I have a chance to participate with other churches and denominations in short-term international missions, but some of my church friends say such involvement is anti-Baptist and even anti-gospel. I’m going anyway, but I would appreciate a sound biblical basis for my actions.
William O. Carver, professor of missions at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1896 to 1943, wrote in Missions in the Plan of the Ages: “No one can understand the Bible without reading it in the missionary spirit. No one can know and believe the Bible and receive the Holy Spirit without becoming missionary.” One of the greatest problems the Western church faces today is many Christians do not understand that whatever their vocation, Christ has commissioned them to be a missionary.
From Genesis to Revelation, we find a God who calls his people to be a kingdom of priests to the world (Exodus 19:5-6, 1 Peter 2:9). Jesus makes it clear in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and Acts 1:8 and 13:47 that being witnesses for him and making disciples is not an optional activity for his faithful followers. Nor can the personal mandate of being his witness be fulfilled by paying others to do our mission work—any more than we can pay others to pray for us or live exemplary lives in our place.
This is not to denigrate the importance of participating in sending vocational missionaries; it is merely to say that supporting vocational missionaries should be in addition to our personal witness, not instead of our personal witness.
Short-term mission trips have enabled many Christians to share their faith, finances and talents. It gives Christians a broader perspective on the world and its needs. Some have even found through short-term service that mission is their life-long calling. Many have had their faith strengthened by Christians in the developing world who may be poor materially, but are rich in Spirit. Many Christians in persecuted or struggling churches find short-term mission partnerships help us bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2).
Yes, some have used short-term missions as just another form of tourism. Yes, there are many examples of poorly executed mission trips in which there was little real partnership or effective ministry. And, yes, international trips are expensive. But 2008 Barna Group research revealed that 75 percent of those who participated in a short-term mission trip said the experience changed their lives in some way. What other program of the church produces that high a percentage of perceived life-change?
The biblical question to answer when considering any missions involvement is found in Isaiah 6:8, where God asks, “Who should I send, and who will go for us?” My prayer is that more Christians will respond as Isaiah did: “Here am I. Send me.”
Alan Stanford, pastor
Leesburg Community Church, Leesburg, Va.
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