{"id":31,"date":"2007-06-29T17:21:09","date_gmt":"2007-06-29T21:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.covchurch.org\/mission\/the-great-co-mission\/adding-value-to-your-mission-trip"},"modified":"2008-07-24T08:30:10","modified_gmt":"2008-07-24T13:30:10","slug":"adding-value-to-your-mission-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/serveglobally\/2007\/06\/29\/adding-value-to-your-mission-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Adding Value to Your Mission Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">By David Mark<br \/>\nRegional Coordinator for Latin America<br \/>\nCovenant World Mission<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>\u201cFor this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d 2 Peter 1: 5-9 (TNIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">If you are reading this, chances are that you have been on a mission trip. If you have been on a mission trip, the chances are you have gone on more than one and may well go again, perhaps to some other destination.<span> <\/span>The winter, 2007 <em>Leadership Journal<\/em>, published by the folks that put out <em>Christianity Today<\/em>, included some statistics about the amazing growth in the number of people involved in week to ten-day mission trips.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">In 1979, 22,000 Americans went on very short mission trips.<br \/>\nIn 1989, 120,000.<br \/>\nIn 2001, 350,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Some other 2005 statistics report the estimate of more than 2 million young people in the 13-17 year old age group going on mission trips that year.<span> <\/span>(Mark Galli, p.33)<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Clearly, this is a very big deal. It is now and will become increasingly a matter of debate among mission theorists and has many implications for on-site, long-term missionaries and for missionary sending agencies, denominational and otherwise. The overall impact that this practice (massive and now \u201cin overdrive\u201d) will have on churches and ministries around the world also remains to be seen. It is the subject of much debate with impassioned defenders and opponents lining up on either side. It is, however, simply real and cannot, nor should not, be ignored.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">I do not want to enter into all the details of the missiological debate in this article. What I would rather do is encourage you to \u201cadd value\u201d to your church\u2019s mission trip experience. Peter assumed that \u201cadded value\u201d was needed for spiritual development and I think something similar is needed to help the week-long mission trip find a meaningful place within the larger panorama of world mission. Deepening the mission trippers\u2019 understanding and skill can add value to their experience. So, to borrow from St. Peter, I would write,<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>\u201cMake every effort to add to your passion for world mission theological and Biblical depth; to theological and Biblical depth, add language ability; to language ability, add cultural sensitivity; to cultural sensitivity, add historical insight. To all of these, make love your aim. Protect the integrity of mission and defend the dignity of those whom you serve.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Add theological and Biblical depth:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><\/strong>It is truly wonderful that so many Americans are coming to faith and becoming part of the Church. It appears also to be true that a great many of the people who go on mission trips are very new believers with limited formation as followers of Jesus. Many people who plan and organize mission trips use them intentionally as a means for \u201cbonding\u201d new believers to the Christian community and introducing them to God\u2019s passionate love for the world. This is certainly a good thing to do.<span> <\/span>As on-site missionaries have accompanied mission trip folk, they have noticed that understandings of some of the following themes add value to the experience.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;\" type=\"disc\">\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>How is the Church (and how are      individual believers) called to relate to the world?<\/strong><span> <\/span>This is actually a rather complex theme      and a mission trip that takes place in an unfamiliar environment pushes      the envelope even further. Biblical teaching often comes to us in ways      that appear to be contradictory at the outset. So, the Bible says in one      place, \u201cCome out from among them and be separate\u2026\u201d while in another place      we are admonished to \u201clet your light shine among people so that they may      see your good works\u2026\u201d in another, to be \u201csalt and light\u201d in another, to be      \u201cin the world but not of the world\u201d and then, \u201clove not the world or the      things of the world\u201d.<span> <\/span>If this is      hard to live into in one\u2019s own culture, it\u2019s even harder to sort out in      someone else\u2019s cultural framework. Mission trippers may have little sense      of what behaviors may be permitted or condemned by their hosts \u2013 let alone      why the local church has taken this or that position about specific      behaviors or practices. They may not know what simply reflects local      culture and what may be a deeply held faith conviction about how to relate      to the world around us. So, mission trip folks need two things. First,      they do need to understand how they relate to the culture in which they      live, particularly in terms of conduct that symbolizes either acceptance      of a cultural way of being (like, say, saluting the flag) or rejection of      a common practice acceptable to certain local cultures (like, say,      recreational sex between consenting, unmarried adults). In the end, it is      very important that mission trip folk have \u201cinsider knowledge\u201d about the      values and behaviors of their hosts and their host\u2019s cultural environment.      A local leader may be able to help mission trippers gain understanding and      insight as could a long-term, on-site missionary.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What is the core human condition?<\/strong> Again we are faced with what looks somewhat contradictory. One set of      texts speaks of those who are \u201clost\u201d (\u201c\u2026like sheep without a shepherd\u2026\u201d)      and the prevailing attitude toward them is compassion. Key texts like John      3:16 may be cited as well as magisterial teaching like Jesus\u2019 story of the      Waiting Father, also known as the story of the \u201cProdigal Son\u201d. Other texts      seem to focus on rebelliousness or unrighteousness as the human condition.      The behaviors mentioned in these texts sometimes elicit anger and      \u201cprophetic denunciation\u201d. There is certainly plenty of anger in Jesus\u2019      reaction to recalcitrant religious leaders. It is important to help new      believers that go on mission trips \u2013 particularly those that try to do      some evangelism \u2013 to have this sorted out. There are at least a couple of      fruitful areas for potential mission trip folk to discuss to add value by      deeper understanding. One might be to concentrate on the ways in which      \u201cThe love of Christ constrains us\u2026\u201d That God\u2019s love for people is the      basis for our motivations to serve is well worth focused discussion and      prayerful reflection. As for denunciation or anger toward conduct      perceived as sinful, long-term missionaries would advise caution and an      acknowledgement of realistic limits. A one week or ten day mission trip      rarely provides enough context, shared history or relationships of tested      trust for the visitor to have earned the right to denounce anyone\u2019s      behavior or attitudes. While this should be seriously considered, it would      also be fruitful to remind each other that it is the task of the Holy      Spirit to convict people of sin. He can do that with a precision and      sensitivity that a temporary visitor will certainly lack.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>How does one resolve the tension      between humankind as \u201c\u2026the Image of God\u2026\u201d and \u201cFallen\u201d?<\/strong> People who do      not have this worked out yet have difficulty knowing how to think, feel      and act toward the \u201cobjects of their mission\u201d. Any pastor worth his or her      salt can help the group figure this issue out and discern what it means in      practice. So, yes, I do think that mission trip folk do need the guidance      and instruction of either a pastor or mature Christian leader before they      leave on their journey. It\u2019s not enough to just have, say, a good      construction plan put together or some memorized evangelistic formula. The      encounters between people in an international or even local ministry      setting demand greater thoughtfulness. It is the minimal price of genuine      love.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What do group members and their hosts      believe about sanctification? <\/strong>This can be a critical issue for mutual      understanding between the members of a mission team and the local folk who      receive them. Large numbers of mission groups form relationships with      struggling, storefront, independent Pentecostal congregations. They are      attracted to them by their zeal for evangelism and enthusiastic worship      and also by the perception on the part of the mission trippers that they      are needy and poor. Sometimes, there are hidden differences that can      affect what mission groups are expected to do. American Protestants      generally believe that sanctification is mostly a rational process related      to learning and personal discipline. Many Pentecostals often believe that      sanctification is not a process at all, but rather a crisis event or      series of events to be \u201cresolved at the altar\u201d. Some believe that it      always involves a \u201cpower encounter\u201d of some kind and should be marked by a      visible sign like tongues or \u201cfainting\u201d. So, some mission groups that want      to focus on teaching or Bible studies focused on personal growth or      maturation may be frustrated by the apparent lack of response from their      hosts.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>How do group members and their hosts      use the Bible?<\/strong> It is important to know at the outset how those who      receive the mission trippers use the Bible in practice. Is it used for      edification or mainly for inspiration? Is it interpreted allegorically      (the default mode in scores of non-western churches around the world) or      by literary exegesis? Which has greater authority in the local church \u2013      the Bible or the prophetic utterance of the leader? Particularly in      congregations where illiteracy is common, there may be little or no      reference to the Bible at all in preaching and teaching, but richly      present in worship music. To know and understand the practices of the      receiving congregation can enhance the effectiveness of the mission      trippers. It may also affect the decision making process about the      selection of mission partners in the first place.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What is the role of leadership in the      receiving church?<\/strong> Does the church operate on Biblical rules or \u201cfamily      rules\u201d, for example. In many congregations, the leader\u2019s authority is      almost absolute and there is no governing body of any kind among the      laity.<span> <\/span>Interaction with this leader      may be indirect, rather than the direct approach more common to U.S.      culture. To effectively serve a host congregation, mission trippers need      to know how decisions are made and by whom they are made.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What is the Biblical theology of      poverty?<\/strong> In the Bible, poverty is a strong and often discussed      category whose meaning and description bears little or no resemblance to      many American theories about it. Why are people poor? This question is      answered in the Bible in unexpected ways that often include references to      oppression and injustice. The American penchant for labeling or      categorizing almost everything can surprise and offend people who do not      think of themselves as poor \u2013 even though the mission trippers think that      they are! In the Biblical model, one is rich if one has one\u2019s own roof to      sleep under at night and daily food. From this Biblical point of view,      most mission trippers do not serve the poor. They serve folks who have      noticeably less luxuries than do Americans in general, but rarely have      direct contact with \u201clife-threatened poor people\u201d.<\/li>\n<li class=\"MsoNormal\"><strong>What really helps?<\/strong> What kinds of      \u201chelp\u201d erode human dignity? What kinds of \u201chelp\u201d lead to dependencies and      paternalism? What kinds of \u201chelp\u201d do people truly need? A good starting      place for discussion by a mission group could be, \u201cHow does God help us?      What does He do and what does He refrain from doing?\u201d This theme is quite      large and complex. A lot of good material has been written about it. I      recommend the <em>With the Poor<\/em> series published by World Vision      International as a good place to start.<span> <\/span>You can easily find their catalogue of published material on the      web at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldvisionresources.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.worldvisionresources.com<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Add language ability:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><\/strong>Someone on the mission trip needs to be fluent in the language of the hosts. It surprises me that some folks have gone every year for many years on mission trips to the same language group and have never even tried to learn the host language. The simple ability to communicate in the host language is an immense added value. A common expression used to describe native language is \u201cheart language\u201d. Mission seeks to address the deepest and most intimate realities of people\u2019s life. The more mission folks develop their ability to communicate in the \u201cheart language\u201d of their hosts, the more profound their spiritual impact.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Add cultural sensitivity: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><\/strong>One aspect of culture is that we all learn how to be polite by the example of parents and family, teachers, respected leaders and the society around us. We learn most of this during childhood and it becomes as natural to us as breathing. But the things that \u201ceverybody just knows\u201d are not the same from culture to culture. In most Mexican culture, for example, leave-taking seems like quite a production to U.S. folk. When Mexican people leave a meeting, party, gathering or church, they usually say good-bye to each person individually. To fail to say good-bye is understood as a sign that there is a problem between people. I once accidentally missed saying good-bye to a friend after a church service. Within an hour, he called me to ask if there was a problem between us that needed to be resolved.<span> <\/span>So, language ability is an added value, but cultural understanding and sensitivity is even greater.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Add historical insight:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><\/strong>The most effective mission trippers are voracious learners. They saturate themselves with information and knowledge about the history of those they will serve. It is a profound added value to become an \u201cexpert\u201d on the story of someone you want to love. It will certainly help folks avoid obvious errors and unintentional offense. One large U.S. youth outreach to Mexico City decided to use \u201cConquista (Conquest)\u201d as their \u201ctheme\u201d. They wore t-shirts with \u201cConquista\u201d printed on them over an artistic rendition of a person wearing a suit of armor and brandishing a sword. They wore the t-shirts to their outreach site. It was the Central Plaza (the Zocalo) of Mexico City. The very stones on which they stood had been taken from buildings destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores when they conquered the city \u2013 a story well known by every school child in Mexico. The story is taught as an object lesson against oppression and violence and as a means to establish historical identity. It is taught in the same way that U.S. children learn about the Boston Tea Party, George Washington or Abraham Lincoln.<span> <\/span>The leaders of the event minimized the negative impact when confronted about it.<span> <\/span>They certainly had no intention to offend, but offence was taken and outrage was expressed in Mexican newspapers and other media for many months afterward. The leaders of this mission trip never knew of this unintended consequence because 1) it was all in Spanish and 2) the trip was over in a week and they were soon long gone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Add love:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><\/strong>Look to Jesus. Love \u2013 the Jesus kind, not to be confused with sentimentality &#8211; is the greatest added value and covers a great many unintended transgressions along the way \u2013 cultural, historical, linguistic and otherwise. How best to love those we seek to serve should be the object of prayer, reflection on our Lord\u2019s teaching and example, and constant critical reflection.<span> <\/span>The love of Christ Jesus expressed through the mission trippers will protect the integrity of mission and defend the dignity of those whom they are called to serve in Jesus\u2019 Name and for his sake.<\/p>\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<p class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: left;\">(If you would like to read more on this theme, please see <em>On Someone Else\u2019s Terms; A U.S.\/Mexico Journey in Mission Partnership<\/em>, by David Mark. You can get a copy from the Covenant Bookstore online or the Department of World Mission of the Evangelical Covenant Church.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/serveglobally?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=31&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By David Mark Regional Coordinator for Latin America Covenant World Mission \u201cFor this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d 2 Peter 1: 5-9 (TNIV) If you are reading this, chances are that you have been on a mission trip. If you have been on a mission trip, the chances are you have gone on more than one and may well go again, perhaps to some other destination. The winter, 2007 Leadership Journal, published by the folks that put out Christianity Today, included some statistics about the amazing growth in the number of people involved in week to ten-day mission trips. In 1979, 22,000 Americans went on very short mission trips. In 1989, 120,000. In 2001, 350,000. Some other 2005 statistics report the estimate of more than 2 million young people in the 13-17 year old age group going on mission trips that year. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Adding Value to Your Mission Trip - Serve Globally Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/serveglobally\/2007\/06\/29\/adding-value-to-your-mission-trip\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adding Value to Your Mission Trip - Serve Globally Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By David Mark Regional Coordinator for Latin America Covenant World Mission \u201cFor this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d 2 Peter 1: 5-9 (TNIV) If you are reading this, chances are that you have been on a mission trip. If you have been on a mission trip, the chances are you have gone on more than one and may well go again, perhaps to some other destination. The winter, 2007 Leadership Journal, published by the folks that put out Christianity Today, included some statistics about the amazing growth in the number of people involved in week to ten-day mission trips. In 1979, 22,000 Americans went on very short mission trips. In 1989, 120,000. In 2001, 350,000. Some other 2005 statistics report the estimate of more than 2 million young people in the 13-17 year old age group going on mission trips that year. 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Serve Globally Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/serveglobally\/2007\/06\/29\/adding-value-to-your-mission-trip\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Adding Value to Your Mission Trip - Serve Globally Blog","og_description":"By David Mark Regional Coordinator for Latin America Covenant World Mission \u201cFor this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d 2 Peter 1: 5-9 (TNIV) If you are reading this, chances are that you have been on a mission trip. If you have been on a mission trip, the chances are you have gone on more than one and may well go again, perhaps to some other destination. The winter, 2007 Leadership Journal, published by the folks that put out Christianity Today, included some statistics about the amazing growth in the number of people involved in week to ten-day mission trips. In 1979, 22,000 Americans went on very short mission trips. In 1989, 120,000. In 2001, 350,000. Some other 2005 statistics report the estimate of more than 2 million young people in the 13-17 year old age group going on mission trips that year. 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