Believe it or not, there is actually some debate around this question. I believe Pioneering With Passion Ministries (PPM) has a unique ability to offer an answer as we are committed to both long-term mission endeavors as well as hosting short-term teams.
Let me be honest for a minute…it’s really hard work serving extreme-loss refugees in war zones where our small staff has been called to serve. There is a huge need before us. Some people tend to think churches should donate the thousands of dollars it takes to bring mission-trip team members to our area and instead purchase aid and discipleship resources.
But that is not what PPM desires.
We love hosting teams from around the world and realize that it’s an invaluable part of our ministry. But hosting teams does add extra levels of preparation to our mission in serving refugees.
So why not take the easy way out? Why do we go through all the extra effort to host short-term mission trips?
First, having a team of people join us in reaching refugees who fled the war in their home country really is helpful. Each person who joins us represents another individual who can tangibly display the love of Jesus to those who need it. There are more feet to hike into camps and offer a meal to hungry families. There are more hands to lay on those injured or in pain and pray for healing. There are more mouths to proclaim the love of our Savior and His saving message.
Second, and maybe most important, each person who joins a short-term mission trip with PPM, becomes a carrier of the stories they experience. A team member’s experience serving on the mission field often has a deep impact in changing their life along with those they go to serve. It connects them tangibly to Jesus as they live out His words to make disciples of all nations. It breaks them out of their comfort zones, opening their eyes to a larger world in need. The stories they experience travel home with them, being re-told to their family and friends. These stories inspire new groups of people to go out and continue to offer hope, ensuring the refugees are not forgotten.
Harper, a young woman who joined one of our recent jungle missions, shared how the trip changed her life:
“It’s a total perspective change…and it really makes, at least my life, more purposeful. The knowledge that there are other people on the other side of the world who are facing really hard things, not having food, not having enough clothes, or the things that we have…it makes you want to live with, not only an awareness of yourself, but with an awareness for others. It's not comfortable, but is life-changing. You can look at these things and say, ‘hey I can do something about that’.”
That says it all! From our perspective, short-term mission trips are still incredibly important and always needed. The investment on our staff’s part is worth it to see lives transformed, both for those being served, as well as those serving.
For now, PPM is limited to hosting teams from partnering churches and schools in the States as a high level of security is needed for the areas where we work. But there is still an incredible opportunity for you to be a part of the story. Your prayers and financial support ensure extreme-loss refugees have the aid they so desperately need. Also, know that your support helps ensure short-term mission teams who join us have a powerful experience that they can bring back home with them. It’s an investment that is multiplied many times over as the stories are shared and team members begin living transformed lives in their own communities.
Interested in investing in our powerful mission? Check out our Get Involved page to learn how you can take some next steps.