Summer is here, and with the warmer weather comes the opportunity for many American Christians to go overseas on short-term mission trips. I suspect large numbers of believers will travel out of the country because COVID kept us so isolated during the past two years.
One of the greatest joys in my life is ministering overseas. Since I surrendered to a call to missions, I’ve visited 36 nations and developed relationships with dozens of pastors and leaders who now consider me their friend and brother. Missions is at the heart of our Christian faith, and I believe every church should be actively engaged in both foreign and local missions so we can advance the gospel in our generation.
But just like everything else in life, there’s a right way and a wrong way to engage in mission work. I’ve learned from my own mistakes, and I’ve also seen some sad examples of short-term missions gone awry. If you are considering a short-term or long-term mission trip, avoid these pitfalls:
— Don’t act like a spoiled American. If you’re traveling to a developing country, prepare for delays, cold showers, big bugs, scorpions, power outages, unusual toilets, crazy traffic and strange food. Make a decision before you leave that you won’t let one complaint come out of your mouth. Be flexible and gracious. Focus on the positive, soak in the beauty of the country and come home with a renewed gratitude for your blessings at home.
—Don’t talk down to people. You are not going overseas to teach poor, ignorant foreigners what you know. If that’s your attitude, do everyone a favor and stay home! You are going to serve. Most of what I know about ministry I learned from humble people I met in other countries. Whether you are teaching, preaching, building orphanages or feeding the poor, get under the people and wash their feet. And expect to learn powerful lessons from the people you are visiting.
— Never build relationships based on money. People in poor countries tend to think all Americans are rich, and they will be tempted to look to us instead of God to provide. Don’t wave money around, don’t flaunt expensive watches or jewelry, and don’t hand out cash to everyone you meet. Let your new friends know you want a real friendship with them that doesn’t hinge on finances.
— Don’t make demands. I know of a prosperity preacher who told his host he needed a hotel room that cost $1,000 a night—in a nation where most people live in cramped, Soviet-style apartments. The apostle Paul modeled a different approach, and he was willing to live among people at their level (see 1 Thess. 2:9-10). If Jesus was willing to enter this world in a filthy manger, you should be willing to set aside your expensive tastes.
— Never break promises. When you connect deeply with a local pastor or congregation overseas, you will fall in love with them and you will want to do everything possible to help them. But don’t promise things you can’t deliver. Always remind them, and yourself, that we must pray for His provision and wait on Him to answer. And if you do enter a partnership, always honor the promises you make.
— Never take team members who are not committed to Jesus. I know of a young woman who went on a mission trip to Africa with her church and ended up sleeping with a guy from that country. How does that happen? Anyone who goes with you on a trip needs a background check and a pastor’s recommendation. Mission trips are not opportunities for immature or backslidden Christians looking for adventure. The behavior of your team members should honor Christ.
— Never work with people overseas without investigating them. I get requests almost weekly from foreign pastors who want me to visit their church, support their programs or do evangelistic crusades in their villages. In Pakistan, some unscrupulous Christians troll the internet looking for churches that will send them money. Some people posing as pastors talk naïve Americans into wiring funds for a trip—and then they vanish. If you want to do mission work, you need the gift of discernment. Don’t get bamboozled by a con artist posing as “beloved brother Najib.”
— Don’t use a “hit and run” approach to missions. When I visit a country, I almost always end up going back because I build lasting relationships. Next month I’m making my tenth trip to El Rosario, Guatemala, where I just finished building a shelter for abused women. Mission work should be a long-term partnership. If your church is planning to start a mission program, don’t just scatter your seed here and there. Prayerfully invest in a few places and let the Holy Spirit connect you with people for a lifetime.
— Never misrepresent your work. We laugh about the preacher who was “evangelistically speaking” about the crowds he attracted in Zambia. But exaggeration is lying. There is nothing more obnoxious than a Christian who inflates statistics to draw attention or raise funds. If you build your ministry on half-truths you will have cracks in your foundation. Be honest, be accountable and tell the truth.
— Don’t focus on numbers. There is huge pressure in missionary work to prove our effectiveness by counting heads. But God’s kingdom is not about crowds—it’s about making disciples (see Matt. 28:19-20). Some of my most powerful moments on the mission field were in small meetings where God changed a few lives forever—and then those people changed more lives. I’m not impressed when someone says 5,000 people prayed to receive Jesus. I want to know if those converts were followed up on and plugged into churches for discipleship.
I hope you will become more passionate about taking the message of Christ to the world. But as you pack your bags, leave your unneeded baggage at home and go with a humble, teachable heart. {eoa}
J. Lee Grady is an author, award-winning journalist and ordained minister. He served as a news writer and magazine editor for many years before launching into full-time ministry. Lee is the author of six books, including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe and Fearless Daughters of the Bible. His years at Charisma magazine also gave him a unique perspective of the Spirit-filled church and led him to write The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale and Set My Heart on Fire, which is a Bible study on the work of the Holy Spirit.
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