Worldview and Societal Transformation Final Paper

After studying development for a semester, visiting the Nicaraguan barrio of La Carpio, Costa Rica, studying Agricultural Development in El Manatial and visiting numerous communities with different developmental strategies, I have learned a lot this semester about community development. This is my final paper for my Worldview and Societal Transformation class. These are just a few of the ideas that I have put together, but I realize that it is just one perspective and I still have a lot to learn, but I'd love to know what you think about short-term missions and how the church can make them better :)

One-Weak Perspective of Community Development

During the summer before my junior year of high school I went to El Salvador on a mission trip with other youth from my church. On the flight back to the United States our youth pastor encouraged us to consider the things that we learned so that we could present to the church. My friends easily came up with great stories of working in the orphanage and playing with kids in the neighborhood. It was an incredible cultural experience: I was able to play soccer with the locals, we were able to put on a VBS and work in an orphanage. I was able to tell the congregation that I had seen God work in and through our group and I had seen him protect our group in a few dangerous circumstances. However, I could never bring myself to say that I thought the trip was worth the $28,000 it cost our group to go or that our presence had made a difference in the community. I brought my Bible, ready to share the gospel with anyone who would listen—the only problem was that I didn’t speak Spanish and couldn’t communicate beyond the 15 essential phrases I had learned in preparation for the trip. I left El Salvador with questions about the purpose of short-term missions and a desire to learn Spanish.

The trip was a great cultural experience: we ate Pupusas with the Salvadorians, climbed a volcano, went shopping in a market, and were able to experience a culture much different than the one we were used to. I didn’t understand the language or the culture, and for me the trip was little more than “religious tourism” (Lupton). For the past five years I have struggled with this experience, and I feel like I finally have answers to the questions that I have been asking all this time.

            During my time living in Nicaragua and interacting with Nicaraguans and learning about the culture, visiting community development projects, reading books and attending lectures I have gained a better understanding of the positive and negative aspects of community development. This paper examines the developmental problems of short-term missions, followed by the strengths and concluding with my suggestions for changing the way we look at international short-term missions.

There are four main problems with international short-term missions as they relate to community development. Short-Term mission trips are expensive, they take jobs from local community members, they create dependence on outside people and resources, and they take away the pride that comes from doing your own work.

The first problem with international mission trips is the expense. Anyone that has traveled internationally can tell you that mission trips are a lot of money: the passport, the plane ticket, transportation, and food and lodging quickly add up. Our mission trip to El Salvador was very expensive, and I found myself repeatedly asking, “could this money have been better spent somewhere else?” We could have paid a hundred Salvadorians to paint the church and clean the orphanage for the amount of money that it cost for my youth group to fly to El Salvador. This leads into the second reason that international short-term missions should be reevaluated. During our time cleaning the orphanage and painting the church, we took away jobs from locals that could have painted the church, or cleaned the orphanage. In Central America, where many people are underemployed, it doesn’t make sense to come into the country and take jobs away from people that struggle to find jobs to provide for their families.

            The third problem I see with my trip to El Salvador was the dependence that our work created. If people can rely on Americans to come in and paint and repair their church or clean their orphanage, there is no reason that the people should raise the money and paint or repair it themselves, they are better off to wait for someone to do it for them. After putting on the VBS, we didn’t train them on how to present or the tools to put on another VBS later in the summer—we left them to be completely dependent on us and our work. This could also be seen in the communities, developed after Hurricane Mitch. The communities that were given the houses and moved directly into them were much more dependent on foreign aid than the communities that had built the homes themselves and were making pottery to support themselves and their families (visit 11/26/13).  The same is true of many other development projects—especially in agriculture. People chip in money to buy tractors, or equipment for wells. When the equipment breaks, no one is skilled to fix it and it remains untouched, a constant reminder of how much easier life would be if only they had the tools, technology, and education to fix it. In addition, organizations trying to do good often have adverse effects that are never considered. For example, one manufacturing company sent in thousands of nets to Africa to protect the woman and babies from diseases caused by mosquitoes. Although this was a very thoughtful gesture, the number of mosquito nets quickly put the African manufacturers out of business. It would be much better if that money was used to strengthen existing businesses within the country(Lupton).

            I have been convicted over and over again during my time in Nicaragua of my pride. I’m not going to lie—I’m proud to be an American. I am proud of the house that I live in, the car that I drive, and many other material possessions, and that even our currency and language is used in Central America. In addition, I have a tendency to think that I can do things better. It seems that Nicaraguans should want what we have, and it is our job as Christians to help them attain that material wealth. This attitude of pride gets in the way of building relationships as well as distorting the things that people really need. A great example of this is houses built in India, with the bathrooms next to the kitchen. No matter how nice the house was, the Muslims refused to use the bathrooms because they were too close to the kitchen and considered unclean. Thoughtful? Yes. Though-through? No. Regardless of intentions, Christians are responsible to God and to others for their actions (Story, Peggy Tans). We need to quit looking at poverty as a material problem. True poverty is the absence of Christ in one’s life. Short and Long-Term missions should be designed in such a way that material needs are addressed as they relate to spiritual poverty. Both needs go hand in hand (Myers).

Although I have started my argument by pointing out numerous reasons that short-term missions are detrimental to community development, I would like to counter a few of those reasons with positive aspects that I have formed through the readings and through class discussions. In addition, I will include the reasons that my church gives for sending so many church members on mission trips around the world.

The first of four positive aspects is that short-term mission trips provide an opportunity to see how God is at work in the lives of people and organizations around the world. Often, Christians only see Christianity from a narrow perspective. Many students return from mission trips with a greater understanding and appreciation of the material blessings that they have. Going on mission trips allows people to understand hardships that other Christians endure and opens up their perspective to what God is doing. An opportunity to visit a new culture and expand our worldview is an opportunity to rely on God in an environment out of our comfort zone. Change can be difficult, and getting out of one’s comfort zone provides more opportunities to turn to God in search of strength to make it through the day. Sometimes, mission trips are as much for the people giving than for the people receiving. Participation in community developmental organizations such as Fundacion San Lucas gives the farmers affirmation that they are doing a good job and that we support the work that they are doing. Although I really didn’t enjoy planting and hoeing corn at the Land Bank on our rural trip, I believe that our work there gave farmers encouragement and affirmation to keep up their good work. Stepping out of our communities and getting involved in ministry at an international level opens us up to the work that Christ is doing across the globe. In many cases the people that are ministered to on mission trips are not the people being served, but the people who are able to serve.

 Secondly, I believe that God does call some people to serve Him internationally, and regardless of the time frame, Christians need to go. Short-Term missions are the perfect length of time for working adults to use vacation time to serve others. It may not be plausible to go to for a longer period of time, but it is still a good way to follow God’s call to go. If a person feels that God is challenging them to step out in faith and trust him to visit a new environment, it is wrong for that person to do otherwise. When Jonah went to Nineveh, he only spent one week preaching repentance to the people. I believe that if God is calling you to go, no matter the amount of time—Christians are responsible to go (Jonah).

The third reason is that international, short-term missions prepare people for international service later on. Although the book Toxic Charity refuted this point, I still strongly believe that short term missions does introduce and prepare people for long-term ministry later. My friend Angie is a great example. Angie has been on numerous short-term trips and found a heart to teach international students English, and follow God’s call in this way. Although she may have discovered this calling a different way, I believe a short-term mission was the way that God chose to call her into international ministry. The reason that I am studying in Nicaragua is because I too, felt called to return and spend the semester living with the people. I don’t think that I will be a missionary, but my introduction and heart for the people got me excited to learn Spanish and reach out to Spanish speaking people in my church and community. My mission trip to El Salvador gave me a vision of how God could use me to bring glory to him.

The final reason is that short-term missions can provide timely disaster relief and should be done to provide people with services that they do not have. Short-term missions are an excellent way to provide disaster relief and help people in times of need, such as after a hurricane or earthquake. Short-term missions are also justified when the people bring a good or service that the people cannot get or provide for themselves. A good example of this is a medical mission trip, where the group can provide for the needs of people that cannot be met on their own with their own supplies or technology.

I attend a church that places an emphasis on missions. The members of the congregation are more than generous and of the $1,600 that my mission trip to El Salvador cost, I only ended up paying $250. To me, this speaks volumes to the desire that the members of my church have to follow Christ’s call to “GO” (Matthew 28:19) by giving financially.

To suggest that churches should end mission trips is out of the question, so my desire is to combine the things that I have learned about development with the current model of short term missions. After reading numerous books and listening to many discussions, I believe that aspects of development should be taken into consideration when planning and organizing short-term mission trips.

According to Geography of Grace, Christians need to be on the constant lookout for needs all around us. We need to be aware of the needs in our community and ask God to show us the needs and how we can meet them. The next step is to listen. Listen to God and listen to the community. Listening requires hearing more than we want to hear, it requires taking the time and being willing to accept answers that we may not like. In some cultures, listening is more than what is said by the people because it takes time to build relationships before people will even share what they are really thinking. Listening requires asking tough questions, and not assuming we know the answers. Before undertaking a short term mission trip, I think it is important to understand what the end goal of the trip is. Is the trip to help a community, share the gospel, or better the people going on the trip? It is important to know the end goal before one can decide how to get there (Rocke and Van Dyke).

            The ultimate purpose of short-term missions is not just to go, but to preach the gospel to every creature (Matthew 28:18-19). Much time and thought should be put into short-term mission trips. Time should be taken to consider who the mission trip is created to serve, and the positive and negative effects of the trip that may take place. Churches should begin to ask hard questions, and start listening for the answers being given. I believe that the goal of short and long-term missions should be bring people to Christ by helping them to help themselves. Short-term mission trips should be designed in such a way that they fit into long-term developmental goals. I believe that different trips should be designed to best reach the end goal of that particular trip.

The great news is that three of the four main problems with international short-term missions can be changed. No matter how much time you spend looking for transportation, food and lodging, any international trip is expensive, which is one reason that we have to make the most of the trips that we do take. The second problem can be solved by really taking a look at what we are doing. Are the jobs that we are doing able to be done by people in the community looking for work? In some cases it may be better to invest time and energy looking for a community man that is out of work. This would not only be cheaper, but would be a much less expensive way to better the community.  Secondly, care should be given to work with the people—and although this is hard to figure out in the short time frame, it can be done by doing your homework and working with organizations that are already rooted in the community. Plan activities and events that can be replicated at a later time by the community, and train them to do the activity. Rather than coming in with your own ideas, real service is taking the time to listen to the needs and goals of the community and working to help them attain them. Finally, much thought should be given to the items given away or done for the people so that they are not removing pride from the people or community. Finally, mission trips need to be approached first of all with an attitude of humility and a desire to walk alongside the people and grow together. Overall, if Christians take the time to ask these difficult questions and really listen to the needs and desires of the community, I believe that they can make a bigger difference. Each step needs to be done with humility with the end goal of bringing people to Jesus Christ.

Think of what resources that you have at your disposal, time, money, and communication. You have the ability to communicate with the people in your community, but have you taken the time to really listen? (Rocke and Van Dyke) I believe that Christians need to be stewards of the resources that we have been given. As I think about the resources that my church has: students with a desire to serve, a congregation willing to give to missions and a community with unsaved people. I believe that churches should limit the number of students that they send on short-term missions and rather spend time and money on missionaries who are willing to stay and develop long-term relationships with the people. Our service to Christ and our community shouldn’t be limited to the week or two mission trip. It should be evident in our daily activities. Are you willing to take the time for the people in your community that you can communicate with? Service to Christ could be as simple as buying a house in a run-down area of town to reach out to poor neighbors. One of the best gifts that we have with the communities we live with is the ability to communicate with those around us.

Whenever possible, short-term missions should be part of a long-term goal to build relationships and establish a presence in a community. By taking the time to listen, to work with and not for, and approach service with an attitude of humility, I believe that we can transform our one-weak perspectives of development and become better stewards of the resources that God has given us.

Works Cited

Lupton, Robert D. Toxic Charity, 2011. Harper Collins, New York, New York.

Myers, Bryant L. Geography of Grace, 1999. Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York.

Rocke, Kris, Van Dyke, Joel. Geography of Grace, 2012. Street Psalms Press.

Walsh, Brian J, Middleton, J. Richard. The Transforming Vision, Inner Varsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois.

Willis, Katie. Theories and Practices of Development, 2005. Routledge, New York, New York.