One of my favorite hymns growing up is “They know we are Christians by our love”. A beautiful hymn. One that talks about how people should be able to identify Christians by the love they share with their fellow neighbors. Jesus spoke ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22: 36-40)
How does your church show that love? How does your church show that Christianity is more than something that falls on Christmas or Easter? How does your church show that Christ is more than just something people pick up once a week before living their lives as nothing has changed?
A great way to show the church and to grow your faith is to go out into the world. It’s one thing to complain about gloom and injustice, but it’s another thing to take action and do something about it.
One way for your church to take action is by doing mission trips. Mission trips have served as a bedrock for my faith and the faith of many other Christians. Service is who God calls us to be and what better way to serve the Lord than giving your time, energy, and money towards a trip.
By completing mission trips, we show the same agape and grace that Jesus gave us. The Lord doesn’t tell us to decide if someone is worthy of the grace and love that we give, only that we should work for them as if we are working for the Lord. (Colossians 3:23-24)
Mission Trips According to The Bible
There are many Bible verses that speak on the benefits and the imperative that Christians should help where needed. Whether you look at the Great Commission (Matthew 28: 16-20), Jesus talking about the Greatest Commandment (Matthew 22: 36-40), or any number of verses, Christianity is not meant to be a spectator sport. Christians aren’t just made in the pews. They are called out to the world. To be the “Salt of the Earth” (Matthew 5: 13-16), Christians need to be on the frontlines and to show the love of Christ.
My church helped show me how important these mission trips are. Every year, my church went to inner-city Pittsburgh to rebuild homes, to take care of shut-ins, and to simply be a helping hand. Those mission trips are among my favorite memories of the church, and the ones where I felt closest to God. The strangers that you meet when you go on these trips can turn out to be some of your closest friends.
Getting Started with Mission Trips
Sometimes God calls you out of your comfort zone to serve on a mission trip. You don’t have to go on a transatlantic flight to start. It can be something as easy as volunteering in your own community. The benefits of even a local mission trip are enormous.
Not only do they help galvanize the church, but they teach the volunteering youth that there is more to Christianity than sermons on Sunday mornings. It doesn’t need to be too elaborate. A lot of the mission trips that I remember started at my church, Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Waldorf, Maryland.
This took the form of car washes or dinners put on by the youth. These events acted both as fundraisers for our larger mission trips while also providing a sense of community and ownership of the work we were doing. These fundraisers helped instill in us the value of service and the role that it plays in our faith.
Look at the world today. It doesn’t take too long to see that the world needs help. Look at your community. Where can you help? Can your church help bridge the food gap by having a food pantry or a soup kitchen? Can you offer those struggling with addiction a place to meet? Can you find a way to support those that are incarcerated? Can your church be more than a place to socialize for an hour?
Missions and ministries are an opportunity for your church to show where its priorities are. It shows what the purpose of the church is and what the leadership of the church values. There are multiple pros and cons of doing mission trips both at home and abroad, but the important thing is that you are part of the solution; that your church is moving forward by looking after the most vulnerable. After all, it seems necessary for the church to lead by example and to prioritize ministries and missions, because if it doesn’t, then what are we doing as a church?
About The Author
David Graham is a digital marketing specialist with a focus on search engine optimization, and is the founder of Digital Carpenter, a digital marketing company focused on providing web design and SEO services to churches and nonprofits. David enjoys using his skills to help churches and nonprofits reach more people in their communities.
