Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘STM’

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity for Short-Term Missions

Posted in Short-Term Missions, Standards of Excellence for Short-Term Missions, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 23, 2010| 3 Comments »

My son was part of a short-term mission trip several years ago that was building a church building in a third world country.  After working for about a week, digging the footing for the concrete stone building, pouring the concrete for the foundation, and then building up the wall about 2-3 feet, someone realized that they had not put any doors on the building!

I know, you are thinking that this was a freudian slip, but, in fact, the story becomes worse. So the Americans spent the rest of the mission time, tearing down a major portion of the wall that they had just built and rebuilding the wall, this time with gaps for doors.

The rest of the story I cannot verify firsthand, but my understanding is that another group went to the same area a year or two later, and the church had torn the whole building down because it never met either their needs or their standards.  There is a message in this story for those who would plan short-term missions projects.

Just having manpower and money will not get you to the goal. Mutual design is also imperative. Without reflecting on any real person’s motivations, my best guess is that the Americans showed up with a plan. The locals were asked to validate it, which they did because what else can you do in the face of money and power!  The results speak for themselves.

Mutually planning the mission activity is the only way to hope for an effective outcome. Sure, mutual design does not guarantee a positive outcome, but it certainly increases the prospects.  By mutual design, we are talking again about a partnership between American Christians and hosting nationals with (to borrow from the French!) liberty, equality, and fraternity on both sides.

Here are some reasonable questions for both parties to ask in preparation for any short-term mission trip:

  1. What are the common goals of both guests and hosts? Is the primary goal to please the host or to please the American guests? Is there a way to plan the mission so that both sides feel like their expectations will have been met?  Before an LST project ever occurs, an LST representative sits down with the hosting leader/leaders and tries to describe in their context what might occur when an LST team arrives. We talk about how we spend money, how teams are typically housed, what each day looks like, what the teams typically do on Sundays–no part of the project is intentionally left out.  Then we listen to how they believe an LST team could work best in their context. Where there are differences, we make great effort to work them out–or we both agree that perhaps some other form of mission would be better for this particular site.
  2. What preparation and follow-up are expected from the hosts/guests? What are the hosts/guests expected to do both before and after the mission project? LST projects expect the host church to advertise prior to the team’s arrival, for instance. How they advertise is left to the expertise of the local Christians? If both of us find this acceptable, we go forward with our planning!  Local Christians are expected to make plans for follow-up to LST projects. LST teams are expected to leave all contact information necessary for follow-up with the local churches. When one of our teams does not do this, we think the mission church has a right to be upset with us!
  3. Who pays for what? Unfortunately, fairly simple questions like this create much of the havoc on short-term mission trips. LST promises to pay for all food, local transportation, laundry, and the social events that are part of a typical LST project. Hosts are asked to arrange for housing and advertising.  Some hosts have no housing options that they can afford, in which case we ask them to work out mutually acceptable housing arrangements with us BEFORE our team arrives. Often their solution is a nice American-style hotel–which we most often decline because we can’t afford that either. So we continue to dialogue until either there is a mutually acceptable solution or there is no solution; in the end, we both know that we have made a mutual effort to find a mutually acceptable solution, but have failed–usually with a promise to try again next year.

Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions puts great emphasis on the ability of both the American guests and the national hosts to implement what they have accepted as their responsibility.  When there has been full liberty to both negotiate and to decline, when there has been equality assumed by both partners, and when brotherly love (fraternity) is the framework of every conversation and interaction, then nothing short of a REVOLUTION will be the result–a revolution that both we and God will delight in!

Read Full Post »

Empowering Partnerships

Posted in Short-Term Missions, Standards of Excellence for Short-Term Missions, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 17, 2010| 1 Comment »

In the “Seven U.S. Standards of Excellence In Short-Term Missions” published by the SOE, the first one after God-centeredness is empowering partnerships—and for a very good reason.  Out of unpardonable ignorance, we American Christians have viewed ourselves as the only source of mission strategy, the only spring of mission compassion, and, regrettably, the only well of resources that God can use for taking the gospel to the world.  Lord, forgive us of our arrogance!

The way this flavor of hubris shows itself concretely in short-term missions is in the following ways:

  • A church is looking for a good STM for its youth group, so they call their missionary and announce that they will bring 40 kids for 10 days in July. . . . and we know you will be grateful!
  • A church sees a small, but vibrant mission church in a developing country and decides to send down a band of construction workers to build them a building.
  • A church sends a note to their missionary contact that they are prepared to come with puppets and all to do a two-week Vacation Bible School, if the locals will put them up in their homes.
  • The local evangelist agrees to provide food and housing for the STM workers if they will provide the funds. The workers will provide the funds but need receipts. The national minister is highly offended, but the American workers find his/her actions very suspicious.

Some of you may not even recognize a problem in the above scenarios, but the idea of an “empowering partnership” is absent from each one. In its place, a one-sided power-based, culturally insensitive, and borderline paternalistic attitude exudes from the American Christian side of the equation—mostly because we don’t really believe that we are in a partnership. We may be betraying the fact that we prefer a charitable relationship over an empowering partnership.

We made some of these mistakes early in our ministry, but we have tried to learn from them, so let me share with you some very concrete actions that Let’s Start Talking does to avoid these mistakes:

  • LST only sends teams when we have received a formal invitation. I know you think this is what everyone does, but, in fact, it isn’t. I know that many mission sites feel compelled, virtually coerced to receive mission teams for any number of reasons. If your site can’t say No to you because you support them or because you are white or because of any reason whatsoever, then it is not a real invitation to come.
  • Each missionary and/or national evangelist is respected as a true host. We are thankful for his/her invitation; we are grateful that they want to work with us; we are eager to serve them. They are the initiators, just as if they were inviting us into their home.
  • The important details of every stm mission project are mutually agreed upon before any final commitments are made—on both sides. From the dates of arrival to the times of every event to the cost of using the telephone, we try to clarify details prior to arrival so that we do not even accidentally trample the desires or feelings of the local church.  This is tricky cross-culturally and takes great effort, but it is essential.
  • The real needs of the hosting congregation are foremost. If it is not good to host American groups during U.S. school holidays—which is rainy season and/or winter in other countries—then don’t expect a mission site to want you to come then. If the burden of hosting 20 people is too great, then either cut the group to five or don’t send anyone. If the hosting church needs funds rather than two weeks of preaching, which would be the better gift????  And if you don’t know what the needs are, you just haven’t asked.
  • We meet with potential hosts, get to know them, and don’t accept invitations until there is mutual trust. Of course, we trust us . . . . but what about the indigenous leaders of the local church? Do you trust them to tell you the truth? Do you trust them enough to give them your food money? Do you trust them enough to let them buy the supplies for the project? Do you trust them to tell you when the best time to receive a group is? And are you only flexible about your plans, but hate it when they are irresponsible and change things? Do they even have the power to change anything?  All very tell-tale questions for any stm mission trip!

I think the word “partnership” is just a modern bit of jargon for what the New Testament called “one another.” Re-read those many passages and apply them to the relationship you have with potential stm sites and then you will know if you are a loving neighbor . . . oops, I meant empowering partner.

Read Full Post »

Standards For Short-Term Missions

Posted in Short-Term Missions, Standards of Excellence for Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , , on May 14, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Anyone involved in the organization or planning of a short-term mission at a church should be aware of an organization that has done much to set and define the highest standards for such mission trips. The acronym is SOE, which stands for Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions.

They publish and describe seven standards of Excellence for any short-term mission project.  If you just want to see the standards, please go to their website, but what I would like to do is to describe each standard, explain the rationale behind it, and then show you what it looks like in practice.

Standard 1 — God-Centeredness

Every person planning a mission trip, whether as organizer, host, or participant should be crystal clear about the purpose of the trip. Is it totally for the glory of God?  Is each activity planned in such a way to express godliness?  Are the methods used biblical as well as appropriate for Christians in the hosting culture, and will the expectations/desired results advance the kingdom of God?

These questions appear at first to have such obvious answers, that you may even want to stop reading, but let me ask some questions that might suggest where some short-term mission groups get off track.

  1. What do the workers see as the highlight of the trip, closing night of your mission or the two days on the beach before you come home?  Which of these is emphasized in the promotion and recruiting?
  2. You might be surprised at how many mission trips have very little time planned for team devotionals, prayer time,  or spiritual conversations.
  3. Is the mission group being sent off and received on site with prayer by those sending and receiving?
  4. Has the biblical basis for your activities been thoroughly taught, rehearsed, and explained to your team? Have they bought into the spiritual nature of the mission trip?
  5. What are the real goals of your mission trip? Are they spiritual or material? Are they ethereal or measurable?

All Let’s Start Talking (LST) mission projects are described as “Sharing Jesus, sharing ourselves!” In this phrase we have tried to capture our purpose and method.  We know people want to travel, they want to experience new things, they even want to grow themselves spiritually, but we believe that all of these other desires are subjugated to the one objective of sharing Jesus.

To encourage this spiritual dimension, we, in our planning of mission trips, plan prayer time every day and make it the first activity of every day so it doesn’t get lost in the busy and unexpected of the rest of the day.  We do, of course, plan in free time for the teams, but we ask them to use the time in a way so they are refreshed, not exhausted, when they return to their mission activities.

In addition, LST teams find God-centeredness in their primary method of sharing, which is reading the gospel’s own words and using their own experiences with God to illustrate the truth of the Word.  Our biblical basis for this approach is John 20:30,31: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples . . . . But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Wherever else your planning might be shortchanged, God-centeredness must not be neglected or your whole mission is in danger—not in danger of taking place, but in danger of being misplaced!

Next Standard:  Empowering Partnerships

Read Full Post »

Tips for Good Short-Term Missions: Take the Whole Family!

Posted in Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

Family is the core unit of Creation and the best metaphor for the church of God.  So why should it surprise anyone that families are just great on short-term mission trips.  When Sherrylee and I started LST, our children were 7, 5, and 3, and they went with us every summer. At that time, we got lots of people asking if it was a good use of money to take the children. Terrible question—as if it would be better use of God’s money for Dad or Mom to leave for weeks at a time.  Here’s what we learned about taking families on short-term mission trips!

  1. Your children can have no better Christian experience than first seeing Mom and Dad sharing their faith, then later, working beside them. If you care at all that your children find their own faith and don’t reject yours, then sharing short-term mission projects with them is the best opportunity.
  2. Children are a magnet in foreign countries. Wherever we would go, people gathered around our children, loved on them, wanted to talk to them. This brought us into contact with people in a very natural and friendly way that we would have otherwise never met.
  3. Whole families are a rarity in mission churches. Many women without their husbands find their way to our mission churches. Or you have a college student without parents.  The example of Dad and Mom with their kids all worshipping and serving God together is very special to those we serve.
  4. Multigenerational families are even more special! The only thing better than the whole family going together is the whole family with Grandpa and Grandma—who are probably in the prime of life—and faith.  LST has sent many three-generation family units, so we know the impact on those we serve.  Our daughter and her new husband went with her Grandparents to the Ukraine nine years ago—and they still tell stories about it.
  5. Taking whole families requires sacrifices on everyone’s part, but since when were sacrifices bad for anyone! Our middle child was a baseball player. Every year, we left the country after 2-3 weeks of summer baseball season, which was hard on him.  We always signed him up, bought the uniform, and paid the fees so he could play the 3 or 4 games that happened before we left, but we did not let it keep us home.  We did buy newspapers everyday so he could keep up with the baseball scores, and we made special arrangements with Americans overseas to record the mid-summer All-Star Game. Then when we came through, we made a big deal out of watching it together.  Was it a sacrifice? Yes! But he learned very early that in our family, God’s work came first. And today he is a man of God, which is all we could have prayed for.

I am convinced that if we learn as a family to serve God first, we will do church better. First the little family, then the big family.

Read Full Post »

Tips for Short-Term Missions: When Travel Stops You Cold!

Posted in Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , on May 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Recently I watched a documentary that described the travels of ordinary Americans in the 19th century.  Most people traveled by foot, though some could afford to ride a wagon or oxen cart. Then stagecoaches doubled the speed of travel, often arriving at 8-9 mph.  When trains and steamboats arrived on the scene in 1820-40, then speeds doubled again.

Even into the beginning of the 20th century, rural Americans traveled by horse and/or wagon. To travel the thirty miles between Dallas and Fort Worth would require a full day, with the return requiring another full day. My mother who has just turned 87 remembers traveling these kinds of distances in horse-drawn wagons, so we are not too far removed from those times.

Why does then a 14-hour plane ride to Thailand, even a 9-hour overnight flight to Europe or South America present such an obstacle for adults considering short-term missions?  I believe we have forgotten how to travel long distances.  Here are some suggestions for recovering this ability.

  1. Slow down before you start. With the ability to travel at greater speeds in our everyday lives, we have reduced the time allowed for both preparation and arrival. We allow 3 minutes to get to the meeting that starts at 10am—no warm-up, get right to work—then rush out to the next activity. BTW, this is why a one-hour church service is probably only about 35 effective minutes.
  2. Don’t take too much stuff. As in most areas of our lives, stuff tends to clutter and enslave us. Try traveling just with carry-on, yes, even for a month overseas. You will probably still have much more with you than the people you are traveling to serve. We have done this recently and the freedom and flexibility it brings in dealing with air travel makes a huge difference in our travel attitudes.
  3. Prepare several enjoyable things to do during your travel. Haveseveral because sometimes things go wrong. I was recently on a flight where my overhead light did not work; I had to do something besides read. Or what if the movie on the plane is one you have seen three times….what is your alternative activity?
  4. Understand what jetlag is and make your plan for dealing with it. There isn’t just one solution for jetlag. Much depends on what part of your night you are shifting or losing during your travel.  But you do need a plan because jetlag is real. Sometimes Sherrylee and I  arrive and go straight to bed. Sometimes we go straight to work and shift right to the local clock. I have had good results with melatonin, but other people don’t. Almost everybody thinks that light is very important—getting out into the sunshine helps reset your body clock.  No matter what you choose, make a plan and do it.
  5. Move around on the plane. Try to sit on an aisle or where you can easily get out. Unless you are asleep, you should get up and walk up and down the aisle every two or three hours—just like you would at any desk job.  Go to the bathroom when you need to. Don’t hold it!
  6. Don’t be surprised by travel delays or other travel issues. I once had a ticket from Turkey to Germany, arrived at the airport in plenty of time, only to find out that the airline that sold me the ticket had no flights out of that airport. We have gone from one plane to another on the tarmac in Moscow to find our flight, we have had dozens of flights capriciously cancelled. Here is my best advice to you about when things go wrong at the airport:  the airline representatives at the airport at the ticket counter or the gate have more power to take care of you than anyone else in the world! If you need help, ask them to fix your problem.  If they are resistant, my best approach is to very kindly say to them, “Well, then what am I supposed to do?—and just wait there until they give you an answer.  If they don’t help, then try a different agent.
  7. Fear of flying is often a control issue. If this is your problem, you might try seeing it as a spiritual problem and giving the control to God—who already had it anyway.
  8. Dress nicely when you fly and everyone treats you better and helps you more. I know flying in shorts or pajamas is pretty cool, but it doesn’t help you if anything goes wrong.
  9. Wash your face and brush your teeth about an hour before the end of your flight. Not only does it just make you feel better, but you will be better prepared to make a good first impression when you get off the plane.
  10. And after all of this, if you still have a rough flight, just remember why you are traveling! “Our present sufferings are but for a moment. . . . “ compared to the joy you will experience in bringing Good News to someone who is waiting for you to arrive.

Early Americans traveled days, weeks, even months sometimes for land, for gold, for business, or for freedom. We honor these people in our history for their courage and endurance. Their reasons for travel were usually personal; your reason is to make an eternal difference in someone’s life.

Read Full Post »

Tips for Short-Term Missions: Fund-Raising Secrets

Posted in Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , , on May 6, 2010| 2 Comments »

Most people hate to raise money for any reason. Some will do it for charities they believe in, but few want to do it when they appear to be the beneficiary as is the case with raising funds for a short-term mission trip.

This personal fear may be the chief reason why many Christians do not participate in short-term missions. Their churches do not fund it, nor do they themselves have the resources. They simply refuse to ask other people for contributions to their mission trip.  The result is not what anyone wants: mission calls go unanswered, and we do not share in the blessing of advancing the Kingdom of God.

First, I want to offer some different ways of thinking about fund-raising that may help you.

  1. The money you raise is not for you. The money you raise is to benefit those you will share your faith with. Very few of us would be embarrassed to go door to door in our neighborhoods to raise funds if our neighbor’s house burned down with all their possessions. We can do this because it is obvious that it is for others.  The same is true of short-term missions: if we are going to those in danger of dying without knowing Christ, it is just simply not about us!
  2. People are greatly blessed by giving to the cause of Christ. So is it really more blessed to give than to receive? If it is, then with fund-raising, we are giving people an opportunity to be blessed. Each year we have workers who report that someone got mad at them because they were NOT asked to contribute to the mission project.
  3. Fund-raising is often the first step of faith in a short-term mission project. For many, the first step is the hardest; as usual, the first step is extraordinarily affirming of God’s call once it has been taken.  In LST, we even encourage the workers who can easily pay their own way to raise funds just to increase their faith in God’s providence.

Quickly now, I want to list the obvious steps in successful fund-raising. Then we will get to the secrets!

  1. Ask and you will receive.
  2. The more people you ask, the quicker you will get your funds.
  3. Don’t stop until you have reached your goal.

Here are the real tips I have to offer, however, that many people don’t know.

  1. No one will give to you, if there is any doubt about your going. You cannot raise any funds if you even hint at the attitude of “if I raise the money, then I will go.”  No commitment, no funds.
  2. The more personal the request, the more likely you are to receive a positive response. Letters bring a 10% response and small amounts. Phone calls and personal conversations result in 60-80% response and larger amounts contributed.
  3. People that give to you once may be willing to give again. People give out of their available cash, so if they have cash in January, they will more available in March. If you still have a need, they may give again—so ask them.
  4. People give more if they feel the need is urgent. Use your fund-raising deadlines to help donors feel that urgency. Do not give up as you get close to your final deadline; rather, let your potential donors know how critical it is to get your funds before the deadline.
  5. Don’t assume you will get it all from what appears to be an obvious source. That includes your home church, your rich uncle, or anyone else.  Part of the faith experience is learning that God provides in ways that often surprise us.  The people we think have money give us $25 dollars and the poor widow gives us $500.

Fund raising will grow your faith in God. Don’t  be too proud to be improved. Lord, I believe that—but help my unbelief.

Read Full Post »

Tips for Short-Term Missions: Making the Decision

Posted in Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , , on May 4, 2010| 1 Comment »

Honestly, the first time I was asked to do a short-term mission trip, I agreed only because I could not figure out a good enough reason to say no. I was in college, so I even called my parents because I felt sure that they would want me to come home in the summer . . . but, in fact, their answer was, “You need to do what you think God wants you to do.”  I finally committed with my heart and not just my head—and I’ve never stopped. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

So here are a few tips about making the decision the first time, and I say the first time because I do believe that if you go once and do something meaningful, you will continue to find ways to go.

  1. Don’t expect all of your motives to be spiritual. I think many people do not hear the call of God because they love to travel, love to experience new things, love to meet new people. Who do you think gave you these desires? For what possible reason could He have done this? Instead of viewing these as personal or selfish desires, recognize their intended use and go!
  2. In two weeks or less, you can change the focus of your life! Especially if you are at one of those critical points in life, where you are trying to decide what you are really doing that is meaningful?  People who are now unemployed, who fear unemployment, who are nearing retirement, who are into retirement and finding it boring, who are disabled from physical work, who are unhappy in their profession with just punching a clock—a short-term mission project can give you brand new glasses to see your life with.
  3. You will never have more fun! Time spent doing the will of God—all day long—will beat fishing, skiing, cruising, touring, hunting—because it is everything you enjoy about these activities wrapped up into the same package, but framed with an eternal purpose.  When you show someone how to pray, or tell them who Jesus is for the first time, or hear them trusting you with the burdens of their heart because you care about them; when you see the light of understanding go on in their eyes, when you see your new friend baptized—and the huge smile on their face . . . it is so much more than a great round of golf.
  4. “Can you afford it” is really the wrong question. The fact is that a two-week mission trip will probably be much less expensive than a two-week vacation.  However, your investment in a short-term mission trip will come back to you for the rest of your life—and afterwards. Can you afford not to go?  (I’m going to write about raising funds shortly, so watch for those tips too.)
  5. Age doesn’t matter very much! Eighty-year-olds have gone with LST on missions. Eight-year-olds with their parents have also gone. In many cultures, age is revered.  Years ago, a man said to one of our older workers, “I’ve never met a Christian with gray hair.” His comment was the result of too many American Christians thinking that short-term missions were just a youth group or college student activity.  A friend of ours in her 70s just lost her husband this year, but she took her grief and her loneliness to eastern Europe to fulfill a mission call. Now  she exchanges the grief with the joy of pouring her life out for Christ and the loneliness with all the people God brings to her.  Her new life and joy is palpable.
  6. Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid! Fear is our enemy. God spoke these words to His people over and over again in scripture. Count them up if you don’t believe me—then do something to overcome your fears.
  7. Don’t procrastinate. Do it soon! Why should you wait? Does it sound like any of the excuses given for not coming to the Great Banquet? (business, relatives, obligations) Don’t surrender your seat at the table because of just couldn’t decide to do it.

I’m not particularly proud of the story of my first decision to go, but I did learn something that stuck with me. Whatever your reasons for not going are, if you will simply set them aside and go, your life will be changed because you are right in the middle of the will of God. I know that is true.

Read Full Post »

Tips for Good Short-Term Missions, Part Two: To Mom and Dad

Posted in Christian Missions, Short-Term Missions, tagged , , , , , , , on April 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

The biggest hindrance to Christian youth and college students participating in short-term missions is their parents. I really hate to say that but after thirty years of recruiting college students for summer mission projects, I know this to be true.

Here are a few thoughts for Moms and Dads to think about to help them be more comfortable with what their young people want to do for God.

1. If your goal for your child is that he/she holds on to—even grows in—the faith you have tried to share with them, you need to let them go when they feel called. A great study done by a psychology professor at Abilene Christian University may be all I need to cite:  His study of 25,000 young people in churches of Christ showed that a “summer mission experience” was the top factor correlating with those students who continued in their faith after high school.

2. Before you ask your child to be “sensible” and …….(you fill in the blank with summer school, job, visit Grandma, internship, etc), you should ask yourself what message you are sending about the place of the kingdom in his/her life. Young people tend to “walk by faith” a little more naturally than we adults who have learned what the worst case scenarios are and who try to cover ourselves with insurance against such.

3. Check to see if you are afraid for yourself or are you afraid for your child. Some parents have not traveled much, never been out of the country, never had a passport (even if you are governor of Alaska!). No wonder you are a bit anxious about releasing your student to go to China or Africa or ………  Millions of Americans go overseas every year—for much less important reasons that sharing their faith.   “Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid.” We have to teach our children Christian bravery.

4. You don’t want to teach your children fear of random violence! One year we had a grandmother who offered to pay her granddaughter to stay safely in Oklahoma.  While the daughter was safely in Germany, the Edmond post office massacre occurred near her “safe” home in Oklahoma.  Unless we want to be crippled by fear, we cannot be live our lives afraid of random violence.

5. The best response to your child is to say YES–and to go with them! There is no better activity for Mom and/or Dad than to share some special time serving with your young person in serving the Lord.  Yes, you can do that any weekend at home, but to really step out on faith together, going somewhere very different, meeting people that are very different, but doing the most important task in the world together—there is nothing like it!

Sherrylee and I sometimes wondered if we were ruining our children by taking them with us each summer to do Let’s Start Talking—from early children through their teen years.  I guess I better let them tell you what it has meant to them. . . . but I know that God used it for good, and they are all people of strong faith.  Isn’t that what you want for your children?

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts