Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – Your short-term mission trip ended a few weeks ago. You are back to daily life and no longer think much about the country you visited. Everyday concerns are crowding your mind, and you are slowly forgetting what you did on the trip.
After a short-term mission trip, many people come home on fire, but a few weeks later the flame cools. Scripture urges, “Do not let your zeal subside; keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). These eight ideas will help you stay passionate about missions after a short-term trip. Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
On these trips you experience God and grow in faith. Yet just a week or two later, you can be swept back into routine and forget what God placed in your heart. This happens naturally; that is how we are. On the trip, you and your church focused on connecting with and sharing the gospel with the people where you went. When it was over, you came back to everyday life.
But God called you to go for a high and holy purpose. So how will you respond after each trip? Change your habits and focus on God’s clear call to go. Here are 8 ways to keep your passion for missions after a short-term trip:
8 Ways to Keep Your Passion for Missions
1. Pray
Every day, bring to God the work you did on the trip. Keep praying for full-time missionaries and the people you met. Pray for those in your church and ask God to give them a greater passion for missions. Ask God to make you fresh every day, keep your heart focused on mission work, and seek His will for the next steps.
2. Share
Have you told your friends about your experience? This may be the best way to get people in your church and the Christian community more interested in missions. Share with trusted people how you experienced God on the trip, or how God is worshiped and praised in another culture. You could also ask your pastor and church leaders for permission to share with the congregation during a prayer meeting or Sunday service.
3. Love
Care for the missionaries you know; they often bear the quietest suffering. Email or call them regularly. Write to tell them your church is praying for them. Remember their special days (anniversaries, their birthdays or their children’s) and pay attention to their personal needs.
4. Give
Ministry doesn’t happen without funding, so volunteer to give to a mission project or ministry. Make it your desire to become a monthly supporter of missionaries in various places. God calls some of us to go and others to support (by praying, giving and more), but He calls all of us to take part in missions. You may realize mission trips aren’t for you. If you are not a goer, be a sender.
5. Read and Learn
There are thousands of books on missions. Look for writings about missionaries and mission leaders (for example, Introduction to Global Missions, Let the Nations Be Glad!, The Missionary Call). Study what the Bible says about missions. Read about missionary heroes and learn from their obedience, struggles and service. Explore websites about missions in today’s world. Find out what a full-time, cross-cultural worker needs to prepare.
6. Follow
Most missionaries use social media, email, YouTube or other online channels. Follow the regular updates of your new missionary friends. Sign up for their prayer letters and emails. Many missionaries share both the remarkable and the ordinary, the joys and the challenges. Digital media has greatly benefited missions over the past decade. Missionaries connect online and regularly share their experiences so other believers can see God’s work everywhere, and Christ is exalted.
7. Go Back
Plan your next short-term trip. Mark it on your calendar. Make annual trips a priority for your family and church. The more you take part in missions, the more deeply you will grasp God’s love for the lost. As you gain experience, if you can help organize and lead future trips, offer this to your church leaders. (But make sure you are not doing short-term missions in unhelpful ways.)
8. Discern
Discern through prayer whether God is calling you to long-term mission work. Many full-time missionaries first developed their passion on a short-term trip. Maybe this summer was the first time you met missionaries. Now you know they are not super-Christians; they are simply people willing to answer the call. Does God want you to cross your own culture into a completely new place to expand His kingdom? Ask Him to show you clearly so you can recognize His call.
Widen Your Vision
Not every church is involved in missions, and today only some Christians have ever gone on or supported a mission trip. It is a sad and alarming sign that Christians are “staying in the safe zone.” Go and experience what God is doing among other peoples. Be eager to reach the lost, because God Himself is eager to reach the lost through mission.
What are you doing to bring the good news to your neighbors? Are you sitting still in the safe zone, afraid to step out? Boldly receive the power of the Holy Spirit and act, so you no longer keep God’s love to yourself.
Keeping the Fire of Missions Burning
Keeping your passion for missions doesn’t mean you have to travel far to serve. Look around where you live: your neighbors, coworkers and classmates are the mission field God has placed before you.
Share your trip testimony with your church, keep praying for the people you met, and find one concrete way to serve locally this month.
You may also like: 10 Prayers for Missions and Mission Trips and What Does Evangelism Cost?.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for what You have done through mission trips. Keep the fire of missions burning in our hearts, so that we live as witnesses and share the gospel right where You have placed us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Article: Quỳnh Vũ
Adapted from: TheGospelCoalition.org
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