The SBC’s North American Missions Board World Changers project will engage 23,000 young people in the U.S. in local, low-cost missions opportunities this year. Short-term, local missions have dramatically increased in popularity over the last 40 years. Research by academics in the field of missions’ best-practices suggest many short-term missions are costly, objectify the people they serve, and result in questionable impact. But many outreach leaders and ministers insist relational missions projects have the “potential to change lives” and offer spiritual growth opportunities for both the servant and the served.
What do you think? Are short-term missions trips helpful or hurtful? Why?
