by Tim Dahl » Sat Apr 02, 2011 9:58 am
That was a very good article, Ed. It brought up substantial positives concerning short-term missions involvement, without turning a blind eye to the cons of short-term missions involvement.
I didn't know that most short-term missions endeavors are funded with "vacation money." The idea that short-term missions involvement brought "new" money to missions was especially surprising. I had once asked a retired minister about short-term mission trips. I asked him about positive impact, assuming that there would be little (like some of the guys here on this forum). He didn't try to make it sound like the mission trip would have, or not have, a long term impact upon the destination. But, he did say that it could have a lasting impact upon the participants. He especially pointed out that short-term missions participants tended to give more to the MSOs, than non-participants. So, not only does short-term missions projects not take away future funds from long-term missionaries, but can actually help raise money for them!
Who knew?!
Apparently, the elder-statesmen that advised me, and the writers of that article.
I think there is one thing the article didn't hit on, that is relevant to this issue. It is the desire for Boomers and younger, for more hands on experience. There seems to be a desire to no longer outsource missions (local and global), but to own them as the mission of the local church. This doesn't necessarily lead to a multitude of short-term mission trips - to a multitude of different places. But, it seems to have lead to long-term investment of people/resources into particular places...places where a particular church believes God is calling them to be.
For instance, I remember being at a conference/meeting at First Baptist Church of Arlington, TX. The pastor had just returned from an Exec. Board meeting of the IMB, begging them to not pull out of West Africa. FBCA had been doing work there for some time, having a close relationship with the IMB missionaries of the area. Instead of calling it quits, they teamed together with like minded churches and founded the . They don't only minister in West Africa, but it was the impetus for this system of churches connecting together.
Let me give another example. is the non-governmental organization that Northwood Church created to facilitate missions in Vietnam. is Northwood, and Northwood is . I learned, from a Vietnamese government representative, that %60 of all volunteers entering the country come through GVI. He is the same representative that I .
Even though Northwood is a large church, the vast majority of churches they plant also adopt an area to invest their global lives into. Some are interested in Vietnam, some aren't. Northwood's pastor helped to get a network of small to medium sized churches together to do long-term ministry in Afghanistan.
As more people seek to fulfill God's mission in their lives, I believe they will see divine opportunity through their personal and vocational relationships. Our MSOs can either find a way to tap into it, resource it, and participate in it; or not. If they choose not to, they may be missing out on something divinely significant.
Tim L. Dahl
Using my full name since the warning of Banishment...