I have become convinced that if the demands of training are too difficult for youth leaders, they quickly drop training for the sake of expedience. In my conversations with youth leaders, one idea kept coming up: make training part of the mission. And you know what? It makes sense. Under this model, teams would actually pencil in time for training once they arrive at their destination. Incorporating training into the mission lets the local church and the global church ministry each do what they do best. The youth pastor gets his or her team there and has them prepared to learn. They have the proper clothing, not too much stuff, passports, permission slips, and most importantly, willing hearts and spirits. Then the local short-term missionary steps in and begins to build context for the team.

Imagine taking a day or two at the front end of a mission experience to pray, explore the local culture, and place your ministry in context. This would really connect what you are doing locally “over there,” and the upcoming days of service and mission to the larger global mission movement. This way the team arrives, and immediately begins to see and experience the culture. Training is not abstract; it’s connected to people and a place.

Changing the mindset

However, including training in the mission is only one part of the solution. In order to address the real problem in youth missions, we must address an underlying mindset.

Asher Sarjent, Director of Operations at Delta Ministries says that we need to focus more on mission education in our local churches, making mission a real priority. Here is how this plays out. Leaders lacking in mission experience or education tend to see missions as part of keeping up with the Jones’ family. The youth group down the street is going on a mission trip, so we need to do one too. Instead of seeing mission as the natural outgrowth of a growing faith relationship with Jesus Christ, we have raised an entire generation with the idea that they need to go on a mission trip instead of being on mission 365 days a year.

Note the difference. We do not need people who want to go on a mission trip. We need people committed to living missionally, whether they are in Los Angeles, Mexico, or China. In Deep Justice in a Broken World, Kara Powell asks “whether we are willing to view those we serve as ‘partners’ instead of ‘projects’ the other 51 weeks of the year.”

When we just take mission trips, God’s call on our lives to be witnesses to his glory is reduced to one or two week experiences. This is the result of bad theology, and according to Oscar Muriu of Nairobi Chapel, “leads to bad mission practice.” It is something we need to change in the church before it is too late.

Why are we going?

Finally we need to look at our motivations for participating in God’s mission worldwide. The U.S. Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission challenge us to place our focus on those whom we are serving. It states that any mission that has as its primary goal the discipleship of the goer-guest has failed the partnership.

From our store

Short-Term Mission Leader: This specific guide is designed to help you provide orientation and basic training to someone leading a short-term missions team.

Learn More