After spending a week on a short term mission trip in Ensenada, Mexico I was reminded once again why missions is such an important part of our student ministry & the life of the church. I’ve been going on short term missions for more than 20 years & I’ve been leading trips for the last 16. I tell parents of students repeatedly that the best thing they can do for their teenager is to send them on a mission trip. Nothing has a greater spiritual impact on the life of a teenager than missions. But I’m not sure I’ve ever articulated why I feel that way. So after giving the reasons why some thought, here are a few. They are in no particular order & you could probably list 20 additional reasons but these 5 are at the top for me. Here they are…
1. They Change Your Worldview.
Every year I take a handful of students & adults who are going on a mission trip for the first time! I love this because I know what’s about to happen for them. The first thing that will happen for them is that God is about to blow up their perceptions & misconceptions about the world. Most of us live in our own little worlds. We get consumed with what’s right in front of us & right around us. We forget that there’s a larger story going on. That there are people around us & around the world living in poverty. That there are bigger problems than the latest drama at our school or in our youth group. That God is calling us to step out of our starring role in our little story & into playing a part in His grand story. Anytime we can open our eyes, our minds & our hearts to the larger story of God we become better for it.
2. You Spend a Week with a group of Jesus followers following Jesus.
There’s no other way to say it. There’s a huge blessing simply from living with & doing life with a group of Jesus followers who have devoted an entire week to simply following Jesus to the best of their ability. To begin & end each day in worship. To eat & play & pray together. To work together for the tangible benefit of others & the ultimate glory of God. It’s no wonder no one wants to go home! It’s awesome! You know that you are making a real difference in the lives of those you came to serve & you feel God at work in your own life & heart. You’re participating 24/7 in what it is to be a part of the kingdom of God. And it’s awesome!
3. You Realize You Can’t Out Give God.
This is not why you came. You came to help others. You came to serve. And we say things like, “Let’s leave it all on the field.” “Let’s wear ourselves out for God.” You came to give yourself away & do all you could possibly do for others & for God. But what you realize on the plane ride home is that even though you’re tired, you received more than you gave away. You got more than you gave. You can’t out give God. I’ve never not felt this way! (Sorry for the double negative!:) God always blesses you in return when you give yourself away for the good of others & the glory of His name!
4. You put yourself second repeatedly.
It’s not about you. That’s what you realize & that’s the attitude you take on for the week. You spend each day putting the needs of others continually ahead of your own. Some days you just constantly put yourself second in small ways over & over & over again. Others may not even notice or realize what you’re doing. You get in line last for lunch allowing everyone else to eat first. You wake up early to shower so others can sleep in. You volunteer for the job that no one else wants to do, & you do it every day so that others can enjoy something different. And what you realize is that there is joy in this. This is life giving. You’re not the martyr. You’re not seeking attention for any of it. In fact, you hope people won’t even notice. Because you discover when you put yourself second over & over again you become a little more like Jesus. For those of you who have figured out this little secret, keep it up! And remember, your Heavenly Father sees how you serve in secret & He will reward you.
5. You experience God.
You’ve heard about Him your whole life, but you’ve never experienced Him until now. You’ve heard about His love, but you’ve never felt it like this before. You’ve been a part of worship, but you never poured out your heart in this way. You’ve done a service project, but this was next level stuff. You walked away from this mission experience feeling like You saw God at work, God in action, God in motion. Because things happened, stories unfolded that can’t be explained any other way except to say, “God did that!”
For all these reasons & so many more I believe mission trips are truly life changing experiences.
So why are mission trips life changing for you?
