indianaag, a friend of mine just returned from Peru on a mission trip. I will ask him about it.

Not sure if your church is part of an organized denomination, but if your church hasn't particpated in organized missions before my suggestion is work through an umbrella organization that brings several churches together so they can pool their efforts. Also start out small and local (think Mexico or Central America). I can tell you from personal expierence that the good people of Juarez are in desperate need of help and hope.

I am currently raising support to go on staff with an agency that leads short term trips for high school students. I don't know if you are looking for opportunities for your HS students, but here is our website.

www.NEXTworldwide.org

(edit: supposed to be winky face not thumbs down)

And if that doesnt interest you, you can just support me

[This message has been edited by Homsar (edited 2/20/2007 1:55p).]

I am about to move to the Sudan for a long term mission trip with my church and another NGO. I would STRONGLY suggest finding an organization that does this and work through them. It has really amazed me how much stuff is involved with sending just me and another fellow over there, and I am glad that I am working with an organization that has done this before, knows what they are doing and knows that a strong investment in the missionaries needs to be made before they actually move there.

If you want to ask questions about me, my church, my NGO, etc, please feel free to email me at thomasgcampbell at yahoo dot com.

I question whether the "short-term mission trips" (less the 90 days) are the best use of kingdom resources. I'm ***not *** saying I'm universally opposed. I just have questions.

I've read research by some experts and I've done the math myself and personally if someone asks me to donate to one I'm currently saying that my comfort level rises with the amount of aid you are taking with you and the length of the assignment.

So if I am being asked to donate and most of the money is going to travel and/or the trip is less than a year I'll probably pass. The teenager's "missionary junkets" to the Caribbean just don't work for me.

[This message has been edited by 12th Non-Reg (edited 2/20/2007 3:26p).]

12th,

I used to have the same reservations until I heard some of the testimonies of these students that go. Many of them are planning on going into full time ministry. In fact, my love for missions was sparked on a ST trip to Costa Rica. We are taking a group to Venezuela next month, where we will be planting 10 churches.

Would these be considered marketing or recruiting trips?

One of the most appalling things I heard was from an older gentlemen "missionary american" in Peru. I was talking to him on the bank of the river in Iquitos (it was great to get to talk to an American for a change) and he motioned toward a group of locals that were heading out in small fishing boats and said something to the effect of "just look at those heatherns, Isn't horrible that they have to live this way? They don't even know how ignorant they are of the ways of the Lord..." and he went on to continue to belittle their culture and come across as being an arrogant ass.

I did not respond because it would not have been a productive thing to do, but boy was I amazed of how intolerant and "ignorant" a fellow american can be other cultures. I was thoroughly disgusted.

quote:

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Would these be considered marketing or recruiting trips?

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Both.

quote:

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One of the most appalling things I heard was from an older gentlemen "missionary american" in Peru. I was talking to him on the bank of the river in Iquitos (it was great to get to talk to an American for a change) and he motioned toward a group of locals that were heading out in small fishing boats and said something to the effect of "just look at those heatherns, Isn't horrible that they have to live this way? They don't even know how ignorant they are of the ways of the Lord..." and he went on to continue to belittle their culture and come across as being an arrogant ass.

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He does sound like an ass if he was belittling their culture in the way you say he was.

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...and he went on to continue to belittle their culture and come across as being an arrogant ass.

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Agreed with Homsar.

Atheists don't have an exclusive on being arrogant asses.

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I question whether the "short-term mission trips" (less the 90 days) are the best use of kingdom resources. I'm ***not *** saying I'm universally opposed. I just have questions.

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I understand your reservations. However, I know that my particular organization utilizes our proximity to Central/South America to run most of our missions using a limited number of LT missionaries with a large number of ST. Since the airfare, etc is fairly cheap and there are more people that can participate in a couple weeks to a couple months trip, it seems the best use of resources to do this. However, in a trip like mine to the Sudan, a short term trip would probably have a low ROI.

It takes about 3 days of fulltime travel just to get to where I am going in the Sudan. Flying to Africa also isn't that cheap.

I went on a 2 month trip to Thailand in 2001. I dont think that I would have really understood the commitment that I am making on living in the Sudan, had I not made that trip five years ago. The Thailand trip cost about $3000 for everything, but the experiences there have helped me tremendously in preparing for my upcoming long term trip to Africa. For a long time I regretted that trip for a number of reasons, but with my trip to Africa looming, I understand why things happened the way they did on that trip and what I learned from it. That trip cost $3k, but the experience really was invaluable.

And don't forget, most of Paul's mission trips were "short term."

If I could send someone as effective as Paul I would feel more confident about the ST stuff.

I just prefer to direct my resources directly to the problem or fund LT stuff. I'm not questioning anyone's calling. I do have some resource allocation concerns on the ST issue.

This is what I'm talking about.

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According to Kurt Ver Beek, professor of
sociology and third-world development at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, traditional STMs don't do much at all.

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That conclusion might sound odd to those familiar with any of the with the 50-odd dissertations written on the subject in the last 15 years, or with Roger Peterson's well-known studies in the subject. Most of these papers conclude that STMs significantly increase participants' spirituality, financial giving to
missions, prayer for missions, likelihood to become career missionaries, and so on.

But in his survey of 127 North American short-termers and 78 Hondurans for whom they built new homes after 1998's devastating Hurricane Mitch, Ver Beek found that neither group had experienced notable life changes.

Why such different conclusions? Ver Beek ascribes the difference, in part, to methodology. Many previous studies involved small sample sizes, interviewed short-termers soon after their trips while they were still on a missions or failed to take into account social desirability bias, the human tendency to exaggerate one's goodness...

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http://ctlibrary.com/34554
http://www.worldnewspaperpublishing.com/News/FullStory.asp?loc=TCW&id=1508
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/2005/juneweb-only/12.0c.html

[This message has been edited by 12th Non-Reg (edited 2/20/2007 6:40p).]

You can call house building alot of things, but I don't think you can call it a mission trip. I think "short term" mission campaigns should follow the Pauline model of church planting and helping national churches increase. ST missions should spark a love for the local church, not just plant some trees and paint some houses. Like I said, there is a place for that, but it is not "missions."

Here are a few testimonies of high school students that we have mobilized to Mexico and Venezuela. These are changed lives.

http://www.nextworldwide.org/index.cfm/PageID/569/index.html



[This message has been edited by Homsar (edited 2/20/2007 7:12p).]

Homsar
I like your definition of "mission" better than the one I most often encounter from ST'ers.


[This message has been edited by 12th Non-Reg (edited 2/20/2007 8:29p).]

12th,

I know. Most STers now think that as long as we go somewhere and do something, we can slap the title "mission trip" on it and it will count toward the Great Commission.