This post is going to be look at youth and short term missions. Why do our youth participate in short term mission? Finally, what do we hope will come out of short term missions?
Short term missions are something that many Youth Ministries participate in on a regular basis. For youth, in my experience, this involves painting, building ramps, serving food, but mostly having minimal interaction with the people they serve.
So, why do our youth participate in short term missions? Are we short term Christians or are we lifelong servants?
As a leader of youth, I want our youth to be exposed to service opportunities. I want them see and meet people that they wouldn’t normally meet. I want them to know that the world is big and full of people who struggle in many different ways. It is not bad, it is different.
So, what are we really hoping will come out of short term missions? I asked a youth this question. Their response was “to help out those in need”. Shouldn’t they feel compelled to do that on a regular basis though? Shouldn’t they want to share the love of Christ with not only strangers in other states but their friends and neighbors also?
These are a few thoughts of mine. I would love to hear some feedback, please comment.