Blog
Much ink (and online pixels) have been spilled over how to move students past spiritual tourism to mission trips and eventually missional living. One of the often neglected keys in this process is the role of the in-field missionary partner.
The role a missionary plays in a student’s mission trip experience will have a profound impact on how they understand ministry, missional living, and Christian community. A philosophy of “serving alongside” rather than being “hosted by” a missionary partner, healthy communication before and after the trip, and ongoing support and relationship are essential in preventing a mission partner from being just a spiritual tour guide.
So, if you are a youth worker involved with leading a short term mission trip, resist making your host simply a spiritual tour guide and instead bring them back where they belong: as the one you are going to partner with and serve alongside.
Here are 3 practical steps to get you started:
1. Visit them before you bring your first team
A fantastic way to communicate to someone that you value them more as a Christian brother or sister than what they can offer you is to visit them without your team first. Bring a key leader or your spouse with you and arrive with a learning mindset. How long have they been ministering to this community or people group? What are their biggest challenges/dreams? How can you support them in the work they are already doing? And the toughest question to ask: Will it help or hurt their ministry if you were to bring a team?
2. Communicate with them often through any means possible
In addition to planning logistics with you as a leader, it is essential that the missionary partner communicates with the team you are bringing. Prayer requests, words of encouragement, cultural context, and even training are possible through a wide variety of communication channels. Depending on the missionary partner’s proximity to technology, communication can occur through handwritten letters, email, conference calls, online chats, even video conferencing using free services like Skype or Tokbox.
3. Bring them into your home and your sphere of influence
Think beyond offering your long-term missionary partner a weekend or week once a year. You have an entire network of potential supporters and a sphere of influence that is outside of their reach. Make it a long-term goal to raise enough money to bring them to your church. Provide them with an opportunity to share their heart for ministry and connect them with potential prayer and financial supporters. If you can’t afford to bring them back physically, bring them and their story back digitally. Next time you serve alongside them, have a student or volunteer photograph or film the experience (with their permission).
Here is a great example of a video done by one of our volunteers that was shared with our church community once we got back home:
Talk Back:
- What are some other ways to enhance the role of the missionary partner?
- What are some creative ways in which you have communicated with your missionary partner?
Trackback URL: http://fulleryouthinstitute.org/2009/05/the-often-neglected-missionary-partner/trackback/
Leave a Reply