The setting is still vivid in my mind. We stood at the view point elevation looking over the beautiful city of Honolulu. Graciously our guide had shown us around the island and it was now the end of the day. We had been together long enough to ask honest questions. "Why," he asked, "are you bothering to go to Thailand? You had a good church job in Northern California. You were near your family. Why throw that away? What is the value of going anyway?"

Most of you have faced that question. If some of your friends and family haven't verbalized it, they have thought it. Certainly you have in your own heart and mind asked it. If you haven't, you need to. In this chapter we want to say emphatically there are lots of good reasons to go. Let's think about them together.

• Who has asked you questions about the reasons and value of going on short-term mission?
• What has been said and how have you responded?

The statistics of the US Mission Handbook refer to people who went on a mission assignment lasting 2 weeks to one year. Many more went out for ministries lasting more than one year. David Barrett, the world's most renowned mission statistician, indicates the global foreign missionary force of all Christian agencies and denominations is about 425,000 strong in 2001. When you realize that short-termers make up about 50% of the North American mission force, you can begin to see the impact short-term missions are having on the global mission enterprise of the church.

The number of people in short-term missions is so great and the ways they are sent so diverse that numbers are "guesstimates."

The largest groups going are student missionaries, Adventist volunteers, and ADRA project workers, but numerous smaller sending agencies and local churches are also getting involved in mission projects. More short-termers go out from North America each year than the total number of regular Adventist missionaries now serving in cross-cultural situations (about 800) in the whole world. Maranatha International alone sends out thousands of volunteers. The South Pacific Division uses some 1000 volunteers on a yearly basis in short-term mission projects. And a few years ago Global Mission began to mobilize tens of thousands of local Global Pioneers in church planting projects.

Biannual GO-conferences focusing on the challenges of world mission began at Andrews University in 1991. Other countries developed their own mission structures: the German G' Camp, GO UK, and mission conferences in Romania, Hungary, the Philippines, Brazil and other countries. These events brought the plight of God's mission to the world to thousands of young people.

To support this exciting trend the General Conference established the Adventist Volunteer Center at the Secretariat.

Why This Trend?

What are the reasons for this tremendous upsurge in short-term missions? Let us consider briefly three of the main reasons.

"William Carey, an influential missionary in the 1700's, spent the equivalent of today's US$400,000 to get passage for his family one way to India. That is twenty times the average Christian salary today." (Gibson, 1992:23)

You can see why missionaries in those early days went for long periods of time. Not only was travel expensive, it took weeks and months by ship, train, and even ox cart to arrive. You can now fly from New York to Casa Blanca in six hours and in about 24 hours from anywhere to about anywhere. You can fly most any place round-trip for less than one month of an average worker's salary. E-mail and fax messages can be sent almost instantaneously to most places in the world. The communication revolution is in full swing and the world is "shrinking." In a practical way, for the first time in history, short-term mission makes sense!

Reason 2: Short-termers can give serviceyet not disrupt the regular flow of their lives.

Students can give a summer or a school year to mission service and go back to college without problems. Workers can take vacation time or arrange their schedules to take a special leave and then return to their regular work. Retired people are often still vigorous and can leave their home in the care of friends as they serve for a short period.

Reason 3: Churches and mission agencies now encourage short-term missions.

In the light of the above facts, the church is actually promoting short-term missions for the first time. Enthusiastic returnees tell stories in schools, churches, and camp meetings and share their enthusiasm. The increasing number of people who have experienced mission firsthand are also becoming "missionaries" to their friends at home, urging them to experience the same thing.

So What?!

So there is a major movement of people who are getting involved in short-term missions. So there are good reasons for this move. So what? What good do these short-termers do? Aren't these just vacation junkets for people who like to travel? What are the benefits to God's kingdom of all this going and coming?

The church wouldn't be encouraging this if it didn't really believe it was good for the cause of God. Listen to some of the reasons.

Benefit 1: Short-term mission benefits the goer.

• A broadened perspective on the world with all its hurts and needs.
• A chance to test themselves and their ability to serve and adapt.
• Opportunity to make new friends—both among fellow missionaries and those served.
• A sense of satisfaction from the choice to do something for others.
• Realization of the benefits that come from caring for the spiritual and material needs of others.

Benefit 2: Short-term mission benefits the host people.

• They can see the caring and interest of the missionaries.
• They gain new perspectives on their world and the world outside.
• Spiritual and/or material aid is received.

Benefit 3: Short-term mission benefits the sender.

• Hands-on faith experience shared in the local church.
• Greater dedication to mission and church.
• Potential for future service at home and abroad greatly increased.
• New vision for what the church can and should do.
• Pool of experienced workers for more short-term/career service.

Why Short-Term Mission Is Viable

Research confirms the viability of short-term missions. Short-Term Evangelical Missions (STEM) has done extensive research on the changes that take place in their returned short-term missionaries.

Note the following findings:

"STEM's short-term mission program was found to double participant's prayer and financial giving focused on mission and world evangelization."
"Our study observed the return of one out of three respondents back to the mission field within four years of their short-term."
"A structured short-term mission has tremendous possibilities for increasing involvement back home. Mission-related support activities were found to increase 64%..."

Source: Short-Term Evangelical Missions. Is Short-Term Mission Really Worth the Time and Money? STEM Ministries, Inc. P.O. Box 290066 Minneapolis, MN 55429. This report is based on in-depth research on the benefits of STEM's structured short-term program to returned missionaries and their church families.

So How about You?
I hope you feel better about going already! You have some answers for yourself and others. You are part of a growing movement where God is at work. Remember—the benefits of short-term mission increase in magnitude with training and preparation. The STEM research report talks about structured short-term missions that have a good dose of pre-departure training.

That is what this series of chapters is about. Study them as an act of love to God and to those you are going to serve.

1. What are the main reasons for the growth of short-term missions? Do you agree? Can you add some reasons to the ones given in the chapter? Do you think God is behind this movement? Why?

2. Of the benefits stemming from short-term missions what are the most important in your eyes? Can you add others to the list? What are they?

3. Do you think training is important even for short-term missionaries? Why? Give the reasons.