head for days on end. How much money do missions teams spend all together on getting all of the members to the destination and provide for their needs? Let's estimate for example, there are about 15 to 20 people going on a trip across the ocean. The cost of the trip per person would be around $1,200 roughly. These people might be going for a week, or maybe two? Altogether, that's almost $20,000 being spent. It made me start to consider... "When my team went on our trip, did we truly make that much of a difference in these people's lives? Would the money have been better spent as a donation to the local church there?" This issue gave me a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Here is the situation that should be considered. Most short term missions trips are organized through an agency or an organization which is partnered with a long term missionary. The first priority is to be understanding and listen to the true needs of the long term missionary in the relationships that he/she has already developed. It is called a partnership. That communication is vital to a successful trip. They are able to inform you on cultural norms and how to be respectful to the locals at all times. Unfortunately, sometimes it is easy for Americans to think that we have all the answers and solutions. Listening is so important. We are called to come in as servants, the lowest of the lows, with humility overwhelming our hearts.
It is so easy in our modern day to jump on a plane and fly across the world in less than a day's time. Decades ago, people who decided to go into missions put a lot of thought and prayer into their journey. It could take a missionary months to sail on a boat across the oceans. In many ways, I think that was better because it prepared your heart and gave you time to truly focus on what lay ahead. Missions are not smooth sailing. They definitely have their trials.
One of the unfortunate statistics of the missions field today is that because the STM's are becoming so popular, long-term missionaries are diminishing. There are less people going into long-term commitment. Obviously, short term missions are crucial to finding long term missionaries. If someone never experiences the missions field, then someone may not see the signs of God working in their heart to seek that path for the long run. I was able to experience that on a short term missions trip, and now I am planning on moving to Ukraine in a few years time after graduating. I will be doing missions in the orphanages there and I couldn't be happier to have found God's calling for me.
Please do not misunderstand me. Short term missions is a great thing and God can work through it and I have witnessed it with my own eyes. We are responsible for making more disciples, and we should not take that lightly. However, we need to make sure we are not hurting while our intentions are to be helping. There are so many books you can read which will explain some of the concerns such as: Changing World, Unchanging Mission (by M. David Sills) and When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself (by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert) I hope that the leaders of missions groups will always educate themselves with all the details of a people's culture and needs. I know I have learned so much and still have so much ahead of me. Blessings!
