Don’t Miss The Blessing!

July 2007

We are well into summer again and some of you have realized that you didn’t ever get around to planning that mission trip for this year. I have been there. I know what it is like to have the best of intentions but just not get the job done. As an encouragement to you for next year, let me suggest several reasons your church ought to have a mission trip.

1. It will be a source of encouragement and spiritual growth for the pastor and other leaders of the church. I don’t know why this happens, but it does. There is something about a mission trip that will lift up the leadership. When I started taking regular missions trips as a pastor, I could notice the difference in my preaching and my enthusiasm for ministry. My church members noticed it also.

2. People who go on mission trips usually become more active in their local church. I say “usually” because we all know of exceptions. However, it has been my experience and the experience of fellow ministers that people do return from mission trips more excited about their home church.

3. Mission trips lead to more mission activities. People who have a great spiritual experience on a mission trip want more of the same. I have had the experience of taking people first on a home mission trip and then seeing the same people commit to an overseas trip. I have seen people move from being a participant on a mission trip to leading a mission trip.

4. Mission trips help local churches have a broader vision of God’s work. I remember reading a “Peanuts” cartoon several years ago. One of the characters was writing a paper for school on church history. She began the paper with these words, “My pastor was born in . .. .” Sometimes we don’t see beyond what we are doing in our own church. A mission trip will change that.

5. Mission trips allow us to see God work in different ways than He might be working in our local church. This has been especially true for me when I have had an opportunity to minister in a different culture or nation. Things happen differently than we are accustomed to, but we truly see the hand of God. Sometimes, we can bring home fresh insights as to how God might want to act in our church.

6. Mission trips challenge people to deeper commitment of their lives. I have personally seen a number of people realize a call to full-time vocational service as a result of a mission trip. The position that I now hold with KNCSB has come, I believe, because of my involvement in mission trips.

7. Mission trips do something great for the people you go to serve. Even though we get a tremendous blessing from going on a mission trip, those we serve receive a great blessing as well. Often, a mission team can be a great source of encouragement to church and/or pastor struggling to share the gospel in difficult places. I have seen occasions where my greatest contribution on a mission trip has been to just listen to and encourage the pastor of the church we had gone to minister to.

8. Mission trips help us be fulfillers of the Great Commission. In the past Southern Baptists have focused on giving and praying. However, today there are just too many opportunities to go. We have a tremendous opportunity to make a direct difference. Don’t miss the blessing!

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