I have been involved in U.S. short-term missions (STM) all my life and have experienced nearly every aspect of it. I grew up, and still live, in a host community. I’ve participated in and led STM experiences as a guest, and I’ve served with a sending organization.
The two statements I hear most often from guests are, “They were so happy with so little,” and, “I got way more than I gave.” The truth is, hosts often receive many of the greatest benefits and lasting impacts of short-term missions in North America.
Because of the selfless service of thousands of short-term missionaries each summer, people in economically challenged communities, especially local churches, benefit in four significant ways: encouragement, joy, hope and a deeper appreciation of the cross-centered Gospel. Those outcomes would not be possible in the ways I describe without the annual ministry of STM in our communities.
Encouragement
Teaching others — As hosts partner with guests, they spend a great deal of time teaching others about their culture, history, values and how they live out their faith every day. Hosts are given an opportunity to share their voice in ways they often haven’t before, and that encourages them to continue using it. I know of one community where a host spent so much time teaching visiting groups that he eventually started his own STM organization, bringing students into his community each year to serve alongside him, learn from him and live out the Gospel with his local church.
Being proud of their identity in Christ — There is satisfaction in belonging to a community where people come to build relationships, grow in their faith and leave with a deeper relationship with Christ than when they arrived.
Sharing the Gospel in their own Jerusalem — Each summer, as host communities see hundreds of members of the “great cloud of witnesses” enter their neighborhoods, they feel supported and encouraged to continue proclaiming the Good News long after the guests have gone home.
Joy
Watching guests grow — Hosts find joy in knowing they played a role in helping guests live out the Gospel instead of simply talking about it. They rejoice in seeing guests gain a better understanding of what it means to follow Christ so they can return home prepared to live differently.
Being Christ to guests — Hosts in the “Church That Stays” love expressing Christ’s love to guests from “The Church That Pays.” There is joy in helping visitors discover that the same Jesus they worship at home is alive and transforming lives in the host community as well.
Hope
Believing people can change — As more guests return to the same communities year after year, hosts have the opportunity to watch lives change. Some groups arrive better prepared because they’ve taken time to learn about the community before coming. Others have grown spiritually together before they ever step off the bus. Hosts see people who once focused only on doing return with hearts focused on learning, listening and building relationships.
Knowing hosts are part of the Body too — Hosts gain hope as guests begin to understand what Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. There is hope that they are beginning to see that “those parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable…” (v. 22). That hope grows as spiritually thirsty guests return to a well far from home, encounter Jesus there and leave satisfied.
A Deeper Appreciation of the Cross-Centered Gospel
Hosts sometimes see the harm, embarrassment and shame caused by a small number of self-righteous, prideful short-term missionaries as evidence against Christianity itself. When that happens, it’s easy to forget that God’s grace extends even to those who have represented Him poorly. That kind of thinking moves the Cross away from the center of the Gospel instead of keeping Christ’s atoning work at its heart.
Short-term mission trips build relationships that allow hosts to see guests as brothers and sisters washed clean by the same blood Christ shed for all believers. Those relationships remind hosts that guests belong in the same family Paul describes in Romans 3:22: “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”
So keep serving in the mission field of North America. We are receiving far more than many people realize.