From Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
An increasing number of members, young and old, are contacting us to ask about getting involved in a mission effort.
They want to make a difference for the kingdom of God. They also are convicted that they should personally get involved in spreading the gospel in a meaningful way.
This is a welcome sign of revitalization within the fellowship. It is especially gratifying to see the number of young people who are actively pursuing mission work.
Tonia Weik is a WCG pioneer when it comes to our experience with short-term mission. She is a graduate of Ambassador University, where she became involved with the Ukraine Project.
I call it a project because in its initial years it was more of a humanitarian effort than it was a kingdom effort. Tonia, along with other leaders (Craig Shrum and Brenda Plonis to name two) realized that a spiritual component was missing in what was being done.
Tonia shared with me what she had observed about short-term missions while in Ukraine. She described both the positive and negative aspects of short-term missions.
Anyone considering a short-term mission needs to think about these same issues. I asked Tonia to write up her observations, and I would like to share them with you.
From Tonia WeikThe Christian community is over-flowing with them--opportunities to serve Christ internationally and at home.
Advertisements for and articles about short-term mission trips are in many Christian publications. Christian universities, Bible translators and humanitarian aid organizations are some of the many groups involved in short-term missions.
Programs are available for people of every age with a wide range of skills. This area of Christian ministry is growing by leaps and bounds, and there really is something for everyone.
I have spent time in Ukraine as a volunteer teacher and a missionary. Last summer, I helped organize a short-term mission in Khust, Ukraine.
Six team members participated in the two-month program. They were young adults from the United States and Canada, and our target Ukrainian group was teens.
That summer was a first for everyone, beginning with the preparation. It was the first time I had actively read about and planned for such a program.
We planned for small groups, prayer meetings and other activities without knowing how we would begin them, what we would say, or whether they would be successful.
It was exciting to be involved in something that was new to our fellowship. We did feel like pioneers at times--not knowing where we were going until we arrived. With work, prayers and God's blessing, we had an inspiring summer. I am so full of stories that I could write a book.
Our goal was to bring more people to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. Several young Ukrainians did make a commitment to God by the end of the summer--thanks to God for the discussions we had about the power of prayer, the unconditional love of God and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Our mission team can say that we accomplished what we set out to do. I believe that short-term missions have a specific role in the church, but what exactly is that role? I took a look at some of the benefits.
*Team members are representatives of Christ through personal contact and relationships with people in the host country.
*Different Christian activities can be organized based on the various skills among team members.
*Team members learn from each other, as well as from the culture they enter.
*After a short-term mission, participants can return home spreading the word and inspire someone else to serve on such a mission.
Based on these mission experiences, a team member may decide on a career as a missionary.
The qualities of short-term missions (short duration, relatively inexpensive, travel options, spiritual lessons) make it a feasible consideration for many people.
After looking at my list, I saw that it was rather one-sided. Most of the benefits concerned the team members and not the people of the host country.
I know that short-term missions are beneficial--I was both a participant and an organizer. At the same time, I believe that there is something more. Short-term missions are, for example, the hand or the arm of the body, but not the body. These are some of the parts I found to be missing:
After two months, the team went home and the people we worked with lost Christian leadership.
The program was based more on short-term Christian activities than on long-term Christian growth and fellowship.
However, I could see God's guiding hand in what took place in Ukraine. We did as much as we could with what we had been given, and there were many blessings.
I hope and pray that such short-term missions will continue in Ukraine and around the world. At the same time, a body is needed--a base, a person or people who are in the host country on a long-term basis.
Short-term missions can operate as an important function of the organized base. When the program ends, those newly converted will receive continued spiritual support.
I hope that mission work will continue in Ukraine, and that our fellowship will remain involved. I pray that God will provide a base--that a well-suited person or people will be able to live and serve there for the long-term.
I am thankful that so many teenagers and young adults are involved in short-term missions both at home and overseas. They will never forget the miracles that they witness, the lessons that God teaches them and the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces. As we experience personal growth, we also must tend to the growth of the church. Before we can feed Jesus' sheep, we must find them.
We must realize that the spreading of the gospel to all nations (that's what mission is--it matters not what nation) is an ongoing process.
However, short-term mission is usually thought of in terms of a project. It is of short duration. The short-term missionary usually does not have time to learn enough about the culture to be effective on his or her own.
The short-term missionary is usually gone in a matter of weeks, or months at the most. Whatever effect they may have, usually leaves with them.
Short-term mission can be effective, even though it is a project, when it is linked to an indigenous mission effort. Hence, our efforts as a denomination are to mobilize, equip and release the local brethren around the world into effective gospel workers in their areas.
The best results are achieved when short-term mission can make the efforts of the local church more effective.
One example is a crew of skilled drillers who went to Mali to support the efforts of a long-term mission working there.
The missionaries needed a foothold in the community. They recognized that the greatest felt need of the local people they wished to reach with the gospel was to be able to remain in their homelands. However, the effect of long-term drought was forcing them off their lands.
The team of drillers came into the picture to locate water and drill deep wells so the people could have stable water supplies. The trained missionaries, who had prepared for years for this moment, then had the respect of the people. Over a period of time, they raised up indigenous churches and leaders among the people.
I think the message for us is two-fold. We, in God's army, need to borrow at least one theme from the U.S. Army. The Army ad campaign says, "Be all that you can be, in the Army."
We need to be all we can be in this life, for the sake of God's army. People who are retired, but still have their health, some financial stability and their career skills are extremely valuable assets to the Body of Christ.
Young people who wish to serve Christ should pursue their chosen career to a level of excellence, not just for the money or prestige, but because those skills and that experience are of great value to the Body of Christ.
When we serve alongside a ministry that is established in the host country, and bring our skills as a spiritual sacrifice, it is of great value.
I have no doubt that as our brethren around the world become more skilled and confident as gospel workers, that the opportunity for short-term mission will increase.
I hope that a core of skilled and willing fellow servants will be available when that time arrives.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1999