Category Archives: Missions

Short-term missions and local Christian leadership

short-term-hosts-001 I started this series by recounting some of the positive experiences that I and my family have had with short-term missions. I still have some potential problem areas to look at, so I want to make sure that I make it clear that I am not in any way anti-short-term trips.

Harland did me a favor in the comments on yesterday’s post by broaching the topic of the impact on local church leaders. Part of what he said was:

I also wonder about the impact on the local leadership. Even though we coordinate through them, in effect they are placed in the role of operatives under our demands. And they are implementers of our materials and budgets. Does this convert them– in the eyes of the locals– into surrogates to our resources? Some locals have shown a tendency to think so, even years later. Even when no further assistance was ever promised, our words are not as impactful as our presence and our aid during that one tip. And our local leaders have the unfortunate role of not being able to satisfy local requests. Or they have to deal with a drop-out rate that is very high when, after several months, those hidden request-agendas can not be satisfied. Our actions spoke louder than our words and we inadvertently created expectations that only surfaced much later.

There is always the danger that we will “set the bar” on things at a level that the local leadership can’t maintain. It may be in terms of aid given or services rendered; the concept of “rice Christians” is famous in missions studies, describing how some come to Christianity only to get the goods missionaries have to offer. With short-term trips, those goods are only available when the foreigners are there; when they leave, there’s little motivation to stay around.

At times we raise the bar as far as church resources. We come in and do a V.B.S. complete with visual aids, talented teachers, and candy or toys for the kids. Then the next week the teacher is teaching on an old flannelgraph that someone donated, and the kids are quick to note the difference. Or we preach with a projector, videos, and slick PowerPoint, leaving the people expecting the same once we’re gone.

Sometimes trips are tailored to the needs of the local church; sometimes they are tailored to the needs of the participants. We forget that Christians in many cultures find it hard to express disagreement with us when discussing plans, even if they know we aren’t making the best decisions. I’ve discussed before the tendency of wealthier Christians to provide the things they want to provide rather than the things that are actually needed.

I could continue, but let me share with you a little more from Harland’s comment. It expresses what I’m wanting to say.

Of course, I am not tuning in on the unfortunate negatives. How might we encourage and strengthen local leaders in their role? How might we extend our ministry and thus grow spiritually alongside others?

Those, my friends, are the questions that need to be answered.

The local impact of short-term missions

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short-term-impact As we consider short-term missions, we need to think about the impact such missions can have on the local community. (One landmark work on this subject is the book When Helping Hurts) While our intentions are good, much of our Band-Aid approach to helping creates more harm than good.
Two big things we need to beware of:

The dependency created by short-term mission efforts. Mission teams often come in and provide resources at a level that the locals can never duplicate. Because of this, the aid programs are totally dependent on the presence of outsiders. When the mission teams aren’t there, neither is the aid. (See “Short-term missions and dependency”)
The negative impact on the local labor force and local economy. In some cases, the construction work done by outsiders has directly impacted local construction workers; in effect, the visitors have done work for free that these people would have earned money for doing. In other situations, outside groups have brought in used clothing for the churches to distribute, leading to the closing of local clothing stores. (See “When Short Term Missions Hurt“)

The thousands of dollars spent on any given mission trip represent a fortune in most developing nations. Participants may spend more on a two-week trip than locals will earn in a year. Because of this, the things that are done have a disproportionately large impact on the host culture; that’s why we need to plan well and pray hard when considering short-term missions.

Some costs of short-term missions

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Short-term costs.001-001 Short-term missions have taken over the mission efforts of many U.S. churches. The amount of people, time, and resources given to these projects grows every year. Recent studies showed 1.5 million U.S. Christians participating in short-term missions each year, spending in excess of $2 billion annually. (You might look at an older article “The Cost of Short-term Missions“)

This is where our churches are increasingly giving the funds they set aside for missions. While the argument is often made that these trips increase missions awareness and missions giving over the longterm, studies have not borne out this claim. (See, for example, the study “The Impact of Short-Term Missions: A Case Study of House Construction in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch“)

In an ideal world, short-term missions would be a welcome add-on to existing mission efforts. In reality, they are often a replacement for such; funds given to short-term missions often result in a decrease in funding given to longterm works.

These facts should make us want to be as efficient as we can be when planning and executing short-term missions. They aren’t going away any time soon, nor should they. Our task needs to be one of good stewardship, making the most of the time, money, and other resources dedicated to these trips. (I’d recommend “Why Most Mission Trips Are A Waste Of Time” as a decent starting place)

Let’s not just say, “What can we do in Whoville?” Let’s consider how to most effectively use God’s resources to serve in Whoville and around the world.

Short-term missions

Barbies, missions, and satire

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Category Archives: Missions

Short-term missions and local Christian leadership

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The local impact of short-term missions

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Some costs of short-term missions

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Short-term missions

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Barbies, missions, and satire

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