There has been a lot of talk lately about the value of short term mission trips. Some people defend them, other people criticize them. One of the main complaints that I've heard is, "What can a team truly accomplish in one week? What kind of follow-up and discipleship can happen after they leave?"
There are a lot of things I could say: that a short term trip was what brought me here for a longer commitment, that it provides perspective and scope in a believer's life, that it gives an idea of the global nature of the church and the Gospel, that it encourages the long-term missionaries... all of which are true. But there is one thing in particular I would like to share that surfaced during a recent conversation I had with Laura.
One of the things that is really neat about the way Spotswood "does" short-term missions, specifically in Thailand, is that they aren't on some quest to start something from scratch. They didn't fly in, Bibles waving, and start a camp for kids in an unreached slum, or tackle taking the Gospel to the pimps in bars. While that may have given us a sense of heroism, it would have been ineffective. We don't know the culture. We can't follow up in a week. It's not sustainable. Instead, the team was plugged into healthy, preexisting ministries. This is important for two reasons:
Firstly, it means there is follow-up. Our team left, but the ministry is still there continuing on in their mission. If the heart of someone they spoke to was touched by the Gospel, there are people there, and ready, to continue engaging them and investing in them. Our team wasn't trailblazing; our team was coming alongside, encouraging, and supporting the ministries of others before them.
Secondly, it allowed our team to become a part of something bigger than themselves. They were here for a week and that was it. For the Thais though, they see team after team come through. We were just one of many teams. So where is the value of being just another team passing through? The message we are sending, combined with the message of those who came before, is huge. We are lending our voices to the
same message; there is power in that! The message of every missionary and every team is the same:
Jesus Christ. The Gospel.
Our team's presence, joined with the testimonies of those who came before and those who will come after, speaks volumes. Westerners (from different places and demographics) keep travelling to Thailand, but with the same motivation and message: Jesus.
That lends credibility to the ministries of the missionaries who are here-- and collectively becomes a powerful statement regarding the truth and conviction of our message.
Alone, it's true, we may not have rocked Thailand on its heels, but we were another piece and link to a beautiful picture that the missionaries here are trying to construct for the Thai people to see. The Gospel is attractive. The cross is compelling. The message is life-changing.
Why else would twelve successful young adults traipse halfway around the world to talk to detainees at the Immigration Detention Center, share their testimonies in a prison, play basketball in the slums? It's not exotic. It's hot. And expensive. But not just our team, but many teams, have all come and given the same reason for the hope that is in them. They had a life-changing experience with God and were compelled to come and share about it.
Short term teams' consistent presence here leads more credence to the message of salvation than simply words alone. It tangibly shows the Thai people that the Gospel is actively changing lives.
That, I believe, is the power of short term missions.
