Not Going On the Mission Trip

Anthony Gittins describes a missionary experience as a passing over and coming back in his book Ministry at the Margins. He says that this is “the greatest religious adventure of our time”. Many churches have mission teams that have spent months planning and preparing for their mission trip. Some of these were spring break mission … Continue reading Not Going On the Mission Trip →

Post-Mission Trip Retreat

Fading into Fall Recently I’ve seen several people posting photos of their mission trips this summer. Their teams worked in the heat of June and July, and now they are home and preparing for back-to-school. The stores are fully stocked with pencils, paper, markers and folders. Saturday the stores in my area were packed with … Continue reading Post-Mission Trip Retreat →

Mutuality Takes Work

Yesterday in a meeting I was asked who is my favorite mission theologian. I quickly answered: Glory Dharmaraj. Glory and her husband Jacob worked for many years in United Methodist mission agencies, Glory for United Methodist Women and Jacob for the General Board of Global Ministries. They wrote about complex mission concepts in such a … Continue reading Mutuality Takes Work →

Mission Selfies

Eleven years ago I had the opportunity to lead a mission trip to Belhar, near Cape Town. Our team worked with a Methodist Church, helping them with the part of the construction on their new building. We took a lot of pictures. Everyone had a camera, most with digital memory sticks that we downloaded onto … Continue reading Mission Selfies →

What’s History Got to Do With Mission Trips?

Next year, United Methodist Women will celebrate their 150th anniversary of women organized for mission. In 1869, Methodists had been training and sending missionaries for nearly 50 years, but women were only allowed to participate as missionary wives. The Mission Board did not financially support mission training for women, nor did they see the need … Continue reading What’s History Got to Do With Mission Trips? →

Planning a Mission Trip – Part Four

Putting Together A Team About a month ago one of my daughters came for a visit. We had a list of places to visit and things she wanted to see, but it was a rainy weekend and we had to make some changes. That Sunday afternoon, the skies cleared and it was a glorious day … Continue reading Planning a Mission Trip – Part Four →

Planning a Short-Term Mission Trip – Part Three: Do No Harm

This past weekend two things happened: a friend asked me a question and I got a new compass. I’ll be honest. I really love hiking, but I have NO idea how to use a compass. Now that I live in a region with lots of trails, I’ve been learning. I’ve gone to classes, I’ve researched … Continue reading Planning a Short-Term Mission Trip – Part Three: Do No Harm →

Planning A Short-Term Mission Trip – The Work Project

Welcome to part two of our series on planning a short-term mission trip! Monday we discussed selecting a destination. Today we consider the question of the work done on a mission trip. How do you choose what work your mission team will do on your mission trip? And when do you make this decision? In … Continue reading Planning A Short-Term Mission Trip – The Work Project →

Planning A Short-Term Mission Trip

Have you been the person in charge of planning a mission trip? It takes rather a lot of work to plan a mission trip. Sometimes planning a mission trip begins with someone suggesting a destination. Destinations How does your group choose a destination? Many years ago I worked as a Christian Education director, and our … Continue reading Planning A Short-Term Mission Trip →

Cross-Cultural Short-Term Mission

#MyHope4Methodism If you are a member of the United Methodist Church, you are likely already aware of the conflicts and divisions within the denomination. If not, a quick internet search may lead to you to blogs, articles, news reports and Twitter feeds about our wrestling with how to be a single denomination while holding differing … Continue reading Cross-Cultural Short-Term Mission →