Matt Cleaver started an interesting discussion about the validity of youth mission trips. Most trips involve a group of students traveling to some distant locale with the intention of sharing the Gospel through some type of service activity. They will immerse themselves in a culture or community unlike their own for a week or two at a time before returning home with some good memories and a “spiritual high.” While going with good intentions, time restraints generally limit the group’s ability to fully understand and engage the culture to whom it hopes to minister. These ”one and done” experiences can be meaningful, but I presume there is a better way to engage students in mission experiences that result in longer lasting benefits for everyone involved.
Chap Clark has written a new book entitled “Deep Justice in a Broken World”. I’ve yet to read the book, but I heard him present a session about the premise of the book at the 2007 National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis. He made a statement that caused me to rethink the way I engage my students in missions.
“Service dehumanizes those who receive it. Justice restores human dignity so that both the giver and the receiver become one.”
I believe we all need to give careful consideration to the ways in which we can engage our students in acts of justice rather than just acts of service. Justice calls for more than a game of kickball and a Bible story. It requires more than painting a house and sharing a testimony. Justice calls for a more wholistic approach to missions that would require groups to learn about the culture in which they’ll be ministering. It would require them to assess the systemic needs of the community that occur on social and economic levels. It would require time and commitment. What would youth mission trips look like if they were less about service and more about justice?
I totally agree, Goode. I’ve thought for some time that many mission trips nowadays seem more like vacations or field trips than anything else, but with just a little more work and helping you feel better about yourself at the same time. “Yeah, let’s go help somebody for an afternoon and tell ourselves that we’ve changed their world.” I heard someone say before that if it doesn’t take all that much time, effort, or money when helping someone, then you likely haven’t helped them all that much. Of course, that’s not true in all cases, but many, i think.
Rob