How Important is a Short-Term Team? Part 2

Over the course of the past fourteen months I have been on a journey toward a healthier lifestyle.  this journey has taught me many lessons.  As I ponder the future of the short-term mission team in our current Christian culture, I see many things the Father has been teaching me this past year.  As in the last post, I believe the short-term mission team is critical to the future of evangelism and discipleship among the nations.

In Mark 6 and Matthew 10 we read of Jesus sending out the twelve.  These twelve men represent a short-term experience that we all can learn from.  The primary objective of the twelve being sent out was the communication of the Gospel message concerning repentance.  It is clear that the message they were to share was about repenting of sin and the Kingdom of God being present to be dealt with by each person they met.

So many times the short-term mission team is built around a good work.  There are so many things that need to be done around the world to care for the needy.  Many of us have been a part of a team leading a VBS or a children's ministry program.  Some of us have been a part of a construction project to improve the living conditions of families in need.  Some have been with medical mission teams and orphan care teams.  Some have led Bible studies and some have taught life skills.  All of the teams I have been a part of have done good work.  All of the work was needed and helped improve life in some way for the people we were ministering to.  Most of the work being done is extremely important and needs to be done my the Body as we serve around the world.

However, as I have read more of His Word and listened more to His heart I have come to realize the value of a short-term mission team with only one primary focus...GOSPEL!  All of the things we do on the field are good.  All of the needs on the field need to be met.  All of the desires we have to help and improve the lives of those we are serving are good.  Yet, the vital element to our passion must be the Gospel message that has been shared since these first twelve men were sent out by Jesus!  We must lead short-term mission teams to make sharing the Gospel the most important element of every short-term missional experience.

One of the greatest barriers to the Gospel presentation being primary in every effort has come from the absence of one critical question in our partnerships on the field.  "How can we help you reach your community?"  This question must become a primary element to our develop of mutually beneficial partnerships.  Our heart's desire must be to join our brothers and sisters on the mission field in reaching their community with the hope of the Gospel.

For far too many years we, as the US church, have been the benevolent giver of all good things to the poor struggling third world church family.  As a result we have assisted in the development of a dependent relationship that is based on our resources and generosity with our money.  This has allowed a response from the field to always be a "yes" response to anything we ask of the mission partner in order to keep receiving the support, money and resources.  Often times this "yes" comes with a price after the team leaves!

The long-term ramifications of this have become detrimental to the mission field.  The dependent relationship is limiting, restrictive and eventually leads to no passion and no progress.  Without a clear commitment to the Gospel remaining primary in every aspect of the missional partnership, the relationship becomes a business agreement.  Eventually the bottom line will not allow the relationship to continue.  Only the Holy Spirit powered, Gospel driven partnership will remain through the persecution and trials that will come.

So, as we focus on the short-term mission team and its vital role in the reaching of the world, let us not lose sight of the primary commitment and motivation for going to the nations!  The whole truth of the Gospel is the primary focus of a short-term team.  As the mission team shares the Gospel, along side the local church, the opportunity to show the Gospel will present itself to the local church and they will seek assistance in meeting the needs of their community in order to share the Gospel more openly and with more passion.  This is where the partnership finds depth, strength and longevity.

As in the Gospel accounts of the twelve being sent out, today our short-term mission teams must be sent out with a clear, concise and compelling message of the Gospel that will transform lives and grow the Kingdom.  When we see the Gospel settle on the hearts of men and women of peace, the church takes root in a community through a single household.  It is at this point that we see the excitement of the church growing and the Gospel advancing.  This is the point that the short-term mission team can be most effective in assisting the planting of the Gospel where the church does not exist.  Seeing God at work around the globe is motivating us to go and join Him at reaching the world and teaching the Word!

In His Grip,
JT