Are Short Term Missions Trips Worth It?
Although December is known for Christmas/Advent, it’s also the time when many youth ministries are finalizing plans for their summer missions trip. This month-long series will help youth workers think intentionally about how they practice missions, service projects, develop volunteers, and raise up student leadership.
Are short-term missions trips worth it? Faithful youth ministries around the world see missions and service as valuable components of ministry. Some travel overseas on a regular basis, while others serve with local organizations. Still others prefer to organize their own missions experience for youth. Sometimes the question is not whether missions is worth it, but whether short-term missions trips are to begin with.
What is a Short Term Missions Trip?
Here’s what I understand a “short-term missions trip” is:
● Short term: between 1-2 weeks
● Missions: involves explicit proclamation of the gospel
● Trip: requires traveling to a different context, whether domestic or international
These trips may involve a group of adults, a youth ministry group of leaders and students, or a group with some combination of adults and students. These types of trips are not exclusive to youth ministry but have been a staple of youth ministry for decades, especially during the Summer. These trips are an attempt to obey the Great Commission, particularly the “Go” command in Matthew 28:19, and to instill in youth a commitment to global missions. Short-term missions trips are also a significant investment that often requires months of logistical planning and thousands of dollars.
The question for this article is whether that manpower and financial investment is worthwhile?
When Short-Term Missions Trips Are NOT Worth It
I do believe that the investment in short-term missions trips is valuable, under the right circumstances. There are a lot of ways to run a trip and countless organizations offering their services to that end. To help us navigate the choices before us, here are a few ways I think short term missions trips are not worth the effort:
1. When they are not missions trips
It’s necessary for us to distinguish between missions trips and service trips, especially as we seek to lead youth ministries with theological clarity. A missions trip prioritizes the explicit proclamation of the gospel. This does not mean construction, medical work, or other activities commonly found on these trips cannot happen. But it does mean that if we’re only doing those things and sharing the gospel with the people we’re serving is unlikely, it’s a service trip. Those experiences can be worthwhile as well, but not they should not be labeled missions trips.
2. When they are disconnected from ongoing ministry
Imagine this scenario: students go on a trip to a different location, experience God at work, and then come home and fail to apply anything to their everyday life. This is unfortunately common. When short-term missions trips are not in alignment with the ongoing priorities of the youth ministry then they are something we do just to do. This can cause more confusion and dissonance than clarity and compassion in students who implicitly learn that service is something done during special seasons, not as part of one’s normal life. This point also speaks to the danger of missions trips that are not connected to a ministry that will still be there after the group leaves. The goal of a short-term missions trip should not be to “bring God” to a new place, but rather to join in the work that God is already doing there through people who will remain. The Great Commission commands us to make disciples, teaching and baptizing them. That isn’t complete after ten days.
3. When they discourage partnership in favor of transaction
It is very easy for short-term missions trips to reinforce a consumerism mindset. Many missions organizations make an effort to alleviate the logistical burden on a church or youth worker, and it can be tempting to pick the organization that is cheapest or most convenient. If we are not purposeful about partnering with the ministries involved then the missions trip can become an exchange of money for experience, which teaches students a faulty theology of mission and what it means to participate in the work of God. Unfortunately, this often means the trip is simply a transaction between the parties rather than an expression of true partnership.
When Short-Term Missions Trips ARE Worth It
Even despite those potential pitfalls, I do firmly believe that short-term missions trips are worth it. But how we think about, present, and run them matters greatly. In the same way we might ask and answer “Are games worth it?” or “Is student leadership worth it?”, being purposeful and theologically informed makes the difference.
I believe short-term missions trips are worth the investment when:
1. They support ongoing ministries and encourage ongoing relationships
We understand God’s omnipresence to mean that he is personally active everywhere at the same time, not simply spread thin with “a little bit” of his presence in each spot. When short-term missions trips are a partnership with local, ongoing ministries they recognize and teach this truth. Instead of “bringing Jesus” to a lost place, the team is joining in the work God is already doing there, and is able to see tangible examples of how God is at work in a different context. There’s also great benefit in returning to serve with the same ministry on a regular basis, as relationships form and the partnership extends beyond a couple of weeks. This can be in support of missionaries your church might already support.
2. They are connected to regular ministry through training, debrief, and follow-up
The work a short-term missions team does is impossible without some level of training, but it is possible for the training to be focused solely on the technical aspects of the work and neglect the theological foundation that makes it a missions trip rather than a service trip. When a short-term trip is supported by thorough training, debriefing students throughout the trip, and follow-up afterward it can be connected well to the weekly ministry that occurs at youth group or in Bible studies. The trip is something we do as an extension of the regular ministry and strengthens the relationships and faith of the group when they’re back home.
3. They challenge students to take risks and encourage them in their giftings
In his book A Defense of Youth Ministry, Dr. Ron Belsterling presents a framework for understanding adolescent discipleship through attachment relationships. In short, how secure students feel in their attachments to their parents and to God impacts some of the things they might need from a youth ministry. One of the things students who are securely attached to both God and their parents need most is risk (think of those students who have solid Christian families). Short-term missions trips provide healthy risk in raising support, traveling somewhere new with a trustworthy group who likely does not include family members, and often doing something new and challenging that requires faith to complete. These trips can also help students identify possible giftings and use them, being encouraged to see a way that God may use them in their daily lives.
4. They provide students a window into the universal church
One important benefit of short-term missions trips is the illumination they provide to students who have only been in their own church context. While many students will experience this when they head to college, we can help them see their connection to the Church around the world while they’re still in our ministry. It’s easy for students (and ourselves) to think that the way we worship, preach, run a ministry, and practice our faith is the way it’s done everywhere. Short-term trips can open our eyes to the beautiful diversity of God’s people.
As you consider how short-term missions trips might fit into your ministry, I hope this has encouraged you to think more deeply and theologically about them. If you’re unsure where to start, the YPT Podcast (episode 52) featured a conversation about Intentional Youth Missions. LeaderTreks and Touch the World are two organizations who can also walk you through the process of leading a youth team. Your denominational leadership may also have good suggestions. The YPT Facebook group may also be a great place to ask for other suggestions and learn from youth workers who have led trips. The goal of youth ministry is to make adult disciples whose faith took root in their teenage years. Short-term missions trips can be a valuable tool towards that end.