Short-term missions are popular and effective, but it takes years of commitment to make a lasting impact, says Dr Detlef Bloecher, director of the German Missionary Fellowship (DMG).With around 400,000 Christians embarking on short-term missions trips from Western countries each year, they have never been more popular.
Although Dr Bloecher hastens to add: “It depends where you cut the line between sightseeing and short-term missions!”
He believes the soaring popularity of short-term missions has something to do with the Western worldview, individualism and the “me, myself and I” attitude.
“Everything is focussed on numbers, measurable facts, and speedy results because time is money. The Western culture also has a bearing on missions,” he told young European Christians at the Mission-Net Congress in Erfurt, Germany.
In spite of this, Dr Bloecher believes short-term missions have a “tremendous impact” and “time is short”.
According to Operation World, around 2.8 billion people have still not heard the Gospel in any meaningful way. Around 200,000 people are dying each day, many of them without knowing Christ
“So there is the urgency, people need Christ,” he said. “There is so much to do in our world. Why focus on open doors where God has already raised up a person?”
There is also a scriptural basis for short-term missions. Jonah was sent to Nineveh and Jesus sent his disciples out to Galilee and Judea for short spells.
“I’m excited young people are going out on short-term missions today, especially when they work alongside long-term projects,” he said.
“Even with short-term missions, you can touch lives and sow seeds. It is amazing what can be achieved.”
Nonetheless, he sees limitations to short-term mission trips. After the short-term mission workers have returned home, someone needs to “pick up the strings and lead on in the discipling”.
There is, he argues, also more of a scriptural basis for long-term missions. It took 40 years for Moses to prepare in Sinai, Joshua spent the same length of time mentoring there, and of course Jesus himself dedicated His life to modelling God’s love.
“Did Jesus come to earth for short-term missions?” he quipped.
For all the benefits of short-term missions, Dr Bloecher would like to see more young Christians consider going long term.
“It takes a long time to form the ambassador of Christ and it takes a long, long time to have an impact on society.”
The German tribes, he noted, took over 1,000 years to completely leave the pagan religion, animism. Equality between men and women has taken 2,000 years. Even in the US, a country founded on the principle of liberty, it took a hundred years to abolish slavery and another hundred years to overcome racial segregation.
“Most cultures are very stable so it takes a long time for change to take place and attitudes to change,” he said.
“It’s a long process and we can’t expect things to happen in a few months – there’s a reason why God sent Jesus to Earth long-term to live with the people.”
Anyone considering mission in a foreign context has to be prepared to spend a long time on their personal development and learning the language and culture, he added.
While cultural barriers are inevitable, the wisdom is to learn from them, be transformed and adapt personal experiences to the cultural context of the host country. In the end, the years of investment will have an impact.
He said: “It takes a long time to come alongside and build relationships … but the language of love is universal and appreciated.”