Dangerous Faith
Are Short-Term Mission Trips More Harmful Than Helpful? #82: Dangerous Life
Recently, Video Creator Madison Montes (@madison_montes35) shared her thoughts on how she thinks short-term mission trips do more harm than good. The Dangerous Life Team gives their thoughts.
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Recently, Video Creator Madison Montes (@madison_montes35) shared her thoughts on how she thinks short-term mission trips do more harm than good. The Dangerous Life Team gives their thoughts.
Website: www.dangerousfaith.net
YouTube: Dangerous Faith
Rumble: Dangerous Faith
Instagram: nwdangerousfaith
Twitter: @FaithDangerous
Facebook: @NWDangerousFaith
Americans need to stop going on short-term mission trips. Y'all need to listen to all my points before you freak out. My best friend in college was a missionary kid in Uganda and she taught me how Americans do so much more harm than good. First of all, most of the people that we send on mission trips do not have the required skills for these trips. Why do we expect high school kids who have never done manual labor to be able to build a house in Africa? Most of the time they will send construction workers in to take down all of these kids, work and redo it. If you are not even sharing the gospel with your neighbors and friends, how on earth do you think you're going to go to a foreign country and do it? You're not magically going to become a warrior for Christ once you get on that airplane. If you're going to go on one of these trips, at least be a person who actively serves your community.
Speaker 1:Do you know how much emotional harm it does on a kid when you love on them and then abandon them. My best friend watched as people would sail in and be God to all these children in the orphanage, then leave and never even text them back and now you have thousands of kids who associate God with abandonment. I will say if you are a person with a special skill set, like construction work or doctor, I think you should 100% go, Because what those people can do does make a lasting impact. But if you are just going on one of these trips because you want to experience life change, you should pray about that really hard or maybe even consider donating the money you would have spent to a long-term missionary. Let me just tell you they always need the support. Love you.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Dangerous Faith Podcast. I have the team with me Zeke Blake, justin, mackenzie and Mariah. We'll be talking about the audio that was just played for you on short-term missions trips. Are they a waste of time? Are they a waste of money? Do you agree? Disagree? Nuance, as often things tend to be. Justin wants to start us off. Thoughts on the video.
Speaker 3:Well, first thing I'd like to say is I hope you can understand it, because Nate pulled the most pawpaw thing I've ever seen him do and just put the phone right by the microphone. But that's okay, we still love you, mr Pawpaw Williams.
Speaker 2:Well, depending on how I edit it, I could pull it directly from the computer.
Speaker 3:So I don't know if that point will be applicable. Well, now I feel like an idiot.
Speaker 2:No worries, I'm sure that never happens Now Wow.
Speaker 3:That's very rude, Mr Associate Pastor.
Speaker 2:Moving on with the video, any other initial thoughts? We'll get deeper into it, but anyone else want to share?
Speaker 5:Okay, for my first go-through through the video.
Speaker 5:I try to watch it with an unbiased opinion, if that makes sense, so just try to listen to what she had to say you fail thanks, justin no problem, thanks bud, but I try to listen to what she had to say and I'll say this through my first watch and then a couple more watches I just feel like if you're not, if you're not really, this is going to sound so weird.
Speaker 5:If, if you're not really rooted in a Christian faith and you don't know what to look for in Christianity and don't understand how Christianity works, sometimes all the points that she made are solid points in a sense of if you have no foreknowledge of what is to be expected in Christianity, and so I think her whole statement was just very experienced-based and it was not rooted in any sort of scriptural accuracy. She's just going off of something that she just thinks is an opinion, but she thinks it's the correct opinion and it's highly emotionally driven. And to say that short-term mission trips are bad and we should just only do long-term mission trips, I think that's just ignorant. In a way, it's just ignorant.
Speaker 4:So as a Christian. So I don't know if she said she was or not, but I I think it's um kind of seems like from the viewpoint she's not one like you said that's what I was thinking, but also, um, as someone who's been on short-term mission trips and even perhaps experienced some of that to the effect of going somewhere, and you know, I don't know how to build a house and, yes, you're going there for the Lord, to teach others about Jesus or, you know, spread the gospel, and that's how we think of it.
Speaker 3:But yeah, as an outsider or an other person, it just looks like overseas to africa to help people. Help people here at home to be an active part of your community and help, whether that's citywide, whether that's statewide. Do what you can here as well. But that does not mean don't ever go help somebody else across the waters. You know that's not smart.
Speaker 6:I think we're all kind of with the exception of Blake, I think we're all kind of hitting the same thing of like there's both good and bad to what she said.
Speaker 6:So let's give her the benefit of the doubt, let's say that she's right and let's say, worst case scenario someone goes over there to build a house or do something like that and that nature, and they really do have to come back and rebuild it altogether. I don't think that's healthy. I mean it doesn't help them and it just costs other people more time having to take something down and then put it back up. So if that's the case and that's actually like you said I don't know if that's happening I'm not in the missions field, I've never been on one myself but if that was the case, like if talking to actual missionaries in that field, like because typically from my understanding there are people who are long-term mission missionaries who are calling and asking for people to come help it's probably not correct me if I'm wrong it's not typical for someone just randomly go to a city like, hey, we're here to help you.
Speaker 6:It's typically you have someone that's in contact with those people and they know what is needed liaison yeah and I think the most helpful thing and she didn't really bring this up is I don't think you need to be a doctor or a construction worker to go help out these areas, but the person who should be calling the shots is the missionary, who's there and knows the needs of the people, and that might be some mismanagement on their end.
Speaker 6:I'm not saying what they're doing isn't good, but I'm saying like that could be taken better care of, to where they're like hey, we need people who are good enough to do this specific skill, and maybe sometimes it is a doctor or a construction worker, but there are also plenty of other things that non-professionals can do. Like she said with sharing the gospel, that's the most important thing we do out of all these things, and I want to push back on one last thing, and I'll shut up. What she mentioned, their idea of God is someone who comes, helps out for men and then leaves, and while I get the concern there at the same time, though, what alternative are you asking for? Do you want them to move there for the rest of their lives? I mean, like, people do that and that's great, I'm glad that they can, but that's not realistic for a lot of people, so the alternative is just don't go help at all.
Speaker 7:And I don't think that's healthy. Yeah, I think that's a healthy, yeah, I think that's a good point as Christians to use discernment, you know. I think she made like several blanket statements that, yes, like if you take it to the extreme, you can go over there and do a lot of harm. But that doesn't mean that everybody who's going over there is doing that. If you are going with the intention of only, you know, getting something for yourself out of it, well that can only really be dealt between you and God. Anyways, because it's your intentions, you know like you'll have to answer for that one day.
Speaker 7:But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't go over there and help in the ways that we're qualified, which most of us, yeah, like Zeke said, I don't know if you necessarily have to be a construction worker or have to be a doctor to go help. There's plenty of needs. I mean we have there's basic needs that can be met by anyone. You know, just passing out water, just prayer, you know, and sharing the gospel is the main purpose. But I definitely am not saying that you can't do wrong by going over there, but you can do wrong in anything you do. That shouldn't stop you from doing it.
Speaker 6:I'm very good at doing wrong at home as well.
Speaker 3:I'm a professional.
Speaker 5:So I agree with Zeke and Mackenzie. My thing with this girl is I feel like she from what I'm getting from it. She's not a Christian and I'll correct myself if she is, but it just seems I have no idea yeah, that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 5:If we find out later she's a Christian and this was coming. I feel like just the way she talks she's not a Christian. So I feel like it's one of these things where she has she's taking one experience she's heard and now she's just going to run with this one bad experience and blanket the entirety of short-term Christian missions as they're all evil, it's all bad and I feel like that does a lot of harm to a lot of things, because that's what a lot of non-Christians do They'll take one little thing that Christian's done and then they want to clip it to the entirety of Christianity.
Speaker 6:How would your answer change? I know I'm skipping past you, Justin. How would your answer change, though, if you found out that she was a Christian and that she had more than one experience of this, and this was a thing that she'd seen multiple times? What would your response be then? Let's give her the benefit of the doubt.
Speaker 5:At first I would say, okay, if this is a multiple experience thing and you are a Christian, I still think you need to preference that as well. I think if she was truly a Christian, she would have used more discernment in some of the blanket statements that this is something that she's experienced multiple times. I would probably pose the question of I would have to ask more questions as things like are you or is this a problem with your church? Cause you can't. Just if it's, if it's something your church is struggling with, then you can't categorize it as short-term missions and as a whole, Does that make sense? Like if your church struggles with short-term mission trips, a, they build bad buildings. The part that really gets me is people associate, they come in and they play God. That right there is like such a defining statement right there, because we don't go to play God, we go there to show God, we go there to point them towards God. If people are going over there and playing God, then that's an issue.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that statement. Sorry, I keep cutting. No, you're good, I think that statement does say a little bit, and again, don't know her motives, don't know her thoughts, but yeah, it does seem like a little bit of a misunderstanding of what it means to go share the gospel. And I'll shut up now.
Speaker 3:I'm glad that you were okay with him skipping me. Blake, I appreciate you being okay with that.
Speaker 5:Well, it depends. Are you about to tell a joke, are you about?
Speaker 3:to tell a joke. No, I was about to be serious. One thing to point out. This is something that hit my ear wrong and maybe she didn't quite mean it how she said it, but she said when you go over there, that you are God to these people, that is definitely something that says you're in the wrong frame of mind there. Like Blake said, you don't go there to be God, you go there to show God. Show what God does, show how God has led you to come here and help these people. Show how God's changed your heart, changed your life. Maybe you can leave a little bit of God with them after you leave.
Speaker 5:What's the hope you hope to leave, god, sorry, go ahead, mariah, sorry.
Speaker 4:So I was just going to go back. I was thinking this when Mackenzie was talking, when she said something about intentions. To me that's a super big your intention, because if you have the wrong which I think this is kind of case by case, because we don't know other people's intentions, I don't know yours, you don't know mine, you know obviously through actions and stuff, but you know your true heart we don't know. And I get the point your true heart we don't know, and I get the point. I kind of know, get what she's saying, because I'll use just a small example or a story from my experience.
Speaker 4:So I've been to Brazil, my family's been to Africa, we used to do the short-term mission trips and I will say, if you don't check your intentions, it can be a dangerous thing to do to yourself and to others, because you know you can kind of get distracted and be like, oh well, I'm going to a cool place and I get to do fun things and oh well, yes, we're doing Jesus stuff, but you know I get to do all these other things.
Speaker 6:It can be treated like a vacation.
Speaker 4:Yes, and so it's, I think, important to, because so it's, I think, important to, because even I'm you know I'm not too high and mighty to say I've thought those thoughts. Oh, I get to go to a really cool place Like this is so cool, you know. You have to take a step back and be like that's not what I'm here for. You're not here because it's cool or because you're traveling. So I think that's another thing.
Speaker 6:you have to think about For sure.
Speaker 7:Mackenzie, did you have something? Yeah, going off of that. I think too. I think she's given Christians a little bit too much credit in the aspect of a lot of people who, you know, have a certain bias about Christians and what we do is that we manipulate people into being saved or we coerce them or, you know, it never really happens. We're just, you know, I don't know kind of deceiving them, and that's their viewpoint of Christians.
Speaker 7:Like you think of people who they say, like you're indoctrinating your kids if you raise them. You know how the Bible says to. But in a sense too, like you said, I think I can't really control what other people do when they go over on these mission trips and it really is just what you can do for, like about yourself, in the sense of if I'm going to go on a mission trip, then I need to check my intentions and realize that I'm not saving these people, even over here. Like it's the Holy Spirit that you know is really working through us. It's not we're going over there and saving and indoctrinating all these people. It's no, we're going over there to serve and we're praying that the Holy Spirit works through us you know, yeah, absolutely, works through us.
Speaker 6:You know, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 6:And, uh, I mean that kind of comes back down to the whole fundamentals of what is the purpose of a mission trip, and as if you're not a christian, regardless of this girl's video, and if someone's out there and they're listening to this, but well, you need to go over there and at least do a good job. But I mean, the reason we're there is one, and this is something we talk about. So, uh, quick story, my church does uh food ministry. So once a month we'll uh all the whole whole, all the sunday school classes donate and whatnot. And then once a month we'll have people in need come by and pick up free food and they'll get sent home with several groceries back for the food.
Speaker 6:Long story short, and what our mission is, and that is that we want to do like jesus called us to do, and take care of the orphans and the widows and those in need, the poor physically.
Speaker 6:We physically want to help them and that's part of the mission trip. But the same is with our food ministry. It's not the main part, right, it's a secondary thing, because all the physical things will eventually pass away, the person will eventually die, and this is good for temporary, but our main goal as Christians is to share the gospel, the thing that's going to give them eternal life, not just temporary earthly life or sustain them for a day or two While we want to do that. That's not our main goal. Our main goal is sharing the gospel, and that's and I think that's a big thing what short term mission trips gives. I think it's a good thing, not only for the people that we're getting to serve, but I think sometimes y'all correct me if I'm wrong it feels like it would be a bigger benefit for the person serving. Like Jesus said, like blessed is the one who serves, or it's more of a blessing to serve than to receive.
Speaker 1:Yep to give to them and receive. I don't know if that was.
Speaker 6:Jesus or Paul. But I mean, I think what I think about with that is, in a sense, I get to go to another person's life and another person's world, see how they live, and not only do I get to help them in a way, but I get to come back more grateful for what I've been given and hopefully more motivated to help in my own community as well.
Speaker 6:It's like you're saying you need to do both and serve in your community and serve in that one. It doesn't need to be like this one time thing you do every five years.
Speaker 5:I agree.
Speaker 6:I'm glad you agree, blake, I agree, I'm glad you agree, blake.
Speaker 5:Thank you, you're welcome.
Speaker 2:All right, so I'm going to play a little bit of a devil's advocate here, Slash. I don't even know if it's devil's advocate. I might just outright be the devil.
Speaker 3:You're just your own advocate at this point. I thought, you were going to say be right.
Speaker 2:I think I agree with this lady Wholeheartedly, oh, wholeheartedly.
Speaker 6:Wholeheartedly.
Speaker 2:Now, obviously y'all hit on some nuances, that short term mission trips primarily going off of what Zeke said if they are educational and experiential, they are valuable. You learn about cultures that are different than you and you get you're exposed to different cultures that otherwise you would never know about, and I think there is immense value if you've grown up in one area, whether Coleman City, coleman County, whether Alabama, it's helpful to see worlds outside of your own, that's. There's a lot of value there of your own there's a lot of value there. The tricky thing is sometimes they're marketed and the term for this is kind of like as a savior, complex kind of deal. You go, enter into a situation, you're going to change everyone's lives. You're a rock star, you're a celebrity for a week or two and then you're out. Sometimes it's marketed that way and that's the way it feels, for example, with you know whether it's an orphanage or whatever it is, and then you leave and then you're done. That can be harmful.
Speaker 2:I think the better way it's all the things we've said before. It's better to establish relationships there. You're serving alongside already existing ministries, you come in and you're listening. All right, what do y'all need us to do? What would actually be beneficial for you. It's not a photo op. Take some pictures, post on social media.
Speaker 2:Look at what all that we're doing? As a church, you're entering into pre-existing relationships so that you can bless the people on the ground in that culture, as opposed to you imposing what you think is best, which, again, is that savior complex? And so, anyways, I kind of agree with her, depending on how you go and do it. But that's stuff we've already talked about, right.
Speaker 6:Yeah, we always talk about discernment, but it's rare that we talk about how to discern certain things and, to be fair, that's different in every situation. To discern certain things and to be fair, that's different in every situation. I think one that applies to this that you kind of brought up is a very good question to ask ourselves before going on something like this is am I willing to do this if it means I can't take a picture or post any of it or ever talk about?
Speaker 2:it to someone else? That would be a great question. No pictures, I'm not worth it.
Speaker 5:Dude wow.
Speaker 3:Something I was going to say. You bring up a good point about the relationships and that's kind of going back to what she was talking about with the abandoning them after a month. We live in a world that, even if they're, say, in the deepest part of Africa you know what I'm talking about. There are ways to get in contact with somebody, whether that's being like a, what is it called when you send?
Speaker 6:letters to them Pen pal Pen pal.
Speaker 3:Yes, Something like that. There's nothing that says you can't try to be in contact with this person once you leave, it's not like oh well, that was a great month, so you know, don't die, have fun, Bye-bye.
Speaker 5:And what she was getting at in the video is there are people that do that. They literally go well, that was fun, see ya, and then they never get in contact and that's wrong. I believe that's wrong.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I think that's what Justin's saying. Did you raise your hand?
Speaker 3:I did raise my hand.
Speaker 5:And Nate pointed at me, but you were too busy looking at the ceiling to even look at me.
Speaker 3:I was looking towards the Lord. I know you were. You want to pull out the little Jesus you got in your pocket. They can't see it.
Speaker 5:I know it kind of hurt my heart when she said we shouldn't do short-term mission trips and the reason why I got real upset about it was it really made me upset was because I look at Jesus' ministry he spent, I don't know. There were some times where he only spent maybe a day or so in some cities, maybe like a week. That's an interesting connection.
Speaker 5:Yeah, he only spent short times and he ministered to these people and you know a lot of people like I. Just look at what Jesus did. With a short time that he had to do it, he spread the word Right. The longer we have with people, the better we can build upon things. It's like the analogy you use If I'm going to create a sermon, if I have more time, either way, I'm going to build a chair, like when a builder builds a chair. If you give a builder like 30 minutes, he can build something. That is the resemblance of the chair. The more time we have, the better the chair can be. You know, the longer we establish relationships, yes, we can begin to build more and more a more beautiful relationship to help these people understand the love of Christ. But sometimes we don't. We only have a day. Sometimes, when we're out evangelizing people on the street, we only have like 10 minutes before we have to get on with our lives.
Speaker 2:So use it.
Speaker 5:Use it. Every moment is precious, but it comes with a level of you have to serve. One thing that I use in our Sunday school class I think a lot of people, especially in this day and age we're too worried about indoctrination and we're not worried about salvation. We want people to think like us, act like us. That indoctrination and we're not worried about salvation. We want people to think like us, act like us. That's why, when we go on mission trips, we want to be do like I do and you'll be better, rather than saying I'm going to fight for your salvation. I want you to be free, want you to know jesus yes, yeah, and that's.
Speaker 6:I'll uh piggyback off that in the sense that if our message going in there isn't like you said, it can lead to some people have a savior complex and that's not healthy. But and it's good for her to point that out in the sense that, like it's it shouldn't be, like you said, it kind of hurt your heart. But I mean, I think this is a really good way of like. How can we approve of what we're doing? We know we're human, we know we're flawed. So that means that there's going to be some things all of them Right and still be wrong about us. Not that we shouldn't do it.
Speaker 6:Right she could be right about all the bad things we do and still be wrong about us never doing it. The solution is bad, but the problems are real, like her solution is like I don't think it's a bad solution, but the problems are real.
Speaker 6:Yeah, she makes good critiques but she doesn't provide a better solution, and I think that's kind of what we're all hitting on today, and I would say it one more time the people who, if you're going there with the right mindset and you're leading someone to Christ, you're not abandoning them. Technically you may be, but you're leaving them with someone so much better than yourself. Better than if you were to stay there the rest of your life. Christ is going to fulfill all their needs more better than you ever could even try to.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, if you're doing it the right way, and that's why it's important to have mission partners, so you might come in and leave due to the nature of what you're doing, but the ministry is still there, whether it's an orphanage, whether it's a hospital, whatever it is.
Speaker 4:So I was actually surprised none of y'all said this yet. I thought Blake was about to. But when you were kind of talking that our life is the mission you know, we shouldn't be like, oh, this mission trip. Our life should be the mission of, you know, spreading the gospel and living missionally.
Speaker 2:Mariah, that is a great point. I'm glad you brought it up. Any other thoughts before I take us home on this?
Speaker 6:Mariah, were you done?
Speaker 2:talking.
Speaker 4:No, I guess. Yeah, I'm good Nate, just shut that down real quick.
Speaker 2:No, it was great.
Speaker 5:That's exactly it, I'm going to be the devil right here, that is me.
Speaker 2:Any other thoughts before I take us home? So what else?
Speaker 5:You really leave no room for applause. He says any thoughts.
Speaker 2:Any thoughts no thoughts at all.
Speaker 5:Let me get a look. You know we have to inhale before you can exhale. You know that right, Nate doesn't do that.
Speaker 6:He's evolved past inhaling.
Speaker 5:He's just a robot, I think to kind of, I guess. The one point that I want to make, like my final point, is that mission trips, long or short, they're needed. Like my final point is that mission trips, long or short, they're needed, and whether that's outside of the country or inside the country of your country not the United States of just wherever you live, they're very important and they're very valuable. And the ministry as a whole, our, our ministry work, which means our individual ministry work it is very, very valuable and everything that we do as Christians it needs to point back to Christ. If we're not doing that, we're missing the mark and we're doing a lot more damage than good.
Speaker 3:I guess my and maybe even my much better final point is if you do something, if you go ahead is maybe don't try to preach about missions while you're sitting there doing makeup.
Speaker 5:Oh amen.
Speaker 2:Oh goodness, Mariah, go on so what I was going to say.
Speaker 4:No one kind of I know this is slightly different, no one brought up this. But for the people that say like, oh well, you know I could never go on a mission trip, it's too much or it's too hard or it's too far, oh well, you know I could never go on a mission trip, it's too much, or it's too hard or it's too far, as I was saying earlier, every day, like opening the door for the little old lady that's your neighbor you see every day coming into Walmart with you or, you know, actually being nice to your brother for once. You know I might need that one, you know, just little things like that. I think that is what we need.
Speaker 5:And for the people that say, oh, I could never do that, you could open up your wallet and donate to these mission trips as well.
Speaker 2:Give to me, yes, yeah give to Nate.
Speaker 5:Give to the devil.
Speaker 2:Anyways.
Speaker 6:I was going to say for the two people who listen to this, which is your mom Three people.
Speaker 5:Oh, we got another parent. Oh, we got another parent.
Speaker 6:Okay, sweet For the three people who listen to this. If there happened to be a missionary, that would be awesome if they would leave a comment and tell us how stupid we are. Yes, please.
Speaker 2:I'd love that. And so this is where we collectively know people who are involved in different ministries and several missionaries. We could send this episode to them and ask for feedback and then have an episode on their feedback. Send this episode to them and ask for feedback and then have an episode on their feedback. Anyways, to take us home, I want to finish with what Mariah and Justin said at the very beginning of the episode when we don't start living, quote unquote holy lives on fire for God.
Speaker 2:When you go on a missions trip, that's not when it starts Really. It starts today, with our heart and our mindset, our soul, our position towards God and to love him, to serve him, to look to evangelize to a neighbor, a coworker, a fellow student, to serve in your church. What children's ministry, youth group, ushers, greeters, music team, whatever it is that you don't start serving the Lord because you're going on a big, fancy missions trip. It's every day. It's with the small things and the big things, and I think that's really important, regardless of your position on the video audio we played for you earlier. But anyways, Blake, you want to. You want to sign off for us?
Speaker 5:Yes, Well, everyone, please salute and pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, all right, friends.
Speaker 2:That's all until next time.
Speaker 4:Thank you.
Speaker 2:I need to get a different chair because this thing squeaks.
Speaker 5:Yeah, because you're a fat boy. Yes, Ready?
Speaker 2:Sorry, I'm just waiting for the giggle bugs to get it out.
Speaker 3:That was a good roast.
Speaker 2:Now, fat boy, are you meaning like the nuclear bomb?
Speaker 1:you dropped.
Speaker 6:Wait, I didn't get that one. That's not what he meant. It does have multiple layers. I mean you're a little fat, fatty, but no don't get it out, are you done?
Speaker 2:I'm done.
Speaker 4:I'm done, all right.
Speaker 5:All right Z.
Speaker 2:Gigglebug, you get it out too. My jaw is hurting I can't look at anybody.
Speaker 3:So to be fair, nate's mission trip was just him going home to.
Speaker 4:Jerusalem. He was just seeing Grandma and Grandpa. Wait, your grandparents live in Jerusalem. They don't, but he's Jewish. This is a joke. He's Jewish.
Speaker 6:Oh yeah.
Speaker 4:Anyway, I'm just convincing it wasn't a funny joke, since I didn't laugh though. Yeah, oh, so sorry oh.