S/o Mission Trips?

[Elfknitter.#]

Please enlighten me. The only mission trips I am familiar with are Mormon-based sending elders out into a community kinds of things and the occasional Christian missionary off to another country to help convert/save the "heathens."

 

Is that basically it? Why do such "missionary trips" need fund raising on an individual's behalf? It seems like there would be chosen volunteers that church would collect funds to sponsor, in my mind.

 

What am I missing?

 

And to be upfront, I am an agonistic pagan who is currently leaning toward atheistic pagan. Nature is about the only thing I have been able to see, accept, and revere without a doubt and in any form. To me, Nature is what Christians call God.

[Melissa in Australia]

This is my personal observation/experience of "mission trips" there seems to be organizations that are making large amounts of money promoting mission trips to young Christian youth that they have to pay large amounts of money to attend and they get a fuzzy good feeling but really don't do anything constructive.  I know 4 people who went on "mission trips" to an orphanage in a neighboring Asian country. They had to pay large sums of money and at the orphanage school they were meant to be teaching the orphans English. turns out that none of them were orphans and even the older students only knew the alphabet up to f as that was as far as they had progressed before the next lot of young Christians arrived and started over teaching them English. in the mean time the organizers of this mission trip are raking in lots of money.

 

 

My oldest, while holidaying in South Africa stayed at a backpackers that was somehow connected to a mission trip school. He and another (non Christian ) backpacker thought they would go and visit the school. when the students saw westerners coming they put away their sports equipment and pulled out a ball made out of rags. My oldest said that in a disguised outbuilding was a modern classroom with computers etc, but for the public there was a large hut with students sitting on benches and the floor. the students were well versed in acting like very poor so the mission school could hope to get more donations.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Melissa in Australia

[creekland]

My guys have gone on three different types of mission trips:

 

1)  Trips set up by our church or a Christian youth group they attend where they go to either a foreign country or domestic area and fellowship with a "sister" church (or group).  They usually help with a work project that group has been saving up supplies and money for.  Those locally help too (if they are able).  These projects have been everything from painting to actual construction to repairing a home for an older diabetic wheelchair bound elder.  They've gone to the same place multiple times and enjoy some camaraderie with the folks.  (Leaders go often and keep contact.)

 

2)  Hurricane help.  These have all been domestic and they end up helping tear down or rebuild houses or buildings affected by hurricanes.  Which houses they work on has always been chosen by local churches in the area they go to, and so far, they've always been elderly or single parents.

 

From both of those trips my guys have learned really good construction skills from pouring concrete to wiring electric, but they also enjoy trying new foods, getting new friends, and even playing soccer during some downtime.

 

3)  Medical trips.  Middle son has gone on one of those and might do another this summer (depends upon his research schedule).  His trip went to an area that hadn't seen a doctor in two years.  They saw over 1200 people in two days - doing whatever folks needed done.  It was a Christian group sponsoring the trip, but the clinic was open to all who came (some walked for miles).

 

For almost all of the trips, my guys raised money from friends and family.  If middle son goes again this summer, he'll do the same this year.

 

No regrets.

[Joyofsixreboot]

The only mission trip our church does involves building repair and construction in KY. I know others whose kids have traveled . Some seem more useful than others and sometimes cost quite a bit. Our kids needed to cover transportation and food costs.

[bettyandbob]

My former church has a few ongoing mission trips.

 

1. Every year a group builds/repairs homes in the mountains in southwest Virginia. This is open to all high schoolers. Adults participate and teach the skills required as well as work.

 

2. Every year a group goes to the Dominican Republic, again building/repairing various buildings. This is open to older high school only, but it is mostly adults.

 

3. For several years (don't know if they still do it), a group of high schoolers would travel to Philadelphia and run a week long day camp for children living in shelters. Then the group would go to the beach for 3 days before coming home.

 

These are ongoing programs which are highly planned before the group gets close to leaving. They have a time table and know exactly what projects they will be working on.

 

They raise money through car washes, pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday, and other activities. Diocese also gives any child confirmed $200 toward her first mission trip. I was never approached for money.

 

I generally don't have good feelings about some trips people have described to me. Often they don't have a clear plan, but there is time to sight see.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Diana P.

[Guest]

My former church has a few ongoing mission trips.

 

1. Every year a group builds/repairs homes in the mountains in southwest Virginia. This is open to all high schoolers. Adults participate and teach the skills required as well as work.

 

2. Every year a group goes to the Dominican Republic, again building/repairing various buildings. This is open to older high school only, but it is mostly adults.

 

3. For several years (don't know if they still do it), a group of high schoolers would travel to Philadelphia and run a week long day camp for children living in shelters. Then the group would go to the beach for 3 days before coming home.

 

These are ongoing programs which are highly planned before the group gets close to leaving. They have a time table and know exactly what projects they will be working on.

 

They raise money through car washes, pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday, and other activities. Diocese also gives any child confirmed $200 toward her first mission trip. I was never approached for money.

 

I generally don't have good feelings about some trips people have described to me. Often they don't have a clear plan, but there is time to sight see.

But, I always wonder, would a community be better off if the church sent the money raised to pay a local to do home repairs rather than send a bunch of kids to do them?

[G5052]

Our church has sent out students, but only on very specific projects. And nearly always college students who have specific skills. The student gives a presentation in church on what they're going to do, and people are free to contribute or not. The church does provide some funds, but I know that in most cases the student also worked and saved themselves.

 

My FIL was a travelling preacher and never, ever asked for funds. He always said that God's work done God's way would receive God's provision. He felt like fundraising had no place in his work. If the money dried up, he stepped back and considered what he was doing and took on paid work until he felt that he was "right" (his words). There were times he'd preach all weekend and get $100. And other times when someone would take him aside and give him the keys and title to a new vehicle. He took it all in stride and never complained that I heard.

 

But the guilt-inducing letters, blogs, and Facebook pages. Nope.

[bettyandbob]

But, I always wonder, would a community be better off if the church sent the money raised to pay a local to do home repairs rather than send a bunch of kids to do them?

I don't know. People are raising money to go and to buy supplies. Then they are donating time too. For both building/repair trips locals do work along side of the mission group.

 

Having time to do the work is a big factor. Having such a large group at once means a project can be finished because the manpower is there to finish. That's why everything is well planned in advance.

 

Sometimes manpower is a big deal that money can't always buy.

[Ottakee]

But, I always wonder, would a community be better off if the church sent the money raised to pay a local to do home repairs rather than send a bunch of kids to do them?

I agree to a point and in some cases the money would.be better spent.

 

On the flip side, part of the value of these trips is to help get the people going "in the trenches" and exposed to new things, new cultures, and have a personal interest. For some people these short term mission trips can be life changing.

 

Depending on where they go, sometimes the locals do not have the knowledge or supplies to do what the mission team can. I just met with friends that are long term missionaries in Uganda. They have yes that come and doedical missions, dental clinics, eye glasses clinics, etc and the needs are huge as she said the nearest decent medical care is 3 hours drive away and she has a former medical assistant is about the best medical care in the area.

[Jane in NC]

An organization with which I am involved has been the recipient of labor from teens who are on a "mission trip".  I volunteer at a bird shelter.  The kids from out of state have come down for the week and have numerous assignments in the area. Most recently they painted the inside of our clinic. Previously they had moved a truck load of sand into the outdoor bird pens.  It is my understanding that they combine their acts of kindness for other non-profits and elderly residents with some fun and team building.

 

I honestly don't know how their trip is funded.  They stay in a beach house that is owned by a member of their congregation so housing is not an issue. I suppose that one could see this as a fun vacation at the beach for the kids but it is not all play.

 

One of our friend's daughters went on a "mission trip" to Costa Rica that sounded more like a vacation:  beach day, jungle hike, etc. This is the sort of thing that I would not want to fund but fortunately they did not solicit money.

 

On funding: one of my son's friends raised money by helping clean out our garage and doing yard work.  I don't think anyone can argue with this!  It is the "gofundme" stuff that seems to be out of hand...

[Amira]

I wouldn't put Mormon missions into the same category as "mission trips." Mission trips, to me, are generally humanitarian- or service-based and are generally short-term. Usually younger people go on them to a specific place and often (but certainly not always) with a group of people they know. Mormon missions, on the other hand, are a more like the longer-term service that various Christian missionaries do, although it's never a lifetime thing for Mormon missionaries like it is for many Christian missionaries. The medical missionaries, for example, I've met who are living overseas for years don't say they're on a mission trip because that's a different thing. It's sort of like the difference between going to Central America for a couple of weeks to build houses with Habitat for Humanity and joining Peace Corps (yes, I know the analogy doesn't fit in some ways).

 

Fundraising for LDS missions isn't supposed to be done. The missionary is encouraged to save money before she or he goes and the family usually pays for the rest. There is a mission fund that anyone can contribute to so no one is barred from going on a mission for financial reasons.

[flyingaway]

I donated to a teenage nephew three times for mission trips. Some of the money went to benefit the communities he traveled to. He's been to Belgium, Japan, and Central America country I don't remember. He was required to earn a certain portion of funds through his own labor.

 

He helped build a house? or maybe it was a community building, worked in a something or other with food for immigrants, helped feed homeless. It was Christian, but from what I could tell it was about social service, not proselytizing. I'm not really gung-ho Christian myself. In the Central America case, they were helping out an existing Christian community. Yes, he also did some sightseeing, but it was not a vacation.

 

He was part of an American church that does a lot of good deeds for their own community, but these trips really expanded his views of the world in ways that I think were very beneficial.

[madteaparty]

Being from a former communist bloc country I will tell you missionaries from all conceivable denominations descended upon us and the competition for our souls was fierce. ;)

Some had a humanitarian aspect, most did not.

Edited April 5, 2016 by madteaparty

[Guest]

I agree to a point and in some cases the money would.be better spent.

 

On the flip side, part of the value of these trips is to help get the people going "in the trenches" and exposed to new things, new cultures, and have a personal interest. For some people these short term mission trips can be life changing.

 

Depending on where they go, sometimes the locals do not have the knowledge or supplies to do what the mission team can. I just met with friends that are long term missionaries in Uganda. They have yes that come and doedical missions, dental clinics, eye glasses clinics, etc and the needs are huge as she said the nearest decent medical care is 3 hours drive away and she has a former medical assistant is about the best medical care in the area.

I take no issue with trained medical personnel, architects, etc., donating their time. But, sending teens "into the trenches" bugs me. No one has ever asked me for a donation so their youth group can go experience real poverty and learn from it but that is what these trips are. It doesn't sit well with me.

[mom31257]

Our church has mission partners we sponsor (people who are in the field working in specific locations and in specific capacities). Our church sends teams of people to help those missionaries with specific projects and events. Sharing the Gospel with others is a commission given in Scripture to all believers, so, yes, witnessing could be a part of any of those trips. 

 

Our church raises donations every year to support those missions partners. For the trips, the church pays a portion, the person going has to pay at least a portion out of their own pocket, and they are free to raise the rest by asking for donations. For some, they may never be in a capacity or have a desire to actually go, and donating to the trip is a way to support the ministry. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DawnM]

There is a lot of debate as to whether short term missions' trips benefits the people they are going to help as much as it benefits the person going.  

However, as a Christian, and as a child of missionaries, I am not concerned about who it benefits more.  If the people going have their hearts and minds changed, that is a good thing.  Maybe one of those teens will have exposure that changes his/her life forever.  Maybe he/she will go into missions down the road.  Maybe those going are a huge benefit to the longer term/career missionaries who desperately need some reprieve.

 

My middle son is going on his 3rd missions trip this summer.  He will be going to an orphanage in Mexico.  They do a lot of things while they are down there.  They spend a lot of time with the kids.  They build and do projects, and they help with whatever the missionaries who are there permanently need.

 

However, we pay for it.  We don't ask for help.  My parents like to help when they can, but if we can't afford it, we don't go.

[The Girls' Mom]

Our family has been extremely picky about mission trips.  Some trips definitely can be costly 'vacations' that don't really accomplish anything.  We avoid those like the plague.

 

My husband took a mission trip to Romania to help out a Romanian sister church, and asses how our church's monetary support was going.  

 

My daughters took a trip to NYC last summer to help a new church up there put on an event to raise awareness of the church in the community.  They also helped out in the community in general with clean-up and repair.  

 

This summer they are going to help with a new church plant in the US.  They will be doing repair/community clean up, helping with events, etc.  (their youth pastor is actually moving to the same area at the end of the year to pastor there)

 

My BIL has spent a lot of time in Haiti.  He helps a church there with medical help and some construction.

ETA:  The trips we tend to go on are ones in which the church has developed an ongoing relationship with the place to which the trip is taken.  These places are supported in various ways throughout the year(s), and it isn't just a fly by kind of trip. 

We have avoided trips with vague missions, trips to the beach, etc.  

Our trips are funded partially by the church's mission funds, and partially by the parents.  We don't ask for other people to contribute.  

Edited April 5, 2016 by The Girls' Mom

[Lang Syne Boardie]

My former church, which dissolved due to financial woes - a hazard of inner city ministry - made a decision not to send unskilled people to do work that should be hired out to locals. Missionaries did go to sister churches in various places in the world, but the idea was to refresh and encourage the churches there as brothers and sisters, not as benevolent saviors from America (as if they had nobody capable of fixing a roof, visiting a widow, or teaching a child). Training indigenous pastors and supporting them over time, as opposed to installing long term foreign missionaries, was another new and more respectful approach. I really hoped that we were ahead of a new trend on all of that, but I've yet to hear of any other church pulling back from mission vacations or preferring to respect local Christian ministers as capable.

 

Many Christians have to do something about missions. Most are evangelical because that's one obvious interpretation on scripture. Most are also interested in benevolence. The problem comes when we don't realize our own racism and paternalism toward other nations, so we swoop in with our money and lifestyle without respect. We inflict our spoiled teenagers on other cultures, with more than half the goal being to teach our teenagers that the world doesn't revolve around them...but what person wants to be an object lesson in poverty and suffering? That's wrong. Objectifying people is wrong. If we can't work toward religious and benevolent ends with others as equals, then we need to stay home and improve our education. Sending aid to hire local people for labor, and supporting indigenous pastors financially (along with encouraging visits and mutual respect), are two ways to fulfill Christian responsibilities toward other nations without mistaking ourselves for the savior.

[Bluegoat]

I have a lot of the same problems with these kinds of "missions" that others do.

 

There is, I think, some value in simply having young people go to other places, but I think making out that this is about them helping others is a mistake.  I have seen it done where it worked - I have a friend who did a trip where she lived with a Christian family in Africa for a year.  She functioned as part of the family and did some volunteer work, but it was essentially a cultural exchange - she was living in a different community.  There was no sense that she was somehow rescuing them - they were, on the contrary, doing something for her.  It was a very profound experience for a 17 year old to live for that long in a very different culture, in very different conditions (a two room house in a family with 8 kids) all by herself. 

 

I don't think most of the "mission" trips I've seen groups do can compare - the kids aren't really there long enough, they mostly spend time together, and their work is often not that useful - or the money to get them there could have gone to hire local people to do the work.

[Chris in VA]

My former church, which dissolved due to financial woes - a hazard of inner city ministry - made a decision not to send unskilled people to do work that should be hired out to locals. Missionaries did go to sister churches in various places in the world, but the idea was to refresh and encourage the churches there as brothers and sisters, not as benevolent saviors from America (as if they had nobody capable of fixing a roof, visiting a widow, or teaching a child). Training indigenous pastors and supporting them over time, as opposed to installing long term foreign missionaries, was another new and more respectful approach. I really hoped that we were ahead of a new trend on all of that, but I've yet to hear of any other church pulling back from mission vacations or preferring to respect local Christian ministers as capable.

 

Many Christians have to do something about missions. Most are evangelical because that's one obvious interpretation on scripture. Most are also interested in benevolence. The problem comes when we don't realize our own racism and paternalism toward other nations, so we swoop in with our money and lifestyle without respect. We inflict our spoiled teenagers on other cultures, with more than half the goal being to teach our teenagers that the world doesn't revolve around them...but what person wants to be an object lesson in poverty and suffering? That's wrong. Objectifying people is wrong. If we can't work toward religious and benevolent ends with others as equals, then we need to stay home and improve our education. Sending aid to hire local people for labor, and supporting indigenous pastors financially (along with encouraging visits and mutual respect), are two ways to fulfill Christian responsibilities toward other nations without mistaking ourselves for the savior.

 

You make good points.

 

I will say, though, that objectifying others so my kid can have a lesson in poverty is not the goal. What happens is that the kids (in our group) don't swoop in to save, they come in respectfully because they have been ASKED to help. They start seeing the residents as equals, not as a stereotype they may have had in the past. They do get a lot out of it, for sure, but it is a mutual thing.

 

I have a big problem when churches throw costly dinners for themselves and donate the proceeds to the homeless shelter down the street (coughcoughmine), instead of inviting them to dinner and getting to know them (which, in all fairness to my congregation, does happen also). So I do see your point. I just think, IME, it has been a good thing for my kids to go and help on missions (which happen to be short term and within a few hours driving distance).

 

[FaithManor]

The church we attended organized both youth and adult trips. The adult trips were worth the dollars because they were for specific purpose and only adults with specific skill sets could apply. Medical trip to Nicaragua - 3 nurses, 2 doctors, 1 dentist, 1 PA. They worked in a clinic from dawn to dusk giving medical care. I did not regret giving money to that.

 

Trip to Haiti to do hurricane clean up at a hospital. Back breaking labor, long harsh days, very weary group when they returned. Not a vacation. Did not regret giving money.

 

Trip to Egypt - dh and I - self funded. Dh repaired hospital equipment, taught repairs to the maintenance workers, installed computer software that he wrote so they could track their admission and patient records better, and I did office work and taught some science labs for full time medical workers there that also homeschool their children due to the poor educational options locally. No regrets. Going back again in the next two years, and may end up retired there seven months of each year teaching coursework for middle school and high school which is so hard for parents to manage on top of their tireless hospital work. We'll see if the finances  work out for us to do that, but we'd really like to go.

 

Current youth headed to Mexico to spend a week "getting to know the mission field" and paint two classrooms? Didn't give a dime. It is really more of a good time, feel good experience for the youth at high expense, and frankly money should have been sent to pay local people to paint those two rooms which would have been a far better use of the money and allowed some people to buy medicine, food, or clothes for their family. Nope. Not sending a bunch of teens to paint a couple of rooms.

 

We support a local dentist who does three weeks of pro bono work every year in Haiti.

 

Financially, we support Doctors without Borders heavily.

 

I am not in favor of spending money sending unskilled teens to foreign countries acting like they are doing someone a favor for being there. But skilled groups with a legitimate purpose who really will help a good deal, those trips I can get behind, and we give where we feel it is most warranted. We especially appreciate the ones in which the participants are paying for their travel and the money goes directly to buying relief supplies, medical equipment and meds, etc.

[SKL]

I haven't participated in or directly supported any mission trips so far.  I am not saying I never would, but I tend to be skeptical about the relative good that they do.

 

I do agree with the person in the other thread who said this can be a good opportunity for young people to develop skills and understanding.  However, this needs to be weighed against the possible negatives, and the question of efficiency is also important.

 

My church periodically sends a mission group to Haiti to do some building projects.  (They partner with a church in Haiti.)  They also bring little hand-made bears and such for the Haitian kiddies.  I have reservations about this on several grounds.  One, the whole superior white people need to go save the inferior dark people.  I think that is damaging to both groups, especially the kids.  Two, it would probably do far more good to give the money to trusted local organizations so they could utilize local resources, create jobs for local unemployed people, and show that the community can help itself.  Meanwhile the mission-minded folks in our church could do something more effective with their time, or get more in touch with their own community, or find some less damaging way to connect with the foreign communities.  Even the little crafts they do for the kiddies bug me.  The goodies they sew are just two cookie cutter shapes sewed together with some fuzz stuffed inside.  For the same amount of money they could buy a nice manufactured dolly or bear that a child would love.  I feel it looks cheap.  I understand it might make some people feel good about "contributing" their time, but it doesn't work for me.

 

I participate in Operation Christmas Child because it is done by our school/church and our scout group.  The first year, my kids and I went shopping and had fun coming up with a nice combination of things we felt little girls would love.  My kids wrote letters and sent the boxes off.  At least I felt the little kids would feel like they were getting something nice.  I am uncomfortable with the evangelistic aspect of it, but at least they are honest about that, right?  And the organizations doing these projects openly espouse evangelism.  So I can't really complain about that, even though I don't love it.  ...  The second year, we joined the scouts in a day of packing boxes.  It started out great, combining a bunch of fun stuff in each box.  As the day went on, the good stuff got used up and we had to put a bunch of un-fun, probably not really useable stuff in each box.  The folks in charge said, don't worry, the shippers would rearrange things to make sure they were more balanced.  ??  I didn't really feel so great about that day.  It felt like ticking off a checkbox "helped the poor kids."

 

I donate to international organizations that are not centered around religious missions.  The ones I choose are well-respected, trusted, hands-on local organizations that work to address both immediate needs and sustainability needs.  I trust them to make better use of my money than I could from here.

 

Now if someone came up with a mission idea that satisfied my idea of what helping should look like, I might support it.  I would love that for my kids.  But it has to be the right opportunity.  It has to be truly beneficial to both sides.

[bettyandbob]

I think there is usefulness in unskilled teens working on local (something the group drives to) habitat type projects. Many of those projects do not need every participant to be "skilled." They need able bodied people who can (and do ) follow directions. I think these projects teens can provide valuable labor and learn at the same time.

 

I know a young woman who turned her experience with these short term local trip into her vocation. In college she led her college Habitat for Humanity group. She is now employed with a charity that focuses on providing housing healthcare and other assistance to homeless person. So her high school mission experience had a major life impact on her.

 

When travel cost is high (overseas) it makes more sense to send only skilled people to work short amounts of time with locals.

 

Trips where young people can provide little skill and labor are not missions. If a church wants teens to have a vacation they should organize short retreats. They can have prayer, games and even do a small service project. That sort of thing can be good fellowship, but it's not a mission.

[Mergath]

I imagine that, for the recipients of these trips, it would feel something like this:

 

Let's say you're standing in your yard, and a limo pulls up. A kid in high-end designer clothing gets out and says, "Hi! Bill Gates is my dad and I'm on a mission trip. Wow, you actually live here? That's awful, I feel so bad for you. Anyway, I'm here to help you weed your garden. But, uh, I've never actually weeded a garden, so you'll have to teach me how to do it first."

 

So you spend several hours teaching this kid how to weed a garden. It takes twice as long as if you'd done it yourself and he pulls out half your carrots accidentally, but finally it's done. He looks pleased with himself and says, "You know, after spending the afternoon with you, I finally understand just how very rich I am. Man, am I lucky." He hands you a bible, says something about how if you read it God might give you a nicer house, then climbs into his limo and drives away. Six months later you get a postcard that talks about how happy he is to have developed this relationship with you.

[StephanieZ]

My former church has a few ongoing mission trips.

 

1. Every year a group builds/repairs homes in the mountains in southwest Virginia. This is open to all high schoolers. Adults participate and teach the skills required as well as work.

 

2. Every year a group goes to the Dominican Republic, again building/repairing various buildings. This is open to older high school only, but it is mostly adults.

 

3. For several years (don't know if they still do it), a group of high schoolers would travel to Philadelphia and run a week long day camp for children living in shelters. Then the group would go to the beach for 3 days before coming home.

 

These are ongoing programs which are highly planned before the group gets close to leaving. They have a time table and know exactly what projects they will be working on.

 

They raise money through car washes, pancake supper on Shrove Tuesday, and other activities. Diocese also gives any child confirmed $200 toward her first mission trip. I was never approached for money.

 

I generally don't have good feelings about some trips people have described to me. Often they don't have a clear plan, but there is time to sight see.

 

Oh my, you didn't happen to be a member of St. Anne's Episcopal in Reston, VA?? Your list sounds exactly like their list. (We were members 12-14 years ago, and my mom was a member up until her death last year.)

Edited April 5, 2016 by StephanieZ

[MSNative]

I used to be very involved with Habitat for Humanity. We would work with a couple youth groups and train them before missions trips so they were at least somewhat skilled. I'm not a huge fan of missions trips though for the reason most have mentioned. So many seem like glorified school trips. I've donated to a few kids who are close family friends.

In general though I don't like the whole idea of asking others to pay for my kids' activities (sports, troops, etc) I like how one of my son's teams does it- participation costs x. If you are able and so inclined you can give more to help the kids on the team who might not be able to afford it. The team pulls together to help everyone. My church does the same thing with missions trips.

[bettyandbob]

I imagine that, for the recipients of these trips, it would feel something like this:

 

Let's say you're standing in your yard, and a limo pulls up. A kid in high-end designer clothing gets out and says, "Hi! Bill Gates is my dad and I'm on a mission trip. Wow, you actually live here? That's awful, I feel so bad for you. Anyway, I'm here to help you weed your garden. But, uh, I've never actually weeded a garden, so you'll have to teach me how to do it first."

 

So you spend several hours teaching this kid how to weed a garden. It takes twice as long as if you'd done it yourself and he pulls out half your carrots accidentally, but finally it's done. He looks pleased with himself and says, "You know, after spending the afternoon with you, I finally understand just how very rich I am. Man, am I lucky." He hands you a bible, says something about how if you read it God might give you a nicer house, then climbs into his limo and drives away. Six months later you get a postcard that talks about how happy he is to have developed this relationship with you.

Depends on how the trip is organized doesn't it?

 

Projects can be planned ahead. 30+ teens with strong backs, hammers and wheelbarrows under the direction of a couple more skilled adults can make rebuilding roofs, adding insulation, putting up wall and even whole buildings go quickly.

 

A project that is organized and has a serious goal can be useful to all parties involved.

 

That said knowing how the group presents itself is important too.

[Mergath]

Depends on how the trip is organized doesn't it?

 

Projects can be planned ahead. 30+ teens with strong backs, hammers and wheelbarrows under the direction of a couple more skilled adults can make rebuilding roofs, adding insulation, putting up wall and even whole buildings go quickly.

 

A project that is organized and has a serious goal can be useful to all parties involved.

 

That said knowing how the group presents itself is important too.

 

The most organized teens in the world aren't going to be as beneficial as a group of skilled, local craftsman getting paid for their professional-level work and then putting that money back into the town's economy.

 

If people want to send their kids on these trips, that's their choice. But I wish they would stop trying to convince everyone else that it's so very helpful to the community the kids are going to. It's not. It's likely harmful in many cases. The ONLY ones benefiting from this are the teens, and I question how much good it really does to reinforce to a teen how affluent they are by having them gawk at the world's poor.

[Wheres Toto]

Our church does local-ish missions.  They've done clean-up after Sandi and they've helped repair houses in local states. The kids that go are older teens and are given training before they go and the majority of the group is adults.

 

Dh works on a mission with local homeless families.  A group of different churches (all different denominations) "hosts" homeless families.  Some have facilities for them to stay in, others (like ours) who don't have space, provide meals.  Dh cooks during our churches turn, brings the meals to the location they are staying at and we eat with the families.  He has also served meals during parenting classes that are offered.   Everybody likes when he cooks because he doesn't just throw together a cheap, simple meal.  He goes all out and cooks a variety of options for everyone.  Because some of the families are in the program for quite a while, we get to know them and he'll take requests for favorites for the next time he cooks.  I feel like this has more meaning and more of an impact because it's an ongoing relationship that makes a difference to everyone.

[Storygirl]

I imagine that, for the recipients of these trips, it would feel something like this:

 

Let's say you're standing in your yard, and a limo pulls up. A kid in high-end designer clothing gets out and says, "Hi! Bill Gates is my dad and I'm on a mission trip. Wow, you actually live here? That's awful, I feel so bad for you. Anyway, I'm here to help you weed your garden. But, uh, I've never actually weeded a garden, so you'll have to teach me how to do it first."

 

So you spend several hours teaching this kid how to weed a garden. It takes twice as long as if you'd done it yourself and he pulls out half your carrots accidentally, but finally it's done. He looks pleased with himself and says, "You know, after spending the afternoon with you, I finally understand just how very rich I am. Man, am I lucky." He hands you a bible, says something about how if you read it God might give you a nicer house, then climbs into his limo and drives away. Six months later you get a postcard that talks about how happy he is to have developed this relationship with you.

 

Some may seem that way. Our church, however, sends people to areas where the church already has a connection -- either permanent missionary staff or a local church that has a close connection to our own. So it would be more like having friends or acquaintances arriving for a planned visit with a specific purpose than like having a random stranger show up, unwelcome, at your door.

 

For example, the church has a very strong connection with a church in India. The pastor from the Indian church has visited our church several times and has preached to our congregation. This pastor is primarily training Indian pastors to serve in their own communities but welcomes the partnership with our American church. There is a similar relationship with a church in Bolivia, although in that case the resident pastor is a missionary himself, not a local.

 

Most of the missions trips have been for medical help. Some have involved construction or helping with the local church's summer vacation Bible school. The volunteer efforts are carefully coordinated by the local contact people, so that the work can be useful.

 

There are so many different ways that people can serve in missions -- I'm sure some are good for the local people, and some are not. For those who want to go on a mission trip, it is wise to have a good understanding of the sponsoring organization and the purpose of the trip.

 

I do think that one aspect of missions is the impact that is has on the the person who goes -- how it shapes his or her worldview and personal goals. But it is vitally important that there is a positive element for the local people.

[Junie]

Many of our church's teen missions trips involve a group of about a dozen teens going to a much smaller church to run a week-long Vacation Bible School.  They teach Bible stories, sing, do puppets, organize crafts.  It's really a great help to the smaller church that does not have the man power to host VBS on its own. 

[bettyandbob]

The most organized teens in the world aren't going to be as beneficial as a group of skilled, local craftsman getting paid for their professional-level work and then putting that money back into the town's economy.

 

If people want to send their kids on these trips, that's their choice. But I wish they would stop trying to convince everyone else that it's so very helpful to the community the kids are going to. It's not. It's likely harmful in many cases. The ONLY ones benefiting from this are the teens, and I question how much good it really does to reinforce to a teen how affluent they are by having them gawk at the world's poor.

Seriously, depends on how the group is organized. There are actually some jobs in which a large number of unskilled, but strong backs can be used. Sometimes getting a big project done by a group that's in and out in two weeks can be better than one or two locals trying to do it themselves over a years time in between their regular jobs. Additionally, under the guise of the mission, it can be easier to get decent construction materials donated.

 

The trip I'm thinking of is something where the church has an ongoing connection (many years). Additionally, there is no convincing if you mean asking people to just give money. The people involved, adults included spend the year helping with various fundraising activities (carwashes, dinners, yard work, ect). If you go to their car wash someone will be able to tell exactly what they will do that year.

 

I agree high expense travel, with random help the poor (who decides who is poor) goals is useless. I also agree that I don't think soliciting straight donation is appropriate. If one wants to donate time then one must also make an effort to fund the trip. Basically, I don't fund anyone elses trip. Occasionally, I have purchased a service in which I knew the earnings was going to a trip.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Diana P.

[vonfirmath]

Many of our church's teen missions trips involve a group of about a dozen teens going to a much smaller church to run a week-long Vacation Bible School.  They teach Bible stories, sing, do puppets, organize crafts.  It's really a great help to the smaller church that does not have the man power to host VBS on its own. 

 

Our church youth choir does this too.  They help in our church's VBS (which helps them learn the material, etc.) Then take a trip to sing in a sister church, and run their VBS using the same material/curriculum used in our church.

[Bluegoat]

I find I'm even uncomfortable using really legitimate work helping people as a "lesson" for kids.

 

My family usually sponsors a local family at Christmas.  I also typically volunteer to do some deliveries - it means taking a bunch of gifts and usually a turkey a few weeks.  Ideally it's nice to have a helper as it can be hard to park at times and then going back and forth to carry everything is difficult - especially if you are trying not to alert the kids.

 

Anyway, last year my uncle came with me, and then my other uncle wanted me to take his daughter who is 9, and so my daughter who was 10 came.  I have to say it made me very uncomfortable trooping up to people's doors with the kids in tow - even though they carried a few items.  They weren't really necessary helpers, and I don't like treating other people like some sort of moral lesson.

 

I do think that is a more equal setting, such trips can work.  We had teens from a rather wealthy Texas congregation come up to our parish a few years ago - their priest was someone with a connection to our parish.  They had a sort of retreat, but they also did some very helpful work on our building - taking down an old fence and scraping some shingles to paint.  Lots of hand made it quick work, but it really was unskilled and it allowed us to do some repairs at much less cost.  But - what was really missing was the dynamic that we were somehow people who were meant to be a lesson.

[J-rap]

I've seen a variety of short-term (1-2 weeks) missions trips for high schoolers/college-aged students.  Some are done very well, and others aren't.  What bothers me most is an attitude that I sometimes see, which views these short-term mission trips almost as an entitlement.  The student just expects to go on some exotic mission trip when he is of age, all paid for by someone else.  That really, really bothers me.

 

But that is an extreme.  I've also seen ones that are run very well.  Our church offers one every other year where the students don't ask for money.  They don't go out of the country or anywhere far at all, really.  They stay within our region to work on a project that really needs help due to its own lack of finances or support.  It is hard work and long days, and the students usually just sleep on floors of churches.  They probably do not even "preach the Gospel" at all, except through their labor.

 

I'm sure there are ones like that that are overseas as well, and there certainly is a lot of need in this world everywhere.  I've heard of some medical missions trips that sound fantastic.  But sometimes I've seen a real mixed bag too.  We live in Costa Rica for part of the year, and recently, when my sister came to visit, we went on kind of an expensive tour which involved taking a boat out to an island for the day.  We were pampered with a beautiful and delicious feast on the beach under canopies, and the day included snorkeling and kayaking as well.  It cost $150 per person.  There was a group there of really nicely behaved older teens, and I soon learned that they were from the States on a short-term missions trip.  Apparently the church came every year, and every year they did things like this mixed in with the labor.

 

I don't have a problem with that if the students earn their own money, and don't call it a missions trip.  Call it an educational/sightseeing tour of Costa Rica with a chance to work with the locals for a couple days.  

 

We have a good friend who is an older priest.  He has worked in a village in Guatemala for years.  It's a village that gets missions groups from the States all the time.  The priest accommodates them, provides them places to stay, etc.  But he admits that it clearly benefits only the students who come.  I mean, they do come and work, but the village actually has enough workers to accomplish the same thing.  They don't need missionary workers.  But, the priest also believes that if it gives the students a chance to see another culture and see some needs in different parts of the world, and spurs them on to being a more charitable person overall, it can still be a good thing.

 

So I guess there are pros and cons and it depends on how it's done.

 

And don't get me wrong, I have seen really great missions programs out there, and as they get into longer-term stints (even 3 months) instead of the quick 1-2 week teen thing, they are often more labor-intensive and not vacation-y at all.  I know there is a lot of good being done through some of these programs, and contrary to what many people think and what I hinted at earlier, the Gospel is not even being preached necessarily, except through their labor.  They don't come in to just slam a culture with a different, superior religion.  They come in because they truly want to be of help in any way that they can.

 

 

 

 

[FriedClams]

I'm very pro mission. I'd be done some great ones and less great ones with kids. I've seen lives changed. I've seen the Gospel lived and shared. I'm not a fan of begging for donations (I think earning money is important), nor am I a fan of huge groups or low adult supervision. I am a fan of kids seeing outsife themselves, trying, meeting, and praying for others. While teen trips may not be perfect, I think they're important. As a Christian I will continue to support missions and missionaries worldwide as God directs me.

[Carol in Cal.]

Our church doesn't have a 'mission trip culture', but we have participated in some mission trips.

 

They were to a former Eastern bloc country, where a church asked for help running English language summer VBSs.  In that particular country, knowing English is a huge resume builder.  So both adults and teens had specific skills that were specifically helpful to that church and the surrounding community, and they came at the church's request, and worked under the supervision of the church's leadership, hence avoiding the paternalism that can accompany such things if they are not done right.

 

The nonprofit that I'm on the board of always appreciates and requests extra help for the big Christmas give away, and adults and kids come from all corners of the area to prepare for and run this.  There is a huge emphasis on working hard and on giving ACROSS instead of down, and cheerfully.  While these are not mission trips per se, they are meaningful contributions of work that do open up the experience of kids who don't necessarily get much exposure to people who are living marginally, and who see modelled and explicitly taught how to give ACROSS.

 

There is a lot of concern in our church body, as indeed there should be, about how to minister appropriately in an urban environment.  A mission in an Eastern US city seemed to embody that particularly well, and lots of people from all over the country wanted to go visit and see what they are doing first hand.  So the mission thought this through.  They didn't want to be in a fishbowl, but they did want people to be able to benefit from their experience.  So they designed some tightly organized, very specific projects that could enable visitors to make truly meaningful contributions to their progress, that they couldn't staff or pay for locally, and they set up some mission trip 'spots' to enable groups to do this, a limited number of them only.  I thought that that was an excellent approach to the issue.

 

Regarding unskilled labor, I'm reminded of how Habitat for Humanity handles this.  Locally, when you volunteer there, you show up by a certain time, get protective gear assigned to you, get sorted by skill set, and then they take the unskilled workers, teach them briefly how to do one important but easy thing, and then move them around the complex, doing that thing over and over all day.  It's a very effective way of organizing work by unskilled workers, and it gets the job done.  The last time I did this, I was nailing siding onto exteriors, and drawing cuts for siding that was going around windows.  It is hard to overstate how unskilled I am at building stuff.  But I put in a good day's work, and made a genuine contribution.  If I took work away from a journeyman builder, it was work that Habitat couldn't have afforded to pay for anyway.

However, in foreign countries it seems like it would be far more financially efficient to pay for unskilled labor than to provide it, and in that case it's more important to determine the skill set of those visiting and make sure that they can make a genuine contribution.

 

Edited April 5, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[happi duck]

I always imagine the communities that receive the "help" having a meeting and deciding whose turn it is to have their house painted some shade of "donated paint mix".

[bettyandbob]

I always imagine the communities that receive the "help" having a meeting and deciding whose turn it is to have their house painted some shade of "donated paint mix".

I'm not a fan of mission trips, but I know they aren't all pretend make work for volunteers.

 

You don't have to be a skilled craftsman to help build a ramp and deck to make a home handicap accessible to a person with a disability.

[Laura Corin]

I'm not a fan of mission trips, but I know they aren't all pretend make work for volunteers.

 

You don't have to be a skilled craftsman to help build a ramp and deck to make a home handicap accessible to a person with a disability.

 

But if we are talking about overseas trips to developing nations, think how many ramps could have been built and how much money could have been poured into the local economy, if the plane fares had been used to hire local labour, perhaps as part of a local skills transfer process.  Sure: send an expert carpenter if certain skills are lacking, but then train local people in a skill.

[Annie G]

 

 

My daughters took a trip to NYC last summer to help a new church up there put on an event to raise awareness of the church in the community.  They also helped out in the community in general with clean-up and repair.  

 

 

 

Was that  New City Church? 

[bettyandbob]

But if we are talking about overseas trips to developing nations, think how many ramps could have been built and how much money could have been poured into the local economy, if the plane fares had been used to hire local labour, perhaps as part of a local skills transfer process. Sure: send an expert carpenter if certain skills are lacking, but then train local people in a skill.

My comments have been specifically about cheap to get to (driving) locations. I noted that in my other posts. I also noted that overseas trips for unskilled teens in my opinion is a waste. The amount of money raised for overseas travel could be put to better use.

[Elfknitter.#]

I wouldn't put Mormon missions into the same category as "mission trips." Mission trips, to me, are generally humanitarian- or service-based and are generally short-term. Usually younger people go on them to a specific place and often (but certainly not always) with a group of people they know. Mormon missions, on the other hand, are a more like the longer-term service that various Christian missionaries do, although it's never a lifetime thing for Mormon missionaries like it is for many Christian missionaries. The medical missionaries, for example, I've met who are living overseas for years don't say they're on a mission trip because that's a different thing. It's sort of like the difference between going to Central America for a couple of weeks to build houses with Habitat for Humanity and joining Peace Corps (yes, I know the analogy doesn't fit in some ways).

 

Fundraising for LDS missions isn't supposed to be done. The missionary is encouraged to save money before she or he goes and the family usually pays for the rest. There is a mission fund that anyone can contribute to so no one is barred from going on a mission for financial reasons.

 

Thank you for for your explanation showing the difference.

[creekland]

The ONLY ones benefiting from this are the teens, and I question how much good it really does to reinforce to a teen how affluent they are by having them gawk at the world's poor.

 

Interesting perspective, but it's not one any of my teens came home with.  They were able to learn that oodles of people all over the world are quite happy and content with their lives even without so many of the things our citizens consider needs (like running water, power, and flush toilets).  Each one of my boys has toned down any materialism they started to gain from living here by simply seeing how unneeded it all was.  They came back eager to share those lessons with us and would be very content if any of us chose to move to some of these locations.

 

Quite a good lesson IMO and one that is difficult to truly grasp without living in the midst, seeing that the "poor" are not poor by our commercial/media standards.  They are actually quite rich in many aspects of life.

 

Maybe they went with an idea of serving that is stereotypical, but they sure didn't keep that stereotype for long.

 

As I said in my earlier post, we've no regrets at what mine have done and we support others when they're on similar endeavors.

 

Money could be saved by not having exchange students in school too (both tax dollars and travel dollars, etc), but the wealth of info shared between students from different countries is priceless.

[HS Mom in NC]

The ones for teens I'm familiar with include helping with constructing a building and providing for and running a Vacation Bible School type week long event for kids and adults.  At a Vacation Bible School there are Bible stories read aloud, physical games for fun, snacks and/or a meal, crafts related to Bible stories, music and a short sermon each day.

Then there are ones where a pastor or very knowledgeable teacher (adult) goes to train local pastors and other church leaders in the foreign country in doctrine.  Basically a short term seminary class.  Not all countries have seminaries or the fund to attend seminaries so we send someone with materials and knowledge at our expense.

Some include medical professionals going down to provide services not available or accessible to the locals most of the time and people to help with less skilled work like loading and unloading supplies, cleaning up, etc. 

 

I agree it's better to use funds from donors to train and hire locals whenever possible.  It pumps money into their economy, gives them valuable skills they can use for a lifetime, treats them like participants rather than recipients, and gives them more autonomy over their own lives.

[The Girls' Mom]

Was that  New City Church? 

 

No, it wasn't.  

[Annie G]

No, it wasn't.  

My niece and nephew are church planters for New City Church and last summer they hosted groups that did projects exactly like you described...I should have realized that NYC is huge so there are probably a lot of churches doing the same out read programs. Just thought you might have met my niece. 

[Incognito]

This pertinent article just came up in my feed.

 

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/things-no-one-tells-you-about-going-short-term-mission-trips

[lmrich]

My dd was positvely changed by her mission trip. I have no doubt that if we just sent the money to the village to pay for someone else to build the kitchen and two latrines; it could have gone farther. But, we could afford to send my daughter; it was worth the money for her to understand how people live outside the US and Europe. Her youth group leader spends a great deal of time helping the kids prepare for the trip and fundraise. All of the funds that are raised go to pay for building supplies. Only private donors can help off set airfare and food expenses. The church was able to buy a great deal of livestock for the village and supplies for the school. Usually one student makes a decision to be a long term intern at the mission center. He/she serves for 6 - 8 weeks coordinating events and workers. The student gains real work experience and the center gains free work. 

 

Our group does not 'preach' but works with Christian groups already. 

[The Girls' Mom]

My niece and nephew are church planters for New City Church and last summer they hosted groups that did projects exactly like you described...I should have realized that NYC is huge so there are probably a lot of churches doing the same out read programs. Just thought you might have met my niece. 

 

I didn't go, but my dd said it was Mosaic something. (I've forgotten now what she said.)  I think they spent most of their time in Queens?