Mission, Missions, and Short Term Mission Trips

by Sam Snyder

I am so thankful that the FCA is so involved in fulfilling the Great Commission in so many different ways around the world. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for other ministers and ministries in the FCA who have partnered with God in His mission in these different ways:

Seriously, I really wouldn’t be who I am or be doing what I’m doing. I was raised on the mission field: I was only 8 days old when my parents took me on the 24 hour drive back into southwestern Mexico and it wasn’t until I was 18 that I moved away from home to go to Bible School in the USA. While on the mission field, and during college, I helped host mission trips and I even went on some national mission trips within Mexico with our churches there. While I was in college I got to travel as a participant on several national and international mission trips sent from the USA. While I was a youth pastor in rural Minnesota I led local, national, and international mission trips. I have seen almost every side of mission trips (sending, receiving, participating, coordinating, leading, etc.). And as a church planter I have been learning what it means to live my life on mission in my local context and what it means to lead others into a lifestyle of partnering with God in His mission in their world. I have a passion to join God in connecting the relationally and spiritually disconnected as He continues to reconcile the world to Himself through Jesus Christ.

All of these experiences have helped me to grow in my understanding of God’s work in the world, but I also have lots of questions about how to best be involved in God’s mission in my context and around the world.

God’s heart for every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to know Him is undeniable, yet I think we all need to wrestle with questions about how to partner with God in His pursuit, like:

How can we balance local and international missions?

How can we live incarnationally here and now while still being involved in international missions?

How can we lead mission trips so that they’re not exotic service projects for participants?

How can we prepare, send, fund, and care for long term missionaries?

How can we encourage, support, and network with missionaries from other countries who are being sent out to other mission fields?

There are lots of questions. What would you ask??? Maybe you have questions about Mission, Missions, or Short Term Mission Trips too. Or maybe you have answers to someone else’s questions. Either way, I would love to hear from you: leave a comment or send me an email with questions that are on your heart and mind so that in a few weeks I can begin a short series of posts with thoughts on Mission, Missions, and Short Term Mission Trips from leaders around the FCA.

I look forward to exploring this very important topic with you!