The Ultimate Road Trip
By John Bailey and Carol Pipes
Missionaries and pastors are desperate for short-term volunteers to help them reach the three out of four people living in North America who don't know Christ.
When is the need the greatest? All the time.
Where is the need the greatest? Everywhere on the continent.
Families on the Gulf Coast need help rebuilding their homes and lives. That's an obvious need. But thousands of miles to the north, churches in Canada need help with outreach events like Vacation Bible School or servant evangelism. One mission experience develops as a reaction to unexpected and tragic circumstances; the other is centered on enjoyable-even fun-environments with meticulous advance planning. Yet volunteers are essential for both types of short-term mission experiences. From Ontario to Louisiana-and everywhere in between-the opportunities are endless to volunteer for short-term missions that have far-reaching results.
Opportunities to serve God exist nearly everywhere you go--beginning in your own community, across your state or North America and through- out the world. Here are nine basic steps for individuals, families or mission teams who want to be on mission.
1. Pray. Ask God to lead you through the process of finding a place to serve.
2. Be realistic. What do you feel called to do? Where do you feel called to serve? How much time can you commit? When is the best time of year for you, your family or team to go on a mission trip? What financial flexibility do you have?
3. Check with your church, local association or Baptist state convention for mission opportunities of interest close by. To learn more about opportunities throughout North America, visit NAMB's volunteer mobilization website at thebridge.namb.net. Register and complete a user profile, then search for projects based on project type, region, key word or date.
4. Choose your project based on location, type of work and skills needed. Projects appropriate for families include Vacation Bible School/Backyard Bible Clubs, Resort Ministry, Campground Ministry, possibly even construction if older children are participating. Again, be realistic. Choose a project that has value and will allow you to accomplish the task, so you don't leave frustrated.
5. Contact a local pastor or missionary. All projects listed on The Bridge have a project manager who will serve as the leader when you arrive. The project manager will help with logistics such as lodging plus provide cultural information to help you prepare your team in advance. Determine your project date as early as possible. For a summer trip, it is suggested that you begin planning the previous fall, and set a date by January 1.
6. Nail down logistics. Decide travel plans early, so if plane tickets are needed you can buy them in advance, maybe using websites offering specials. Book hotel rooms three months ahead (resort towns require more lead time). Search for family or group discounts, or consider options such as camping or staying at a church. Your project manager can help with housing, but you may need to provide meals.
7. Define your task and expectations in detail by phone and email with your project manager. Practice what you'll be doing at home so you're ready for what will take place on site.
8. Research the culture of the people you'll be serving. People in Iowa will respond differently from people in Texas. Your project manager will be your best source.
9. Go. Serving through missions can become a life-changing experience.
Missions is living out your faith in obedience to what God has called you to do. It's about changing your world by helping meet the needs of others, with the result of introducing them to Jesus. Being on mission is doing this in a deliberate, intentional way.
God has called all believers to step out of our comfort zones and mobilize for missions. And what greater adventure could there be than traveling across North America to share the gospel with people who need to hear about the saving grace of Jesus?
Could a mission trip be in your future? Fair warning-they aren't for the faint of heart. Living conditions can be uncomfortable-consider the volunteers who helped after Hurricane Katrina. Even helping with VBS can be unpredictable-requiring flexibility and an attitude of servanthood.
But if you love adventure and want to be part of something only God can accomplish, it's time to pack your bags and hit the road. Whether you're a family, church group or individual, God has prepared a place for you to serve.
Pam and Dean Rowell of Longview, Texas, began instilling a love for missions in their children-even when they were in diapers-by experiencing the Great Commission together as a family.
"The Bible says train them up in the way they should go," says Pam. "We've never taken a family vacation that wasn't associated with a mission trip. For 17 years we've used our vacations to go on mission to Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Alaska, Louisiana, Mexico, Wyoming, and other parts of Texas."
Now in their teens, Eric and JoyAnna have gone on family mission trips every year since they were born. Traveling with small children isn't easy, but the Rowells know they've laid a solid foundation for their children to understand the importance of mission service and sharing Christ with nonbelievers.
Like any vacation, a mission trip allows families to spend time together, drawing closer and having fun. But in addition, family mission trips provide a shared experience for changing their world.
One responsibility of all churches is mobilizing volunteers, a natural opportunity to provide the kind of hands-on experience that becomes a spiritual marker in the life of a Christian. Also, short-term mission trips are an important step in the process of growing mature Christians who one day may be called to a career on the mission field.
Missions is the heartbeat of Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee. Using Acts 1:8 as a guide, they developed a missions strategy to reach the local community, their state and continent and even overseas.
"We encourage each ministry area to be actively involved in missions," says Todd Pendergrass, associate pastor of administration and missions. "Every age group can participate in missions, and we even provide opportunities for families."
Faith Baptist commissioned almost 2,000 volunteers in 2005, sending them as far away as Alaska, Brazil and the Philippines. Others stayed close to home, participating in Loving Our City projects. Each Sunday school class has a missions coordinator, and all classes are encouraged to participate in one local mission project per month.
When a new public school opened across the street, Faith Baptist volunteers were there to help teachers and administrators move in. Others spent time in downtown Memphis feeding the homeless and working at a clothes closet.
"Many volunteer with our multi-housing ministry," says Todd. "We planted Hope Fellowship Baptist Church at a local apartment complex, providing worship services, occasional block parties and tutoring for about 100 kids. The ministry has been so successful the owner wants a church planter at each of his 17 complexes. I'm excited to see our people put feet to their faith."
To effectively answer God's call to take the gospel to all people, it's vital for churches to develop a long-range plan. The North American Mission Board and its SBC mission partners has enlisted more than 1,400 churches to adopt an Acts 1:8 strategy, committing to year-round missions to reach their Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. And, using present-day locations, where might that be?
Let's use the example of Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee. Thinking of the Acts 1:8 locations as concentric circles, when Faith helped the school across the street, this was definitely their Jerusalem-or immediate community. Judea would be a more distant geographic area from the church, perhaps the city-wide projects or planting churches in outlying apartment complexes or missions elsewhere in Tennessee. Think of Samaria as North America, so Faith Baptist members traveling to Alaska were reaching their Samaria. And international locations like Brazil and the Philippines would correspond to the ends of the earth referenced in Acts 1:8.
For resources to promote a missions mindset at your church visit www.ActsOne8.com.
And remember: good mission projects don't just happen. Following a few simple guidelines will help make the experience meaningful to the on mission volunteers as well as the people they serve. Here are fundamentals every church should consider when planning a mission trip.
• Leadership is the key to success. If the team leader is not on your church's staff, recruit a volunteer from your membership to be trained and equipped to lead. To be successful, this person should have a call to missions, good organizational skills and the ability to work with and motivate others. The team leader will take primary responsibility for project logistics, keeping everything on track and maintaining communication with the on-site project manager.
• To enlist a mission team, make announcements about upcoming mission trips and encourage interested folks to sign up by a certain date. Then conduct an orientation meeting to lay out expectations, logistics and requirements. First-timers may have questions, so this meeting can go a long way toward alleviating their anxiety about "the unknown." Also, this is the time to inform team members about required training, which is best developed around four areas.
1) Spiritual preparation. A Bible study on the basics of missions and service can be instructive and inspirational. Prayer and a personal relationship with Christ are prerequisites to being on mission.
2) Task training. Whether it's how to teach children, how to paint a house or how to conduct a block party, task training is essential for a successful trip.
3) Evangelism training. All team members should learn how to share their faith. Provide opportunities to practice doing this, so they'll feel comfortable before the beginning of the trip. There's only one gospel message, but there are a variety of ways to share it. To be an effective witness, learn about the culture or people group you're trying to reach. Most on mission Christians have a favorite evangelism tool, whether it's a tract, witnessing bracelets or a written testimony. Some tools are more appropriate in certain situations than in others. Choose one that works best for your group and then practice using it.
4) Hands-on preparation. To provide experience beforehand, work together on a local project such as your church's VBS. If your mission team will be doing construction, smaller projects in your community give participants a chance to learn how to work with tools. Be sure to involve the whole team.
• Budgeting boils down to three choices for financing a mission trip: 1) place the total cost of the project in the church budget; 2) designate the project as "total cost recovery" and charge sufficient participant fees to cover all costs; or 3) blend these models together. Many churches use the blended model with part of the total cost funded by the church budget, part charged to the participants and part recovered through sponsorships or fundraisers. This plan has the benefit of requiring serious commitments from both the participant and the church. To build a mission trip budget, consider costs such as transportation, lodging, food and ministry supplies. A free downloadable Volunteer Mobilization Logistics Manual with budget worksheets and planning checklists is available at www.namb.net/Logistics.
• Implementing a successful mission trip depends on how closely you work in advance with your project manager/missionary so there are no surprises when you arrive on site. If possible, key leaders should make a pre-project visit to the location. Ask the project manager/missionary how your team can best assist him or her in meeting the goals of the ministry. By working with that person you can design a schedule to maximize your impact and complement the established ministry. Also, missionaries value teams who have high standards of behavior and dress during the trip. Consider establishing a dress code and covenant for conduct. Make sure you look at the trip with an eye toward maximizing safety and minimizing the risk of danger.
• Involve the whole church by holding a commissioning service before the trip. This will bring into focus the importance of missions for the entire church and remind volunteers that the body of Christ is sending them out. When you return, plan a follow-up celebration. This is the perfect forum for volunteers to share what God accomplished during the mission trip. Be creative in the presentation-use photographs and video to show church members what took place.
Today, hundreds of thousands of Southern Baptist volunteers are answering the call to short-term missions. For many, it's a launching point to a lifetime of being on mission. Isn't it time you answered the call?