Now that summer is past and autumn has begun (at least here in the Midwest) churches and individuals--and the receiving missionaries as well--are evaluating the long-term impact of the short-term mission trips that took place this summer. If you received a short-term team from one of your supporting churches this summer, we'd like to ask you to share your experience with us. What went well? What challenges did the team face? What was difficult for you? How were they received by the host country? What could the sending church have done better? What could your field have done better? What did you observe about the American church through receiving a short-term team? We will compile your responses and include them in an upcoming newsletter. Please send your thoughts to Suzanne at S.Johnson@WorldVenture.com. Below is Suzanne's report from her trip to Romania this summer with a team from her church. 

The same day Dave left for his tour of Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Cambodia this summer, I boarded an Alitalia flight for a 12-day short-term mission trip to Romania. I went as part of a team of 16 leaders from the young adult ministry at my church to work alongside a group of young adults from our sister church in Arad, Romania. Together we ran a week of evangelistic summer camp for the church’s youth, their friends, and other teens from the community.

This was my first overseas mission trip. In the 3 years I’ve served with WorldVenture here in the Central office I’ve read, researched, written, and talked about short-term missions. When the opportunity arose to go to Romania with my church, I was eager to now be the “sent one” who would have a chance to see how all of that accumulated knowledge would hold up against experience. And so, a few observations and a lesson learned:

• Americans come with baggage. And I’m not talking about my 2 pieces of checked luggage, stuffed within pounds of the weight limit with personal items and supplies for camp. I mean that when our team traveled to Romania to minister in the name of Christ, we were received by the teens as American Christians, as opposed to Christians who happen to be from the U.S. Our nationality—which is inextricably tied to our country’s media, materialism, and politics—preceded us and dominated first impressions.
• They really will know we are Christians by our love. One girl who made a first-time commitment to Christ at camp made the comment, “I have known so many people who call themselves Christians, but they don’t have what you have. You’re happy. You have hope. You really love each other. I want to be a real Christian like all of you.”
• Short-term teams that further the existing efforts of the local church or missionary are able to make a contribution with a promise of long-term impact. Though it was hard to say goodbye to the kids we’d come to know and love in just a week at camp, our team was able to have such joy and hope knowing that all of these kids—those who have attended the church for years and those who had never set foot in it before—would continue to be pursued and discipled and loved on through the church’s youth group and small group ministry.
• Marshmallows do not fare well in extreme temperatures. A suitcase full of marshmallows for making s’mores around the campfire. The worst heat wave in Eastern Europe’s recent history. We didn’t think that one through. Short-term teams must be able to laugh at themselves and remember there are always things to learn for next time!
• In humility count others more significant than yourselves. One of the very first things we did as a team was decide on 8 core values that would govern our behavior toward one another and check the attitude of our hearts over the months of preparation and finally the trip itself. Humility was on that list, and it turned out to be one of the areas in which the Lord grew me most through this experience.

  I learned that humility is the result of a conscious—and repeated, and necessary—choice to humble myself in any given situation or moment, especially when I am tempted to think (to myself) and/or assert (to others) that my way is better, or my contribution is greater, or my idea is cleverer, or my faith is stronger, or my style of ministry is more effective, etc. It is to count others—with their needs, burdens, gifts, struggles, fears, skills, triumphs, and dreams—more significant than myself.

  I had to humble myself when the language I spoke was not sufficient to speak to the students’ hearts. I had to humble myself and place serving others ahead of my physical comfort. I had to humble myself to jump in and be a team player even if it meant looking ridiculous in front of others. I had to humble myself when I was tempted to show favoritism and spend my time with the kids who were easier to love. I had to humble myself when the gifts and skills I had to offer were not a perfect match to the task, as it seemed others’ were. I had to humble myself when criticized by my Romanian co-leader for the way I handled something. I had to humble myself when I realized I’ve experienced nothing of the kind of persecution and hardship these brothers and sisters face.

  Over and over again I was faced with the choice to humble myself or to assert myself. I wish I could say I made the right decision in every situation, or that it wasn’t difficult and often painful to do so. I can’t truthfully say that, but by the grace of God I can say that over the course of this trip I became increasingly aware of my pride and on more occasions chose the way of humility instead.

  The passage I keep coming back to as I continue to process and reflect on my experience in Romania is Philippians 2:1-5. It was a beautiful depiction of the body of Christ to see our team come together with the team of leaders from our Romanian sister church and find ourselves truly like-minded, one in spirit and purpose. And because of our common goal and commitment, we were able to both tell and demonstrate for the kids, with such joy, that there is encouragement in Christ; there is comfort, love, fellowship, tenderness and compassion—and that God invites them to share in all of that when they embrace Jesus Christ by faith. We rejoice that seven students made first time commitments to Christ at camp, and many more rededicated themselves to following Him.

If you’d like to see photos from my trip to Romania, you can view them here.

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THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT
Have you heard of the “butterfly effect”? The phrase refers to the notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions. The technical definition of the butterfly effect claims that “small variations of the initial condition of a nonlinear dynamical system may produce large variations in the long-term behavior of the system.” In 1963 Edward Lorenze posed the questions, “Could the flap of a sea gull’s wings in Brazil affect a tornado in Texas? Or could the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Singapore have an effect on a hurricane in the Caribbean?” His answer to both questions in yes! In other words, seemingly insignificant actions can have enormous long-term effects.

In the book The Perfect Storm, it’s suggested that with the right climatic conditions, a breeze off the coast of France can create a monster 100 foot wave in the western Atlantic that has the power to break an aircraft carrier in half or drive the same vessel into the ocean floor hundreds of feet below the surface like a stake driven into the ground. The butterfly effect—small beginnings can have enormous impact.

Read the book of Acts with the butterfly effect in mind. Just a handful of unlikely people have literally changed the world. In Acts 17, Paul’s preaching riles the Jews in Thessalonica. They attack Jason’s house and drag him and some other brothers before the rulers of the city. The charge against Paul and Silas, and Jason and the brothers by association? “These [men] have turned the world upside down” (v.6, NKJV). Even then these men were perceived to be turning the world upside down with their message. I wonder what the angry mob might have said about Paul and Silas, Jason and the brothers and their effect on the world if they had eyes to see 21 centuries into the future?

Or think forward with me of people such as William Wilberforce who served as a member of the British parliament in the 1800’s. For 34 years he fought against slavery and finally saw slavery overturned in the British Empire.

Lord Shastberry also lived in England around the same time. He observed his society and was deeply troubled by the treatment of children. They were living unattended on the streets; they were forced to work in mines as early as seven because they were small and so the mine owners could drill smaller shafts; children were literally dropped down chimneys to clean them; children were prostituted for the pleasure of evil men. Lord Shastberry gave his life and virtually all his considerable fortune to address these issues. To a large extent the Western world’s view of child labor and welfare is due to the stand taken by Lord Shastberry.

In the late 1800’s, Jerry McCully and Sam Haggley saw the problem of the homeless and the alcoholic in the U.S. and decided that something must be done. They spoke about the plight of these people in urban areas with such power and conviction that the great inner-city mission movement took shape across our nation.

Around the same time Amy Carmichael left Ireland and went to India. She was deeply disturbed by the practices of infanticide and forced prostitution of children and said, “If you don’t want your children, I’ll take them.” She founded Dohnavur Fellowship at the southern tip of India that would become a sanctuary for over 1000 children.

Bob Pierce went to China and Korea as an evangelist in the 1940’s and came home broken by the condition of children in our world. He started World Vision.

Is the butterfly effect still at work today? Can you and I be part of a generation of people who can literally turn their world upside down? I think so! We must remember that in a world that’s so bent on celebrity status, our work cannot be about us or we have received our reward. It must be about God and the work he wants to do through us and others in this world. The mob in Acts 17 was looking for the men responsible for turning the world upside down. Will we dare to believe that we can do the same in our part of the world? Will we stand on the shoulders of a William Wilberforce or an Amy Carmichael and say, “Enough is enough. I must in the power of God address this issue”?

May the flutter of our butterfly wings be used by the power of God to rock this world.

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“O God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth’s treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life. Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee. Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health, and even my life. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, ‘Hosanna in the highest.’ Amen.”

- a prayer of A.W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God

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Salvation to the Ends of the Earth: A Biblical Theology of Mission
by Andreas Köstenberger and Peter O’Brien, 2001 Intervarsity Press
Reviewed by David Korb

Have you been looking for a book on the Biblical theology of missions? Or, perhaps I should ask, would you like to read a great book on the Biblical theology of missions? If this is the case, then I commend to you this book! In 270 pages the authors examine the place of mission within the extent of biblical history. The volume concludes with 80 pages of appendices, bibliography, and indices. This is book 11 in the series New Studies in Biblical Theology edited by D.A. Carson.

The authors introduce their subject by saying, “Between Eden and the eternal state, between Abraham and Armageddon, between Babel and the beast’s confinement to the lake of fire, few Biblical topics are as important as mission. This is because mission, while purposed by God prior even to sin, is inextricably linked to man’s sinfulness and need for redemption and God’s provision of salvation in the person and work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. This ‘good news’ of salvation in Jesus, however, must be made known. Thus mission is the ingredient that both precedes Christian existence and constitutes a major motivation for Christian living: the saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation of Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is the message of mission, a mission that is not optional but mandatory.”

The authors begin their biblical-theological approach by exploring mission in the Old Testament by focusing on major OT themes such as the Abrahamic promises. This is followed by an exploration of mission in the second-temple period. The authors then deal with mission in various corpora of the NT period: Mark, Matthew, Luke-Acts, mission according to Paul and John, and finally mission in the General Epistles and the book of Revelation.

The authors conclude by writing, “There was no ‘mission’ in the Garden of Eden and there will be no ‘mission’ in the new heavens and the new earth (though the results of ‘mission’ will be evident). From the first glimmer of the gospel in Genesis 3:15 to the end of this age, however, mission is necessitated by humanity’s fall into sin and need for a Saviour, and is made possible only by the saving initiative of God in Christ.” (pg. 251)

I highly recommend this book on the biblical theology of mission. It will inform, stretch, convict, and position you to clearly articulate a Biblical understanding of mission. It is worth the investment of your time. It would also be an excellent text or reference for someone teaching a class on this subject.

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