Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions by Steve Corbett

Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions by Steve Corbett

Author:Steve Corbett [Corbett, Steve; Fikkert, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8024-9188-6
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Published: 2014-10-15T00:00:00+00:00


SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

BUILDING THE TEAM

Imagine that Patrick walks up to the podium, ready to announce an upcoming short-term trip to his congregation. It is the first communication he will have with the whole church about the trip, and it is the congregation’s first taste of what the trip will look like.

“We will be going to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, working with New Life Community Church to bring hope to an area that was devastated by Katrina. It’s heartbreaking to think that such poverty still exists here in America—when you see it, you will have no choice but to act. This is an opportunity to get in the trenches and really help the least of these, bringing the light of the gospel to a dark area. We are blessed to live such lives of relative comfort, and sacrificing two weeks is the least we can do.”

He sits back down, looking forward to talking to interested church members after the service.

Now imagine that Heather, a leader at another church that is also sending a team to New Life, has her own elevator speech to describe the very same trip. Walking up to the microphone, she begins:

“We will be visiting believers at New Life Community Church in New Orleans, a church started in the Ninth Ward after Katrina. This is an opportunity to learn about their ongoing efforts to help rebuild their community and to share the gospel following the storm. We want to get a sense of how we can best love and support them over the long haul, as well as why poverty is such a systemic issue in the area. We will have four months of pre-trip meetings, a ten-day trip, and six months of follow-up conversations as we explore the place God might have for us in supporting the work of His church in New Orleans—and in our own community.”

One trip. Two very different sets of expectations.



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