7 Reasons You Should Go on a Short-Term Mission Trip

Never been on a mission trip before? This time of year mission trips abound to places all over the world. Here are 7 great reasons for you to go:

1. You’ll experience a bigger world. It’s easy to fall into the illusion that the world is nothing more than strip malls and the latest reality tv show. A mission trip lets you experience a much bigger world than you could ever imagine.

2. You’ll see how the other half lives. The overwhelming majority of mission trips will be to places and people with less (money) than you. It’s important to see what poverty looks like. Poverty isn’t missing out on that second vacation or having to down-size on a house. There is real poverty out there, and you need to see it.

3. It gives you a frame of reference for your life. If American Christianity is all you know, how will you ever know different? Christianity is more than just sanctuaries, worship bands and VBS. You can’t separate Christianity from American Christianity until you have something to compare it to. Worship with fellow believers under a tree in a language you don’t understand. That’s a frame of reference.

4. You’ll gain a deeper appreciation for God’s creative genius. This world is big and this world is beautiful. A mission trip to another country is not just about the sights. It’s about the smells, the noises, the food. All different. All beautiful in its own sense. You’ll continually be amazed at the creative genius of the God behind it all.

5. You’ll catch a glimpse of the world to come in heaven. There are beautiful prophecies in Revelation of people gathering from every tribe, tongue, nation and people to worship God. If you sit in a church every week where everyone looks like you and talks like you, it’s hard to feel the weight of those Scriptures. But go overseas and worship God in another language, and you’ll get a better glimpse of what heaven may look like.

6. God will work in you in ways he never could inside your comfort zone. For most of you, God will do far more in you then he will through you. Sure you’ll help others, but you’ll find that they’re helping you and encouraging you and challenging you far more than you could imagine. Most people go thinking they’re there to help others, only to come back realizing the one who needed the most help was them.

7. You’ll catch a glimpse of Christianity in its purest form. Christianity isn’t about buildings, money, programs, addresses, denominations, worship wars, theological debates, or any of the other nonsense we consume ourselves with. Christianity in it’s purest form is people loving each other and telling others about Jesus. Sometimes you have to go overseas to catch a glimpse of that.

. . . in other words, go on a mission trip!

QUESTION: What are other reasons why you should go on a short-term mission trip?