Mission/Service Trips
Many individuals and groups within congregations elect to take time and spend significant amounts of money traveling to various places on mission and service trips that often serve as little more than a cover for taking a vacation. While I'm not entirely against the practice and can see some benefits, I'm curious where this practice originated - and more importantly, how "good, right, and salutary" is this practice? At its base, it seems to me to be little more than modified version of the pilgrimages against which Luther so vehemently protested.
What bothers me is, how does spending $x,000 or even $x00 to go on a mission/service trip (consider costs of food, lodging and transportation) more appropriate than sending that same amount as a donation toward an existing mission or service endeavor?
I can see some exception to this in the case where "bodies" to actually do work are scarce or "skilled labor" is unavailable to do work in that area. But with such trips, this is most often not the case as far as I can tell. It may be that there aren't "bodies" willing/able to do the work for the wage offered (in which case, the need is for more $$$ not more bodies). In the case of skilled labor, isn't it better to raise up the skill from within rather than "importing" it from the outside? (what happens when the skilled labor leaves?)
Take, for instance, the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Many loving and compassionate people went in to help those affected by the storm. I do NOT wish to demean or question their intentions or the valuable work which they did accomplish. But I do question the logic of spending money on the "overhead" (transportation, housing, meals, etc.) of having those people go to a place where thousands of people were out of work and needed gainful employment. Would it not have been better to funnel those funds to establish non-profit organizations to hire those who were out of work to do the cleanup? Would that not have solved multiple problems?
How do such "service/mission" trips fit with our doctrine of vocation? Is it appropriate to leave the place where God has placed you (spouse, children, work, etc. --- i.e., your God given vocational responsibilities) to embark on some self-selected work of service? Could more money have been raised, more people served, and even more jobs created in Louisiana and other affected areas if, instead of people taking a week of vacation time, burning carbon-based fuels for travel, and adding to the stress of an already overburdened infrastructure in that area, an arrangement was made such that people would stay at work for that week and have a weeks worth of vacation pay be sent to the affected region?
Or, in the case of high-school students who, presumably, are in congregations that have aging/elderly members who need home repairs, yard-work done, errands run, household chores done, or just sit and talk, what is the allure of taking them away to someplace else, spending $$ on what often ends up more of a "vacation" than a "service opportunity".
So, how defensible is this practice? I'm not "against it" per-se, I just haven't seen it explained in a way that satisfactorily answers these questions.
Any help or pointers would be appreciated.
-- Pastor Dent
Tags: mission, missions, trips, vocation
Views: 7
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sandra O. on -
This is largely the reason that Higher Things has not engaged in off-campus "servant events" at our conferences. We have firmly believed that service best takes place within vocation, which for most high school aged people is in their homes, churches, neighborhoods, schools, and communities. Serving others should be a normal part of everyday life, not a special occasion type of thing.
Mission trips, servant events, and service projects all have their place - there are times and events and needs out there that do require special effort, but swooping in with unskilled labor to give the participants a sense of spirituality and service doesn't seem like the best way to meet those needs.
That said, HT is looking into providing an optional service project type of opportunity at this year's conferences that the youth will be able to do in their free time, and which will involve working with their home congregations as well. I can't say more than that until we get more details finalized. :)
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Permalink Reply by Joseph Taylor on -
There is great value in making a concerted effort to serve others in a new environment, and that translates into living a life of service elsewhere. None of us were lead to the ministry in a vacuum. We did not learn to live in Christian service in our daily life in a vacuum either. We have experiences that lead us to where we are today. For me a lot of that includes service projects, mission outreach, inter-denominational gatherings (gasp), bible studies, catechism classes, gift/food deliveries, and Christian camps, all of which took place both close to home, and far away. God put adults who cared enough to put different experiences in my life to guide me to a life of service in the Church.
And guess what...Many of those events I initially attended because they looked like fun vacations, or parties, or a chance to hook up with a girl. However, during the process of the events I grew in understanding of how God provides to me, and how I can serve those in need. It was while sitting in bed reading Romans 10 in China, surrounded by high and low experiences of teaching at an English summer camp that I knew that I was called be a minister of the Gospel.Since growing to “maturity” I have taken dozens of kids on these types of events. Some who say they just wanted to see a beach. Others who knew a hot guy was going so she was going too. Others who wanted to fill a service requirement for their school. However, whatever the reason for going, the end result is incredible. None returned without their life changed. Without a new perspective on how they interact with their home community. Their families love it, their pastors tell me about it, the teachers notice and tell others about it.
Also, our international team is a part of a bigger push to encourage students to serve their neighbor. We have local events annually and service projects throughout the year. Students volunteer at churches, nursing homes, rebuilding organizations, animal shelters, babysitting, fund raising, hospitals and a multitude of other opportunities, in addition to the International Mission TEAM.
As for whether we should or should not spend money on these events, I ask what is money? The writer of Ecclesiastes says it is but vapor. It is something that is here today and gone tomorrow. We can fret over every penny, and on our deathbed realize we could have squeezed out a few more dollars and served our neighbor that much better and die sad. Or we could embrace serving others and rejoice in all the work God had allowed us to do. I choose the latter.
As for what right do we have to serve outside of where we live and how can travelling to serve be proper vocation, I pose another question: How did a farm boy from Michigan end up a teacher in New Orleans? The answer is there was a NEED. That idea of their being a need to be filled is at the heart of service. I did not determinant the need. The school that I minister at did. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the school contacted the Southern District, who contacted the Synod, who contacted Concordia AA who said we have a guy who fits that need. And I was issued a call.
In a similar way, the organizations with whom we serve recognize a need and seek ways of filling it. They post the need on a website or in a publication and if my students are well suited to fulfill the need, I contact them. The first two years we served a camp in Costa Rica. We loved serving there and looked forward to continuing our ministry there. However the camp decided it no long had a need for the ministry they were doing, so, sadly, we had to seek other opportunities. We never force our way into situations (though I tried once, and quickly discovered the folly in it).
It is difficult for us to sit in our offices or classrooms and determine the needs of others, but when others seek it out, and we have the skills to fill them, and we have support from local congregations, pastors and parishioners, it seems to be a great opportunity to share and serve others. And, it is an excellent opportunity for me, as teacher to serve my students by allowing them to leave their insulated suburban bubbles and have these experiences where they are confronted with new and powerful experiences.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brugge on -
As an Elder who never went on a traveling mission, I tend to favor service activities close to home. I have been convinced that the youth group mission trips have merit, since the group travels together and conducts devotions together along the way and with the people they go to help. This is good for their bonding as a group and their exploration of spiritual matters together as a group. Also, these well-off suburban kids greatly benefit from the education they get when they see folk who are in need, and they can bring a better attitude home when they are asked to help with local projects. It is just another part of their training so that they understand the power of giving their time as well as their money.
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