Most people are aware that they should never go into a cross-cultural context with expectations and presumptions of what it will be like. But in the context of short-term missions and the global church, there are a few things you can expect and should be intentional about when working with a like-minded ministry. Some of our group leaders from last year share some of their insights about just that.
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Encourage Long-Term Missionaries
About 10 years ago, Benjamin Jivcu and his wife started attending Grace Community Church of Jacksonville, FL, where they began to serve in missions ministry, reaching out to the missionaries that their church was supporting – one of which was the Montoya family.
The immediate result of these efforts was an intention and desire to meet this missionary family serving full-time in Honduras.
“From the get-go,” Ben says, “I knew that I wanted to see them, see where they're at, see what the ministry is all about. And so last year [2022] was my first chance to do so.”
Ben returned in 2023, leading a group in a dormitory remodel project on MEDA’s campus, as well as applying his skills as an emergency medical specialist to come alongside Clínica Betania to staff a one-day medical brigade with his team.
But above and beyond their hands-on partnership in the Gospel, the real ministry for Ben and his team is, and always has been, the encouragement of those they come to serve – the families who labor for the Gospel in season and out of season on the mission field.
“Obviously we fell in love with the aspect of coming here and being an encouragement to them and letting them know that we love them…and we desire to care for them in the way that we would care for the Lord according to Third John, because they've gone out for the sake of His name,” he says.
Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers; and they have testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, so that we may be fellow workers with the truth.
3 John 1:5-8
For Ben, the tangibility of the Great Commission mandate took effect as prayer requests came alive through life-on-life interactions.
“I’ve always been a doubtful person when it came to short-term missions,” he says, “just because, really, how much impact do you actually have, and…are you helpful or are you distracting from the ministry that’s already actively occurring?”
That tension has softened, however, upon seeing the fruit of spending quality time with the Montoya family and hearing firsthand about the challenges they face – moments and conversations that can even happen over dinner or while kayaking on the lake after a hard week’s work.
“Just seeing the Montoya’s…it allows us to be an encouragement to them, even if it is for 6 1/2 days,” he says.
Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global, written by Andy Johnson as part of the 9Marks series for “Building Healthy Churches,” has also guided Ben’s thinking in terms of its emphasis on participating in short-term missions with no other preconception than a desire to serve.
Be extravagant in service. We are told to partner with those who have gone out for the sake of Christ’s name by supporting them in a manner worthy of God (3 John 5-8). Be ready to care for your workers extravagantly, even beyond what seems reasonable. Be ready to do that in a manner “worthy of God” himself. This will show not only that we value them as individuals but also that we supremely value the great gospel they carry.
an excerpt from chapter 6 of Missions: How the Local Church Goes Global (“Reforming Short-Term Missions,” pg. 97, pt. 7)
“I think short-term missions, as long as it is done for the glory of Christ, with no real personal desire of any kind outside of glorifying the Lord and being a servant to those that are here, can work really well,” Ben says.
The humble short-term mission has been a means of affording a local church in Jacksonville the opportunity to form intentional relationships with long-term serving saints in the global church, bringing with it a new significance and poignancy to that old idiom, “to put a face to a name.”
Ben captures it best: “How many times did I just enjoy singing with Carlos [Montoya]? That probably gives them so much joy, just to be with believers and singing.”
Experience the Unity of the Global Church
Something else that Ben and many other groups and their leaders have experienced is the remarkable reverberation of Christlike faithfulness and worship around the globe.
“Yes, our lives are somewhat, significantly different from the barrios [i.e. neighborhoods] that they're [Hondurans] born into and the hardships that they struggle through, but we have so much more alike because of Christ,” he says.
He recognizes and appreciates the faithfulness of young, Honduran men who have a desire to be trained with solid teaching instead of relying on their zeal or abilities.
“That’s just so encouraging that they see the necessity of preaching and teaching God’s Word well and rightly and expositionally – according to Scripture, according to truth,” he says.
Having brought a group to serve in Honduras for the first time last year, Jon Augusta, who pastors Gateway Bible Church in Castaic, CA, shares the same sentiment, but on a different wavelength of worship.
“It's just so cool that people all over the world, at the same time, are worshipping Him and praying to Him in their own language, and He receives the praise,” he says. “The people here in Honduras are learning and view God the same way that we're learning and viewing Him in the States, and it just shows how great God truly is, because He’s the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and He's the same in every country you go to.”
Expand Gospel Reach
Steve Adams, the executive and missions pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, summarizes his takeaway regarding the global church and short-term missions as follows:
Supporting local, indigenous pastors is probably the paramount thing for expanding the Gospel, because those pastors are the ones that can have the greatest impact in their communities. While short-term mission teams are impactful and important, raising up local indigenous pastors is probably the most critical issue for expanding the Gospel across the world.
After serving alongside a church plant in Honduras, this is what Steve wanted to remember. And it’s the very least we should expect, too.
Going and making disciples of all nations means encouraging long-term missionaries, experiencing the unity of the global church, and expanding the reach of the Gospel, and that’s something that should be sustainably impressed and expressed by every short-term mission and group leader or member, no matter where the pin drops on the map.