What could grow your spiritual life, reach the lost, encourage a struggling church, forge lifelong friendships, allow you to see new parts of the world, experience new cultures, encourage your church, equip you for ministry and be the adventure of a lifetime?
The answer is going on a short-term mission trip this summer with an organisation like GLO, who have run them successfully for years. This year they are sending mission teams to Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Tanzania, as well as teams within the UK too.
Obviously something that good comes at a cost and the price to pay here is a week of your holiday and around £100 towards costs. However, it is a week that could change lives forever—including your own!
Some folks have never considered investing a week in a mission-trip, others did them when they were young and then gave up, some think that short-term trips don’t do lasting good. Stephen from GLO Europe wants to challenge such thinking. He reports that:
- Host churches all over the world say that visiting teams are a huge encouragement to them. One pastor wrote: “Thank you so much for your ministry and all the help you gave us. We saw the heavens open and the Lord’s hand working beyond natural expectations.”
- Teams are multi-generational and not just made up of young people.
- Groups from one church can serve together. One youth group from Glasgow went to the Czech Republic. “There is also no doubt that the experience of serving in a cross-cultural context had a profound effect on the young people” said their leader.
- Thousands of gospels and tracts in tens of languages are given out all over the continent!
Student ministry, literature distribution, children’s clubs, street-work, church-based programmes, arts, parties, youth clubs, open-air work, drama, quizzes, church services, practical help are just some things that short-term mission teams get up to.
There is however one significant danger in short-term ministry trips. Some people find that the experience is so transformative that they sign up to become long-term missionaries! So don’t just think about what you might be able to get in your holidays, but what you might be able to give.
Pray: Lord, my time is yours. How do you want me to spend it?
Previously: Launch Pad #23 Start or Join a Christian Workplace Group
Next: Launch Pad #25 Practice Your Testimony and Pray for an Opportunity to Share It.
