5 Reasons We Do Short-Term Mission Trips

SURGE Student Ministries has a reputation for its mission trips. Over the last ten years Berean Baptist Church in Mansfield, Ohio has sent hundreds of students and leaders to Haiti, Cleveland, Cincinnati, New York City, Chicago, Pennsylvania, and more as well as local missions projects varying from a one-day activity to an entire week! Just last year SURGE sent out over 100 students and leaders on short-term mission trips to Haiti, NYC, Mansfield, and Cleveland. We have done and will continue to do mission trips for several reasons.

1. Strengthened Relationships

Shared memories, exciting stories, long flights and bus rides, close sleeping quarters, all of these are the building blocks of great relationships. When our pastors, small group leaders, and students are around each other 24/7 for a week or more, wonderful and lasting relationships commonly result. I would go so far as saying that mission trips have the potential to be the most effective relationship builder in student ministry. Students who go on mission trips are more likely to serve again, show-up for normal events, and feel connected to our student ministry and its leaders.

2. Intensive Instruction
On all of our trips we have daily team meetings where we do praise and worship, testimonies from the day, and a book discussion (student's have required reading leading up to and during the trip). This paired with pre-trip meetings, mandatory daily time alone with the Lord, impromptu discussions, and the Holy Spirit's working allows our mission trips to be highly instructional.

As followers of Jesus we are transformed by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2). Our trips are not successful if students have not learned something. They learn from these intentional and structured times but very often their learning is, even more powerfully, experiential. They learn how to share the good news of Jesus by leading a Bible lesson to children or sharing their testimony in a church. They learn about poverty and cultural differences by witnessing it first-hand. They learn about trusting in Jesus for strength when they are weak, tired and frustrated. All of this in the context of community and relationships makes our mission trips one of the most instructional aspects of our student ministry.

3. Sacrificial Living Required
We do not want our mission trips to be easy. We call our Short-Term Mission Trips "Dare2Serve Trips" (D2S Trips) for a reason. "Dare" implies it will require courage; there is a risk; it will not be easy. "Serve" declares that the nature of the trip is that it is not about the student. The goal of the trip is that students put others before themselves. Trips are not comfortable. We rarely stay in hotels. We do not feed students expensive meals and portions are often limited. We do not sleep a lot. Showers are sometimes cold. Roommates sometimes snore. And we always work hard.

Why? In the short amount of time that we have on a D2S Trip we want students to realize that following Jesus is not always easy. Serving others is not always fun. A Christian's life is to reflect a dying to oneself (Matthew 16:24). A call to die. To lose your life for the sake of Jesus (Matthew 16:25). If students can find joy and strength in serving Jesus in difficult circumstances they will be ready to embrace the everyday following of Jesus that their lives will require. Students ought to come back more inclined to serve sacrificially in their home, school, community and church.

4. The Church is bigger than Berean
D2S trips expose students to people who follow Jesus who look, live, and worship differently than they do. By the time they graduate we want our students to have a global perspective of Christ's Church. We prioritize partnering with local churches wherever we go. We are not doing humanitarian aid or social work unless it is directly tied to a church that is making much of Jesus in that local community. Students get a picture of heaven where God's desire is to gather worshipers from "every tribe, tongue, and nation" (Revelation 7:9). Our prayer is that some students take this call of global gospel expansion personally and make the task of their life to take the gospel to those who have not heard (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).

5. Catalyst for Lifestyle Change
Mission Trips are often described as "spiritual highs." This is both a positive and negative of short-term mission work. The trip in and of itself is not the goal or purpose for our D2S trips. Our desire is that God uses these short intensive times of service to be a catalyst for life change. Mission Trips need to include life-action points and follow-up. What will you do differently next week when you are back home? How will your priorities or lifestyle change? One of the most effective things we do to enable effective follow-up is including our small group leaders and parents on our D2S Trips. This provides accountability for authenticity both on the trip and after the trip. Like everything we do as SURGE Student Ministries our hope and prayer is that God uses the programs we utilize to bring about lasting change in the lives and hearts of the students he has called us to shepherd.

2017 Dare2Serve Trips are now open for applications. Are you ready?

Interested in being part of one of our 2017 D2S Trips? See trip information and apply online here!