Soldiers have missions, usually to broker peace or silence insurrections. These missions often take two forms: short-term missions, where troops are sent out for, say, three to six months to accomplish a particular task and then return home, and long-term missions, where they are sent out for three years or more.
If you are a believer in Christ, the term ‘missions’ should carry significant weight. Christian missions, deeply rooted in the Bible from Genesis, are crucial for achieving God’s intended purpose on earth. Much like the example of troops above, Christian mission work can also be fulfilled in both short and long-term efforts.
Definition of Christian Mission Work
“Mission,” reads Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, “is the divine activity of sending intermediaries, whether supernatural or human, to speak or do God’s will so that his purposes for judgment or redemption are furthered. The biblical concept is expressed using verbs meaning “to send”, normally with God as the subject.”
GotQuestions.org defines Christian mission as “following Christ’s call: sharing the gospel with the lost world through God’s wisdom and strength.” The author cites three elements he believes are crucial to Christian mission. First is an emphasis on obedience to Christ’s commandment in Matthew 28:19-20, to go out and make disciples of all nations. Jesus’s words were not a suggestion left to the mercy of our interest but a directive. The second is a reminder of the content to be shared during this obedient move: we are to share Christ. Discipleship is the process of sharing Christ with others so they know him for all he says he is and grow in him as much as he has designed for them. The third and final element is the means through which Christian mission is accomplished: relying upon Christ’s power through his Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:20–21).
So, whether short-term or long-term, the basis of Christian mission is clear:
- It is done in obedience to Christ.
- It has Christ as its exclusive content.
- It relies on Christ’s power alone.
Following the mission definition, a missionary, therefore, is someone sent to a particular people, tribe, or nation to establish gospel communities through evangelism and discipleship. In an article on missions, Rebecca Olsen explains that though the word missionary may not appear in the Bible, its root word ‘mission’ is drawn from the Latin word ‘missio’ and has a Greek equivalent (apostello), which translates to ‘apostle’ in English. An apostle is someone who has been sent to share the saving knowledge of Christ with unbelievers.
Who Can Become a Missionary?
It is a common misconception among Africans that the missionary space is a preserve for Western believers. Many have yet to move past the idea that the African continent is merely a recipient of mission, as was the case during the pre-colonial era.
Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth. The task of world evangelization has never been a preserve for any particular nationality but is always a call to all believers (Matthew 28:18-20). If every tribe, tongue and nation are represented at the Lord’s banquet (Revelation 7:9, Acts 2:5-11, Colossians 3:11), then every tribe, tongue and nation will be involved in the missionary call.
Recently, there have been a number of Africans going out into the world as missionaries. Kenya, in particular, has seen a rise in young people stepping out of their comfort zones and into the Arab world with the gospel. And it isn’t just outside the country, but within as well–local missions are growing exponentially. No believer should consider themselves excused. John Piper perfectly sums it up, “There are only three kinds of Christians when it comes to world missions: zealous goers, zealous senders, and disobedient.”
Short-term Missions
Considering all the foregoing words, we must ask ourselves if short-term missions are sufficient. As already stated, the missionary’s role is not to hit and run but to make disciples by teaching them all that our Lord has commanded us in Scripture (through the prophets and the apostles).
Short-term missions typically last three to six months. Using this timespan, we know that although they are an incredible opportunity, we cannot entirely depend on short-term opportunities to establish local churches where healthy discipleship occurs.
Some short-term trips take an even shorter period. College students worldwide, for example, will every so often participate in mission trips that last as short as two weeks or even three days. During these trips, they engage communities with the gospel and, in some cases, even go as far as offering social services to improve the communities’ welfare. Another suitable example might be professionals who take leave and go somewhere for a month to evangelize alongside the resident missionary. These experiences are good because they achieve the following:
- Open the participant’s eyes to the needs on the ground (in case they have never had an idea of what gospel needs exist across the globe).
- Warm the participant’s heart for partnership (monetary or other) in the gospel work as he/she is made aware of the work that remains in fulfilling the Great Commission.
- Plant a seed in the participant’s heart, potentially leading to a longer-term engagement.
- Provide opportunities to care for the missionary through visitations from friends and other gospel partners.
Doubtless, spending several days or weeks ministering to those needing the gospel outside our localities is a good thing. However, such scattered days are insufficient for evangelization and discipleship.
Short-term missions can be more appropriately viewed as a time when the long-term missionary receives a team for encouragement and an opportunity for exposure for the visitors. They should not be considered a substantive outreach to the unreached.
Long-term Mission
At best, short-term missions are an excellent introduction to long-term missions. Those three days, two weeks or six months of exposure are what God uses to open our eyes, warm our hearts and plant a seed for the work at hand. Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37-38) and that we should ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the fields. One way of asking is by providing opportunities for short-term mission experiences.
Long-term gospel missions take ideally three years or more. Scripture does allude to this, not by way of principle but perhaps through a notable pattern. Our Lord Christ, even though he walked the surface of this earth for thirty-three years, only actively engaged his disciples for three years, during which time he taught them and prepared them for the work ahead.
Paul stayed in Ephesus for three years and established a formidable church and an eldership (Acts 20:31). In Corinth, he laboured for one and a half years (Acts 18:11)—one of his shortest stays.
The scope of the commission creates the necessity for long-term missions passed down to us, which is to make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them everything we have been commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
- Making disciples is no small task. It takes time and effort. The church is tasked with doing this challenging work until Christ’s return.
- Teaching takes time because it involves concepts that must reach and transform the human heart. Transformation cannot be achieved in a hit-and-run fashion. Teachers must be willing to stay long enough to see their students become teachers themselves, for then alone will the process repeat and the goal of world evangelization be achieved.
God ordained missionary work to fill the earth with the knowledge of his Son and the salvation he gives. In his renowned work Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper argues that missions exist because worship doesn’t.
So, whether short-term or long-term, the goal is simple—make God known! However, as to longevity and impact, we must both affirm the value of short-term missions as a staircase to long-term ministry engagement and highlight the necessity of long-term missionary commitments.
That said, whatever suits you best under your current circumstances, go out and make disciples of all nations.
References
- advancingnativemissions.com, what is missionary, and what do they do
- Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology- Missions
- John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, 1993
- Missions Through Marriage: What is It? – Christian Family Life. https://www.christianfamilylife.com/missions-through-marriage-what-is-it/
- www.GotQuestions.org
