SQJ Taipei

Here’s one I keep putting off… but under my new policy… I’m just gonna put this up whether I have anything to say or not.

Tony Woodlief has a blog (Sand in the Gears) and he writes at World on the Web. I linked him before in this post and I always find his opinions thought provoking.

WAY BACK on April 15th I found this in my feedreader…

It kinda gives you a good idea of how Tony approaches this subject… he knows that taking youth on mission trips *must* be a good thing… but is it really worth it?

Here’s Tony’s article - Mission trip or summer vacation? - at World on the Web.

I have the same questions as Tony… I hate trying to figure out what to quote since I always end up wanting to quote almost everything so just go read it yourself… it will take 10-15 minutes to read the article and the comments - which are at least as good as the actual article and say many things that I agree with but probably won’t include in this post since I’m rambling and forgetful.

My Thoughts on Youth Trips

We have hosted many youth trips over the years… and we always wonder if it is worth it or not.

We LOVE hosting the groups. It is great fun for us (although it is also a lot of work) and we are refreshed by the energy that the groups bring to our lives and ministries. We genuinely enjoy talking with each person on each trip and we love to answer their questions about life, missions, Taiwan, parenting, whatever… face to face. We also like to think that we are doing something beneficial for the Kingdom.

But are we?

I don’t really know.

Facebook has helped us keep up with some of the more recent visitors… and it is clear that most are following Jesus and that a few are not. As for those who are not… I occasionally have some bouts with guilt as to whether something happened on their trip (or perhaps their direct contact with me!) that turned them off to Jesus. I hope not…

But even though most of the youth who visited here are Christians, the most important consideration is whether or not their trip here was of benefit to the Kingdom of God in some way and it is difficult (impossible?) to know how much a single mission trip affected a single individual’s life.

Woodlief draws attention to a recent study very much worth checking out…

We all want these trips to be meaningful and valuable, but unfortunately, research by Calvin College’s Kurt Ver Beek indicates that short-term mission trips don’t lead to greater subsequent involvement in the lives of those they are intended to help. Nor do short-term missions result in significantly greater giving by mission-trip participants or their host churches. (For links to Ver Beek’s research, and articles discussing it, click here.)

Our church is currently trying to find creative ways to help people with financial needs… since we meet in homes, we save a lot of money by not paying rent or having a pastoral staff… and that money can go directly to helping people… but when I do the math on the money involved to bring a group of youth over here (a recent trip cost at least US$30,000) I get absolutely giddy with how we might bless people with that money.

Of course… that would mean that people would give us the $$ instead of giving to the student’s trip and that probably wouldn’t happen. It also means that we are using lots of foreign money to establish things here and that has its own problems (and could be a topic of another post).

Although some of the kids that have come on trips to visit us have gone into missions (Kim and Josh and about 3 others that are in “creative access” countries), none of them are serving in Taiwan. Kim did serve here for several months, but each of them were planning on being missionaries before they came to Taiwan so their visit here didn’t lead them to Taiwan specifically OR to the mission field in general since they were already committed to *somewhere*.

Youth often return home to say “I was changed by this trip to XYZ country. In fact, I was probably changed more than the people I went there to help.”

It is definitely fair to say that statement is true very very very very nearly 100% of the time although that is not to say that the groups don’t help… they DO HELP… but really… the biggest changes occur in the youth coming from afar… not in the people here.

Bottom Line

When we consider the trips as a whole… as groups… it is probably impossible to know if “the Kingdom” has a net gain in missions interest/activity/passion from these trips or a loss. Is the financial cost worth it? We don’t know… I’d say we can’t know.

But when we look at the individuals we get to talk with… to train… to work alongside… to become friends with… we easily see positives all around.

If we were to make a policy that these groups could no longer come here and work with us for a time, I’d always wonder what relationships I might be missing out on! I’d miss the excitement and the challenges and opportunities… but it shouldn’t be about me.

As a team, for now… we’ll still consider taking groups on a case-by-case basis, which is what we’ve always done. Supporting church groups are always welcome as scheduling permits.

What I’d like to see

Local churches NEED to be involved. We know of some youth that seem to act like summer “mission trips” are an entitlement. They just pick where they want to go… with what organization… and send out letters advertising “the need” to their friends and family and church who dutifully give their $25 - $100 for the annual mission trip. It seems like no one ever talks to the kids about their reason for going… how they prayerfully came to the conclusion they should go to that country at that time. I think the local church needs to be responsible for the kids who go on these trips and should make sure there is a point to all of the expense and traveling and documentation and purchasing of cameras (to chronicle the trips), etc etc. There should be pre-trip training and post-trip debriefing. I know some organizations do these things… but THE LOCAL CHURCH is ultimately responsible for those in its circle of influence… the job can’t be pushed off to some para-church organization. I’d like to see more discernment all around, actually.

Tony Woodlief suggests calling these trips “Christian study abroad programs”.

[ducks]

It really would be more accurate wouldn’t it? We’ve already established that the youth “get more out of the trip” than the locals, right?

Woodlief closes with a series of questions that I think are worth asking…

So I’m wondering, what should our response be to the onslaught of youth missions this summer? What questions ought we to ask? Should we simply be thankful that young people are showing any interest in missions at all? Should we politely suggest that they can have experiences that are just as meaningful in our own inner cities, children’s hospitals, and poverty-racked rural areas? Should we pony up and keep our mouths shut? Am I a bad Christian for asking?

And my answers…

• make local churches the primary sending agencies
• how did God lead you to your conclusion that you should go to this country at this time? how have you been praying about this decision? what scriptures have played a big impact in this decision? how will you learn some of the language before you arrive? what sacrifices are you making to make this trip?
• yes!
• yes!
• ummm… not sure… maybe open mouth AND pony up under the right circumstances?
• no… but the amount of people who will say yes (or who will think yes but not say it) will be scary high

What are your answers? What are your questions? I’d really love to hear from some of you who have been part of group trips in the past. I hope I’ve made it clear that we are glad you came… we are thrilled to know every one of you… but we just wonder how these trips work out for you a few years down the road…