I hear a lot of stories (sometimes comedies, sometimes horror stories) regarding short-term missions (STM). I nod and smile, or shake my head and scowl. But I am happy to say that I can't really relate to these stories. My experience with short-term missionaries has generally been quite positive. But my own experience with STM …
Tag: short-term missions
Struggles with Short-Term Missions
A lot of Short-term Mission teams come from "The West" to the Philippines. And quite a few STM teams leave the Philippines to serve in other parts of the world as well. And they can do genuine good. When they come in as genuine partners of local ministries, when they come in with welcome skills …
Missionaries to 3 Churches and the “Can Do” Church
There has been a growing trend to raise up the importance of short-term missionaries. Nothing wrong with that, except that it has often been tied to a de-emphasis of long-term missionaries. Related to short-term missionaries has been the church's move toward short-term thinking. This has seen itself in the increase of "project missions." In this, …
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STM: Between Colonialism and Paternalism
One of the wonderful things about studying Missions is that no one really knows what they are doing. Whenever one messes up... one is in good company. This is all too evident in Short-Term Missions. Unbridled Enthusiasm: Some churches now see the future as the demise of the long-term, cross-cultural missionary. Some of those in …
10 Years in the Philippines: Reflections Past and Present
I and my family have been serving in the Philippines for 10 years. I found some colored papers with my handwriting on it. It was reflections from the first two weeks in the Philippines (back in early 2004). Days 1-8. We have been in the Philippines for 13 days. The first 8 days we spent …
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Don’t Get Out of the Pool
The church can be involved in missions on several levels. Here are three. 1. Pooling Pooling is pretty obvious. Churches pool their resources, particularly their money... giving them to an outside body, such as a denominational organization or non-denominational mission agency. The involvement of the church in missions is extremely limited. Relationship with missionaries/ministry sites: …