“Are you sure you'll be safe?”

“Maybe you should try something smaller first."

When we told friends and family we were thinking about taking a family missions trip, the general reaction was less than enthusiastic. They thought we were three seats short of a full flight to pack up our grade-school age kids and travel to the other side of the world with a group of strangers just to help out at an orphanage. Did we really think our girls could and should minister beside their parents so far from home, eating, sleeping, and (worse) going to the bathroom in strange places?

Well, yes.

Traditionally, short-term missions are the province of youth groups and adults who want the chance to minister to other cultures without quitting their day jobs, if you will. But Adam Henry of the relief and development organization Food for the Hungry says that's starting to change. "More and more, families are beginning to inquire about the possibilities of serving together," says Henry. "I see it as beneficial for a child to see parents serve the Lord. Children become world Christians."

My husband and I had talked about the idea for three years, but it never seemed to feel quite right. Yet as our girls got older, I saw them adapting more to our relatively easy life in the suburbs. Yes, they went to church every week and learned the evils of sin, but what about the evils of complacency? I feared that our culture of prosperity and instant gratification would slowly numb them into being careless Christians, unaware of and unconcerned with the hurting world beyond their comfortable lives.

We also felt our kids needed to experience their faith in action, to discover that they didn't have to grow up before they could be ministers. Pastor Eric Spangler, Director of Mobilization for Free Methodist World Missions, took his children ages 4-12 to India for that very reason. He says, "We hoped our children would gain a larger perspective of the world and the kingdom of God, as well as a sense for the lives of those who suffer."

And so last October, our family of five (Mom, Dad, and three girls ages 6, 10, and 11) were on our way to Beijing, China for two-weeks. None of us returned home spiritual giants, but the experience made us certain of one thing: We'll do it again. Because of their time with Chinese children, our three girls have indeed become "world Christians" in ways we never imagined.

The First Step

Once we decided to pursue a family mission trip, we had to figure out where to go and what to do once we got there. To find the right location, I took the easy route and surfed the Net for "short-term missions." I narrowed down those results with a few logistic issues. We probably needed to go someplace close, no trans-Atlantic flights for our three girls, all of whom deal with some degree of ADHD. It had to be affordable. I also had some specifically family-oriented questions: 1) Is the area safe? 2) Can all family members participate in the ministry? 3) Is the agency open to sending families?

When I saw the opportunity to work in an orphanage, I knew it was perfect. Then I saw the place. China. China? Seriously, God? What happened to close, affordable, and easy? But it didn't take long for God to let me know that none of those things were hurdles for him. “Okay,” I prayed, “China it is.”

In the Field

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Mobilizing the Entire Church for Short-Term Missions: This resource will help your church create a comprehensive strategy for being a missions-minded church. Get ideas here for involving kids, and those who can't travel, in short-term missions. Also critical to this tool is an attitude (and specific advice) on how to get people involved in short-term missions while maintaining—and even building—enthusiasm for career missions.

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