Link your short term with your local church
By
Paul Borthwick
Paul Borthwick ministered in missions at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massa-chusetts. He sent over 400 youth and adults out on 60 short-term teams since 1978. He has also written eight books, including A Mind For Missions, Youth and Missions, and How to Be a World-Class Christian.
Diane's short-term missions experience left her feeling a little flat. It had all seemed great at the outset - a good mission agency, excellent financial support from her family and a few friends, and a fair amount of enthusiasm from her college peers. But when she arrived on the field, she sensed just how alone she was. Her family wrote regularly, but others seemed to forget about her, or so she felt. When she returned home, no one seemed interested in the intense experiences she'd had in a new culture. Her aloneness made her think, I don't know if I'll ever go into missions again.
Bob and Louise had a very different experience. Rather than going with an independent program, they decided to go through their church-affiliated short-term program. Their feelings of frustration came at the start of the summer: Why do we have to do all of this paperwork? Why do we have to meet with the missions committee? When we're so ready to go, why does it seem that our church is dragging its feet?
They spent time developing relationships with people in their church. After a special send-off service, Bob and Louise were taken to the airport by a dozen friends from the church.
During the summer, letters came regularly. They never felt the same sort of aloneness Diane felt because there were constant reminders that they weren't alone; their church was behind them. They returned two months later to an airport reception crowded with church members toting "Welcome Home" signs. Several expressed anticipation about hearing their reports. At the close of their experience, Bob and Louise thought, Wow! Let's do this again.
Although Diane and Bob and Louise are extreme (though true) cases, the basic reason for their contrasting summers was their relationship with a sending church.
Why Should I Work With My Church?
Let's be realistic; sometimes the local church doesn't seem too desirable. In some ways, it's easier just to go than to stay around and try to build relationships with people who may not seem supportive of missions.
There are at least three good reasons to spend the time needed to build bridges to the local church.
First, it's biblical. Jesus promises that the Church will prevail against the gates of hell (Matt. 16:18 ). The book of Acts shows the Church in action to fulfill the Great Commission through establishing churches. Missionaries are sent to establish churches, not to make solitary converts. If we ignore the local church in our own culture, what will we have to offer the local church in another?
Second, it's practical. Whether or not we want to admit it, our local church has plenty to offer in the sending process. Financial and prayer support are the most basic means of involvement, but people we know are crucial, too. They can best advise us on what we need to learn for a short-term assignment.
Finally, a short-term missionary can be a tremendous missions catalyst to the sending church. Most of us would admit that the local church (in general) is not fulfilling a strategic missions function. The solution, however, is not to circumvent the church in order to get to the field; the solution is to get involved enough so that we can build our missions vision into others.
Ways to Work With Your Church
Churches are different and churches change. Know your church. Many short-termers miss out on great opportunities to base their effort in their home church simply because they don't explore all the opportunities. Here are three ways to work with your church:
Local church-based programs. Some churches now develop their own programs for short-term missions. Instead of going through an independent group, consider the church program. In so doing, you establish a partnership with your sending body.
Denominational programs. You may be surprised to discover some of the programs directed by your denomination. In most cases, your local church will relax and more eagerly support you as you link with these kinds of short terms. There are a few situations in which denominational programs are known to be weak. Your local church leaders are key in helping to introduce you to your denomination.
Official church backing. The best option for you may be a stint with an independent agency, but with solid church backing through a missions committee or similar structure which can officially send you. Some short-termers are also launching out as tentmakers with no connection with an independent agency. It's all the more crucial that short-term tentmakers seek substantial support and encouragement, even though they may not need finances. There are usually ways to gain the counsel and backing of leaders in your church.
How To Involve Your Church
Bridge-builder One: Communicate. Involve people in your church from the outset. Get them praying as the site and agency are selected. Ask for advice (and listen to it). If we're communicating with our church and pastor months before we go out, everyone will have a greater sense of being involved in our sending (and, correspondingly, in our financial and prayer support).
Bridge-builder Two: Learn the church's channels. One recent source observed that 48 percent of career missionaries sent in the last five years had short-term experience prior to their career commitment. Interpretation? Short-term experience may be one step toward full-term mission service.
With this in mind, it's critically important to learn how the sending church works, not just for short-term, but for long-term relationships. Becoming familiar with the faithful prayer partners, discovering the ways to apply for financial support, and getting to know the church leadership are all part of the bridge-building process. Knowing how the church operates can save frustration in future communications.
Bridge-builder Three: Submit. After reading Acts 13:1-3 and Michael Griffith's book, Who Really Sends the Missionary? (Moody Press, 1974), I became convinced that I should work through our elders and submit a decision to them regarding a short-term assignment in Hong Kong . When I asked for their blessing, I assumed that they would give it. To my surprise, they unanimously decided I shouldn't go. (They knew I needed to finish school first.) I was crushed, angry, and amazed, and for the first time, I had to learn what it was to live under authority.
Perhaps submission is the hardest of the bridge-builders, but whether it's easy or hard isn't the issue. The issue is whether we want to be sent out under the authority that God has ordained, even when that authority disagrees with what we think. There are, regretfully, those rare times when church leaders aren't faithful to scriptural priorities. Would-be missionaries have sometimes been restrained by church leaders who hold convictions unfavorable to biblical mission. If this is your situation, seek out several senior advisers and follow their counsel.
Bridge-builder Four: Recruit people to pray. You can't sit back in the hope that people will come to you; you need to go after them. Ask the pastor to include you in the pastoral prayer. Get interviewed. Recruit people to pray.
Bridge-builder Five: Involve people financially. One of the attractions of a short-term experience is the low cost. You might be able to pay for it from your savings, or perhaps relatives will foot the bill. This may be the fastest way to get support, but it isn't the best way. Prayer support, letters, and a sense of teamwork all benefit when many people are involved financially. Why not involve many people with small gifts?
Bridge-builder Six: Ask the church for a commissioning . The prayer witness of the Holy Spirit in Acts 13 helped give Paul and Barnabas the spiritual energy they needed to go out as missionaries. You need the same. In an all-congregation church service, you should get commissioned for your short-term assignment by the church leadership. Prayer - and in some cases the laying on of hands - will provide a strong sense of spiritual identification between you and your sending church.
Bridge-builder Seven: Report back. I remember a short-termer who didn't stay in touch with me during his first two years of college - until he needed money to serve for a summer in India as a short-term missionary. The church where I'm a pastor supported him, wrote to him while he was there, and prayed for him. Now he's back at school, but I still haven't heard from him. Such lack of response discourages our church from sponsoring short-term involvement.
Don't wait until you get back to stay in touch. It may take careful planning, but correspondence and communication with your church will bond you with your senders. People want to know how their prayers are being answered, and it's your responsibility to tell them. They need specifics for their intercession, and you can relay these needs by letter, postcard, telegram, or phone call.
You have a great privilege and responsibility to build bridges into your church which will help you better understand God's strategy for missions and help your church fulfill its God-given purpose as a world-changing sender.