Adventures in Missions

The End of Short Term Missions As We Know It?

February 16, 2011
Adventures
Short Term Missions

That’s great. It starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes and aeroplanes… -REM, “It’s the End of the World“ Lately, there seems to be a lot of criticism about the effectiveness of short-term missions. To be sure, there are plenty of pros and cons to short term missions, and there have always been critics. But I’m wondering if the growing number of these discussions is any indicator of a new season of ministry for the church that may provide new opportunities for the kingdom of God to advance. Are we approaching the end of...

Are You Unemployed if Not Working for God?

February 15, 2011
Adventures
Missions (General)

As a short-term missions organization, we often minister with people who are torn between their careers and a calling to missions. For some, the calling came later in life — once they had a house and a family and a job. For others, the prospect of full-time mission work is intimidating. How does one begin exploring such a calling? I came across this interesting article on the Christian Post that addresses this issue. Here is an excerpt: As far as God is concerned, someone is unemployed if the person is not working for Him, said a Latin American mission leader at a...

Real Life: Learning to Love

February 12, 2011
Adventures
College Mission Trips

While out on the field, Real Life participants learn the true meaning of love. As this semester’s participants enter the second month, they begin to learn what being called to love really looks like, whether that means loving a teammate, an orphan or even the man on the street who is buying a prostitute for the night. Hannah Walsh, who is in Phuket, Thailand, right now recounts what it’s like to walk down Bangla Road, this city’s hub for prostitutes and tourists. “As you begin walking down, lights are flashing and people are either brushing by you...

It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up for a Short Term Mission Trip

February 11, 2011
Adventures
Short Term Missions

It may be hard to believe, but school’s been back in session for more than a month and time definitely seems to be passing by quickly! Before you know it summer will be here. There will be fun summer events, cookouts, vacations, lemonade, sporting games and embarking on a life-altering youth mission trip for your students. If you haven’t finalized or even BEGAN your summer mission trip preparation – don’t worry, it’s not too late! There are so many reasons to take a short term mission trip. We’ve talked about it often. And then talked about it...

World Race: Through the Fire

February 10, 2011
Adventures
World Race

It started off as a typical day off for a team on the World Race in the Dominican Republic. They had plans to go to dinner and were running late. But what started as a typical day soon turned into an adventure in which they saw God move in an incredible way. As they walked down the street they saw flames erupting from a nearby house and knew to do only one thing–move, and move quickly. Joel Dutton tells the story of how he made the quick decision to go into the building and save whoever he could. “My first reaction was shock, but before it...

Why Go On a Short Term Mission Trip?

February 4, 2011
Adventures
Short Term Missions

When I first met a friend of mine, who is now a long term missionary in the Philippines, she told me her heart for missions began on a short term mission trip to New Orleans. She’s not the only long term missionary who’s experienced the impact of short term missions. Many other long term missionaries’ heart for missions began on a short term mission trip. Most of these trips happened during their formative years, through a youth group. Short term trips affect each participant differently. Some will feel called to full time missions, others will feel called...

Real Life: Learning True Community on a College Age Mission Trip

One of the core things we like participants in each of our programs to experience is a feeling of deep community. For our college aged students participating in Real Life this spring, the goal is no different. As the most recent group of Real Life participants dives into ministry all over the world, they’re also finding a ministry that may have been unexpected: the ministry of each other. Daily they live together, share their stories, and bring in God’s Kingdom. They face trials together, celebrate together, and love together. By doing this they realize...

Short Term Missionaries as Bridge Builders

February 2, 2011
Adventures
Short Term Missions

The question of whether short term missionaries actually make a lasting impact is not only a popular one, but one that’s legitimate. Karl Dahlfred (M.Div, Gordon-Conwell) is a missionary with OMF International, working in Thailand. In this guest blog post, he explains how short term missionaries can best serve the communities in which they work. He blogs regularly at Gleanings from the Field. Short-term teams are often limited in their language ability, cultural knowledge, and depth of relationship with the people they are seeking to minister to. The number of...

Prayer on a Mission Trip: Asking the Lord in Philly

February 1, 2011
Adventures
Prayer

We have a practice that is unique to our ministry called listening prayer. In our training, we teach you how to listen to God and respond to what he is saying. This is more challenging for some than others, but the bottom line is that we believe God wants to communicate with us and that most of us could make more room in our lives to listen. Usually on your typical AIM mission trip, you will have at least one opportunity to do an “Ask the Lord” (ATL) exercise. This is basically a more focused time of listening prayer, in which your ministry team asks God what type of...

Why Choose AIM For Your Short-term Mission Trip?

January 28, 2011
Adventures
Short Term Missions

We believe that Adventures in Missions offers youth groups and churches unique short term mission trip opportunities in a way that can’t be found anywhere else. There are many ways our staff is here to serve any need along the way, including preparing a flexible and custom-made trip, teaching you more about listening prayer, and giving you plenty to do. “I have spoken to people who have gone on mission trips and were disappointed to not have enough to do. In our experience with AIM everyone gets a chance to contribute all day long. The morning task is not...

Kenya Mission Trip: How God Heals

January 27, 2011
Adventures
Mission Trip Stories

Have you ever wondered if God is still in the business of healing people? In North America, we don’t often hear much said about healing (what with our advanced medical technology and such). However, this kind of question can come across as absurd to those living in the developing world, where faith upon a God who heals is sometimes a matter of survival. For those living in countries suffering from endemic poverty, such as Kenya, the possibility of God healing someone is not only a reality, but a necessity. When Kelsey Moss was in Kenya this summer on a college mission...

January 2011 | Following Jesus, A Reunion, and A New Year with Real Life

January 26, 2011
Adventures
Missions Newsletters

A Word from the Director Learning to Follow Jesus in Juarez | Seth Barnes Seth shares a story of following Jesus’ model of discipleship during a short-term missions trip in Mexico: A number of years ago, on a missions project in Juarez, I was translating for a small group of students. This was their first time and they were a little worried. “How do we know who to talk to?” they asked me. “Well, let’s stop and ask God what we should do,” I replied. When we had finished praying, we looked up and saw a white truck approaching them on the...

Author: Adventures