Is Short-Term Missions Worth the Investment?

By Atalie Bale, Global Encounters staff -- Public RelationsI’ve been working with Global Encounters for almost two years now. You would think that’s proof that I’m fully sold on short-term missions, but as recently as this March, I wasn’t. I was struggling with the concept of short-term, wondering if we were fooling ourselves into thinking we were doing good when really we just like going to far flung places and having others pay for it. How much good could we really do in a span of a few weeks anyway?That’s the question I was grappling with when I was asked to consider going to South Asia with GE this year. My first reaction was no, I shouldn’t go. I didn’t have the money and I wasn’t ready to ask the same people who had helped me get to Ecuador in 2013 to pay for another trip when I wasn’t entirely convinced of the worth myself. But something started changing inside. It was like God planted a desire to go and put the question on hold, telling me I wouldn’t know the answer unless I went. So I did, and I will never see short-term missions in the same light again.So let’s take my hesitations one at a time and see how God turned the tables:1. How much good can we accomplish in a span of a few weeks?God took this question and made me approach it from His perspective. What was I even doing asking how much good we could accomplish? It’s all about what God can accomplish, what He already has accomplished, and what He will accomplish. WE cannot accomplish much in a span of several weeks, but when we are part of HIS plan for a country, then our time there is a step in an unfolding whole, not a whole in itself. And when we go back to the same places time and time again, we can be part of that unfolding story at several points, building our ability to be used by God each time we go.In South Asia, I saw God allowing us to partner with something He has been doing there already. We were able to help Christians who are running a boarding school for tribal children that teaches English and the Gospel. We toured a farm owned by a family who uses the land to teach locals better farming techniques while sharing Good News. We put on camps for kids who came from Buddhist areas that are starting to be reached for Christ. And everywhere we went, I saw the church being encouraged. That encouragement is absolutely something God worked through during our time there and will continue to use even now that we have gone home.2. Is it right to ask others to pay for you to go have fun in missions?For some reason I came under the impression that service couldn’t be too fun. If I was having fun, it must mean I wasn’t serving hard enough.[SCREECHING HALT]Ok, where in the world did that come from? What was it that Isaiah said would happen when we serve others? Something like: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear…” (Is. 58:8a ESV)Here’s the deal: serving is inherently joy-filled. That doesn’t mean it will always be easy, but don’t be surprised when God starts showering you with blessings because you are exactly where he wants you.Now, does having fun on a mission trip mean it’s wrong to have others donate toward it? If you read Paul, he says if you are spending time for the increase of the gospel, it’s not wrong to receive support from fellow Christians. He does, however, state that he takes on the tab of doing missions whenever possible to increase his treasure in heaven. I think raising support vs. paying yourself is something you should pray about and come to a decision between you and God, but I don’t think you should feel guilty about going on a trip that others have donated towards and having fun serving!I run my own business, so I am used to thinking analytically. I evaluate everything, including opportunity cost and return on investment. Without even thinking about it, I approached evaluation of mission trips in the same fashion. Did what we put in (time, money, and talent) pay back what it was worth in souls saved? In lives touched? Evaluation has a place, but God struck me with the fact that evaluating missions with numbers at the forefront is like doing things for God instead of with him.When we work WITH God instead of FOR Him, several things happen. First, we don’t depend on the results as much because the results are God’s business. All that matters is that we do what he has called us to do. Second, working with God causes what we do to expand beyond what we thought possible because it’s no longer limited by our human capacities. Third, when we look back on what was accomplished, we view it with humility instead of pride, because we realize it was God’s work before we came and his work through us during the trip that made any effort of our own successful.It’s always good to evaluate your motives before going on a mission trip, but don’t let over-evaluation keep you from going. If you feel God wants you to go, he will make it worth it!Atalie Bale works for Global Encounters in public relations. Since going to South Asia, she has new passion for partnering in God’s work around the world, even if most days that simply means answering her emails (learning to be faithful in the small things!) She also likes ice cream, hiking, photography, writing, helping with youth group at her church, and watching fireflies.