Why Short-Term Missions Matter

Why travel so far when you can serve in your home-town?

Why pay that much money to go?

Why give up your summer?

Are you actually making a difference?

Short-term missions matter-- let me tell you why!

One moment. I believe in a “suddenly,” “instantly,” “one moment can change everything” kind of God. Sure, sometimes He’s a crock pot God. Sometimes his timing looks different than my own, but if I believe he can heal, then it’s worth it to pray for healing. If I believe he raises the dead to life, then it’s worth it to start calling up the dead. If I believe that He sets people free from addiction, abuse, and the power of sin, then preaching the gospel is worth it. If I believe that his love can change people, then I will freely give it.

If I believe that God can do more in one moment than any person could in a lifetime, then it's not the duration of time spent in a place that matters, but rather the call of God.

The truth is, my mission is the same wherever I am-- freedom, healing, & to build God’s kingdom. Yes, there are needs right in my home city that I can be meeting, and I hope that in all my time here, I will take up every opportunity to serve. However, there is a world in need. There are people that aren’t being reached. There are people groups that have been forgotten. There are countries that have yet to receive the power of the Holy Spirit that I get to walk in. It would be selfish for me to keep the power of gospel to myself, when I know the kind of freedom and deliverance it brings.

This is why I feel called to go to the places where people have nothing & to the places where people feel like they have everything— because at the end of the day, they both don’t have Jesus. The reality is, if I see one person get saved, then it was worth my time and resources to fundraise and invest my personal finances to travel across the world. Once I began to understand the magnitude of the gospel and the ripple effect that one person can have, I stopped questioning if God was at work in the mission-field. If He leaves the ninety-nine for the one, then I will too.

Yes, I believe that there may be a greater impact to live in a community, be immersed in its culture and build lasting relationships. However, right now as a college student, that is not in my means. But just because I am currently unable to move to a country full time, does not mean I will stop going. If I stop going, who will go? If I do not travel to the places no one is willing to go to embrace children and tell them about a God who loves them, how will they ever know they are loved?

Here is where the danger of missions can come in. Let’s not pretend we’re the heroes. Let’s not act like we’re solving the problems. Let’s not assume that God cannot do something apart from us. Rather, let us be willing to go to the places where the Lord has prepared the harvest & partner with what He is already doing. It is not about to trying to force salvation, it’s about recognizing where God is moving & then moving with Him. We must be careful not to push our agendas, because the moment we move apart from the presence and power of God, we have lost all impact.

We are not heroes, we are workers of God's harvest field.

Finally, I would say one of the greatest impacts of short-term missions, is the launch of long-term missionaries. For me, it started with a week. One week changed everything for me. That was the week when blurry dreams of my future began to come to color and give me fresh vision. Next it was 10 days, then five weeks, & who knows what's to come? I for sure don’t, but I do know that my heart is ready and willing to serve for the long haul, because of the people who invested in me to spend a week serving in schools of El Salvador.

Let’s love on God’s people— all of them. Let’s find times to serve & be a blessing to our community regularly. Let’s make evangelism a daily habit. Let’s pray for opportunities like we are always on a mission, because we are. Let's go. For five days, weeks, years or however long God calls us to go, but He’s called us. Will we say yes? Will we partner with our sisters and brothers across nations? God is moving, and He's looking for people to move with Him.