It had been two long, hard weeks of work. We stood in the rain for hours shoveling mud, while dump truck after dump truck delivered more. Along with brothers and sisters of an impoverished community, we had poured concrete, set pillars, and ultimately constructed a new sanctuary. But was it worth it? Would this local church continue to reach the unreached? Would their congregation grow?

Well-developed short-term mission programs should place high priority on sustainability. When I say sustainability, I am talking about something different than carbon offsets and recycling programs. I am referring to the need to develop communities to maintain ministries without the indefinite support of external forces.

Western countries have been extremely generous with developing nations. Churches, governments, and NGOs have given large sums of money leading to the creation of some fantastic programs. Unfortunately, many of these programs die as soon as external funding dries up. You do not want your church or organization to perpetuate this pattern. You want to use your short-term trips to promote sustainable, healthy ministry.

Your short-term mission trips can promote sustainable ministry by encouraging an existing ministry, empowering the indigenous church, and meeting real needs.

Encourage an existing ministry

Every week for years, Pastor Horacio and his family have been going to Guarari to meet the needs of the poor, share the Gospel, and ultimately to revitalize a dying church. Guarari is an extremely oppressed community often referred to as a “precario,” Spanish for “precarious,” an apt description that troubled community. Homes literally hang off the edge of cliffs, ready to crash down with the next earthquake or heavy rain. At any given moment, you might witness a drug deal, while just feet away, a group of children play soccer . . . until their ball falls into the sewage ditch again. Pastor Horacio brings hope into the community. With his goal to revive an abandoned church, he and his family bring clothes, a simple meal, and the good news of Christ.

The relationships that Horacio and his family have built over the years will never be replicated by a short-term trip. But a visiting team could come alongside a man like Horacio to encourage him, help him complete some projects that were previously only a dream, and play an active role in sharing the love of Christ with more people than he could reach on his own.

That is exactly what our group did. I recently led a corporate mission trip to Costa Rica, and we took a day out of our regularly scheduled activities to serve with Horacio as best we could. We asked him how we might serve him and the community, and he immediately pointed us to the homes of two families he works with on a regular basis. We replaced a feces-covered dirt floor with a concrete slab and replaced a rickety lean-to with a solid support system and new tin roofing. These simple service projects gave Horacio a stronger voice in the community. Three days later, Horacio was back in Guarari serving the poor when he was asked by community leaders to bring more service teams to continue “mejorando” (improving) Guarari.

Empower the Indigenous Church

I recently met with a campus pastor, John, who used to be a missionary in Indonesia. I asked him how he viewed short-term teams while he served overseas. He told me the story of two indigenous churches he supported during his time as a missionary.

author

Matt Schulte has lead more than 35 short-term trips over the past nine years. He serves as the director of Casa Viva USA. Casa Viva is mobilizing the indigenous church of Latin America to care for orphans in their community by connecting them to families.