November 02, 2010 | Short Term Missions

Jesus, the Ultimate Short-Term Missionary

A lot can happen in 24 hours.

Each season of the TV show 24 traced one day in the life of Jack Bauer, a federal agent who fights off terrorism, played by Kiefer Sutherland.

24 hour-long episodes, each filled with action, suspense, plot-twists and tension, comprised each season. While that show might have been just slightly larger than life, the reality is that one day can make quite a difference.

Jesus began his ministry when he was thirty years old. He spent three years displaying the Father’s love and power through his teaching, healing and deliverance.

He did this while discipling scores of followers and during the latter part of those years, he invested most of his time in twelve of them, who became his inner circle of friends. He traveled extensively throughout the holy land, with no place to lay his head, preaching the nearness of the Kingdom of God.

But his main purpose, as it were, wasn’t those three years of ministry — a drop in the bucket compared to the decades, or even lifetime, missionaries and pastors spend serving the Kingdom. Jesus left heaven behind, setting aside eternal communion amidst the Trinity, to enter and live within boundaries of time, on earth. Within three days He died and resurrected; that’s how much time it took for Jesus to fulfill His mission.

Those three days of His life on earth changed history. In other words,

Jesus was the ultimate short-term missionary.

Maybe it was this past summer or a couple years since you went on a short-term mission trip. I can still remember my first mission trip. I was 17 years old and spent 10 days or so with over a dozen people from my church in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. It was the first time I’d witnessed poverty outside of the U.S, the first time I went without indoor-plumbing and electricity.

I was amazed at our Mexican cohorts — their willingness to serve and their passion for God. I was really glad that I was studying Spanish — and even more grateful that I spoke it well. I thought, one day, while standing in front of church, amidst the clouds, “I think I could keep doing this.”

A decade later, here I am, having been on missions in thirteen countries and now mobilizing others — my generation and the next — out into the world.

How did your one-week short-term mission trip change the rest of your life?

To find out more about our short term missions opportunities, click here: Christian Short Term Mission Trips