If short term missions can change the lives of at-risk youth, what could a trip to an Apache Reservation, Appalachia, or New York City do for your church’s youth?
The Barna Group, a research organization that focuses on “the intersection of faith and culture,” recently released a study looking at the impact of short term missions and found what Adventures in Missions has seen in its own participants: short term mission trips change lives.
Each year we send out youth groups not only around the world, but to domestic locations to experience many different types of ministry. Most walk away remembering not only the physical labor, but the relationships that have been formed and how God has moved.
Gayle Reese, a mission trip leader from Illinois, has taken groups on Adventures in Missions short term mission trips for 11 years. Because of the long term commitment AIM has with ministry contacts, she’s been able to see a friendship flourish even though her original intent was to take a group to do construction.
“We
thought we were going to Mexico to build a family a house, but we were
actually there to build a strong relationship with a woman named Maria. She and her 4 children lived in a home made of abandoned materials.
She did not have a job. She had recently given her life to Christ, and
her husband left her for that reason. We treated her youngest son in
the medical clinic, taught all 4 children in Bible School, made an
emotional relationship with the family and the pastor of the church…We encouraged
Maria to trust in the Lord. We still visit Maria and her family every
year and we have seen her grow
from a timid, questioning Christian to a strong woman who is a leader in
her community and now witnesses to us!”
According to the Barna study, 85 percent of the youth that were surveyed felt more loved by God and more than 80 percent said they learned new things about God and Jesus.
The same can be said for our participants. Gayle went on to say, “We
may be physically tired when we return home, but we are spiritually
filled. We come home praising God for allowing us to experience
focusing on him 24/7; for putting a new perspective into our lives about
what is important and what is unnecessary; for getting to know our
fellow Team members better, for being able to hear God more clearly, and
for humbling us.”
may be physically tired when we return home, but we are spiritually
filled. We come home praising God for allowing us to experience
focusing on him 24/7; for putting a new perspective into our lives about
what is important and what is unnecessary; for getting to know our
fellow Team members better, for being able to hear God more clearly, and
for humbling us.”
What about you? Are you ready for a short term mission trip to change your life?
You can start by looking at the youth mission trips AIM has to offer.
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