UPDATE
Feb 1, 2006
Dear Saints:
May I wish my Chinese friends a
Blessed Lunar New Year! The Chinese believe that all changes in life
have to be properly negotiated and all transactions for the year
successfully closed out before the New Year celebrations, lasting
fifteen days from 29th January, are over. For my Chinese
co-workers, this is a New Beginning. Be Blessed!
Our Vision and Mission
is clearly laid out in our web-site (www.icmission.net)
and as a reminder, I repeat what we posted for our readership:
- to stir up cross
border vision for soul
winning,
discipleship and church
planting according
to 2 Timothy 2:2 and
- to partner local churches and
missions
groups in end-time harvest training and
discipleship in obedience to the Great
Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and
in response to His call in Psalm 2:8
SHORT-TERM MISSION TRIP
An activity we promote among our
church partners is to bring their members to the mission field with us
and experience first-hand the work of God in the midst of the unsaved.
The Bible tells us that the Lord “is patient with (us), not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”. 2 Peter 3:9.
What are the
benefits of such trips? What does a trip do for her members? Does it
only benefit the people in the field to whom we minister?
Here are some
of the benefits
1. For You:
Experience
that will stretch you -
As you
experience a
different
culture, people and life-style,
you will find your own life experience
is stretched. The
whole idea of doing something that requires
moving out of your
"comfort zone" is an experience that will
affect you
forever.
Exposure
that will change you -
On a mission trip, you will be
exposed firsthand to
needs in different country/culture.
Rarely can one be personally
exposed to the severity of human need and
remain unchanged. Coming face to
face with authentic needs is to
expose yourself to risks and
responsibilities that can radically
change you!
Education
that will enlighten you -
Reading and hearing about the
needs in the world can be, and
often is, frustrating because you feel powerless to make any
significant difference. Team participants
have the opportunity to learn
issues firsthand from the people they meet and discover that they as
"short-timers" can make a difference once they are home. In
addition, this education process
enlightens you to the needs that exist in your day-to-day world.
Needs that have always been
right in front of your eyes now seem
new and noticeable. Your awareness
and concern heightened.
Encounters that will
affect you - Leaving a familiar environment
and placing yourself in a situation
where you have to trust God
can lead to powerful experiences. Participant encounters a host
of new relationships with members of the host community, team
members, missionaries and
supporters. All of these encounters are avenues for encounters with
God. Furthermore, one cannot go on a trip without encountering
oneself. You may not go with this intent,
but the whole process may be very
revealing.
2. For Family And
Friends
Your Christian
family and friends get a chance to be a part of your trip through
prayer and financial support. For your non-Christian family and
friends, your trip may open the door to share the Gospel
with them.
3. For The Church
There is no doubt that the vast majority
of
people sent out
return
more mature. You’ll be more prepared
for leadership
positions in
the body of Christ. More than that, you can be excited
about what
God is doing in world evangelization.
4. For Missions
Over
85%
of those currently
recruited
for career missions felt the
call of God during their experiences on a short-term
trip. Also your short-term trip can
be a blessing to the career missionary on the
spot and serve the
missionary.
5. For The Lost
God uses short-term missions to save people.
He uses it to lay a
foundation for others to build on. Short-term missions are a
strategic part of world evangelization.
Next Page |
