September 16th, 2008 by Laura Woodworth
Hey - one of the comments posted about short term missions and seeing GLOBAL revival and GLOBAL evangelization… was a suggestion to think of short term opportunities as FAMILY opportunities. I heartily agree with this. A short term mission trip can be a great experience for the whole family and will really put THE NATIONS on your children/teenager’s heart PLUS giving them a WORLDVIEW.
I have great memories of my kids experiencing another culture… my six-year old boy sitting at a table with little Freddie in Chihauha… they didn’t know each other’s language, but they sure found a way to communicate. Or one of my little blonde-headed girls being loved on by the older girls in a Mexican orphanage and seeing how another part of the world lives.
I know there’s a big movement in teen missions today. I’m not knocking those, but I will say that I would always choose a family opportunity over a teenager going off on their own. Go after the nations together! On the other hand, I will say that there were several trips that my husband, Alan, took on his own, because of the nature of the mission. I stayed home with the kids and we found ways to be involved through prayer and scripture. Still a win-win situation as our worldview remained large and not limited by our physical surroundings.
Let me know if you’ve got a great short term mission story… OR if you’ve got some lessons learned that you’d like to share. Let’s advance God’s kingdom and His glory throughout the nations! - Laura Woodworth
September 12th, 2008 by Laura Woodworth
Can revival happen with short term missions? Can you really make an impact on a nation with just a few weeks of ministry? I think the decided answer is yes - if you plan it well… and if you go with revival (the real presence of God burning in your soul!) already happening in your life.
Alan (my husband) has done 2 church-planting trips (Russia, Benin) with a team that met with great success! The key to the success was two-fold:
1) a national pastor had already been trained up and
2) the team went forth with a well-thought out strategy.
Within 10 days to two weeks, with a lot of hard physical work (in one place they actually built a rough building), strategic evangelism and great teamwork (among themselves and with the already established ministry that had dreamed this up) they were able to get back on their plane and head home, leaving a dynamic church in place. IT CAN HAPPEN!
Let me know if you’ve got a “success story” from your short term mission trip. Okay - maybe the success was simply that YOU were the one impacted (see “A Good and Noble Heart Produces Revival blog!), but still, it was a success. Short term missions need to be reevaluated and I’m happy to converse with others about it. -Laura Woodworth
September 10th, 2008 by Laura Woodworth
Ever been on a short term missions trip, thinking you’re going to help the cause of global evangelization and revival…. only to find that YOU were impacted more than the nation or the target people themselves?
It’s a common scenario, but not necessarily a bad one! Jesus’ parable in Luke 8 about the farmer and the seed really puts us in two roles. Sometimes we are the farmer, looking for good ground to sow the GOOD seed of God’s word, and SOMETIMES WE ARE THE SOIL.
Jesus says a good and noble heart will produce. These are the ones that hear the word, retain it, and BY PERSEVERING, produce something of value! Many times, once you get out of your comfort zone and give sacrificially to bring revival or evangelize a people group, something happens to your heart… something good… something noble. And you are changed by God. And made a better minister, missionary, mom, dad, sister, son.
Not a bad tradeoff for a few weeks of service to the nations! My encouragement? Look for the opportunities for your heart to become the heart that produces good things wherever you are. Then we’ll start seeing global revival…. the nations worshiping God…. and the glory of God absolutely covering the earth as He has planned.
Got a story to tell about your short term mission trip to the nations? I’d like to hear it! Just leave a comment below. -Laura Woodworth
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