"Imagine a team from France calls your church and says they want to
visit. They want to put on VBS (which you have done for years), but the
material is in French. They have heard about how the U.S. church has
struggled and want to help you fix it. They want to send 20 people, half
of them youth. Only two of them speak English. They need a place to
stay for free, with cheap food and warm showers if possible. During the
trip half of the group's energy will be spent on resolving tension
between team members. Two people will get sick. They'd like you to
arrange some sightseeing for them on their free day. Do you want them to
come?
"Most trips I know focus on those who are going, not on those
receiving the teams. We send youth so they can have an experience or so
God can really grip their heart. You may want your adults to gain a
larger heart for the nations. Even if research shows that short-term
trips do not affect the lives of participants in the long-term, we still
send teams." --Darren Carlson.
I don't quite know what to think about this article. The author, Darren Carlson, raises some interesting points for consideration, though they may be stated to the extreme. Sometimes, I think short term missions is a broken concept and could be done better, I am just not sure I understand what "better" looks like.
Read the rest here.
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