Mission Trips at home vs. Abroad

I would agree with the above assessment. Mission work is needed all over the world, including England and the United States. Although it is the US that provides over 90% of the world’s missionary needs, yet as “r5dots” pointed out we need missionaries at home just as bad as anybody else. But at the same time we have to realize that to any mission field it is the Lord’s call that the missionaries answering to, and not a desire to see a foreign country. It is the burdening of the heart for a particular mission field that sends a young person into a foreign land, and it is the love of God which makes them to learn an other language (regardless of how much they hated the chance of learning an other language at High School, while they still had the chance).

 

The Lord lead our church into a migrant ministry, among the mexican farm workers in our area a frew years ago. Over 200 have come to the Lord in that ministry.
A year and a half ago the Lord lead a few from the migrant ministry to put together a mission trip to Mexico. We were already ahesd, a new member who had only been ther a little over a year was from Texas, and had done several mission trips to Mexico growing up. And knew a ministry who are based in Texas and go over everyday to ministry send witness in Mexico. He contacted them and now we for the second year in a row we have a mission team going to Mexico. This years team is even larger then last years. Around 20 I believe it is.
Now none of these are going to Mexico to site see, theres nothing where they are going but huts and a small town.

But the ministry team knew God was leading them to Mexico. Most of them went, and some others who don't work in the migrant mininstry.

 

The book of Lamentations talks about "mine eye hath affected mine heart" What we see first hand will ultimately affect our heart. I know from personal experience that I would not be involved in missions full-time today if it were not for the many opportunities that I had to go to the mission field. It allows people to see that Christianity is not just an "American" religion but is world wide!

Being involved in missions, I have travelled more in the last two years than at any other time in my life. It allows me to see to world from a different perspective!

 

Missions whether here or there is wherever ever God sends. . .

 

In our church, it depends on who is leading the team--but even then, it is where God leads.

 

I agree that we need missions at home just as much as overseas, however, I believe the place should be chosen out of God's leading.

Our church missions group goes to Hungary and the first time they went, they simply helped build houses and clean the place up then the next time they went they shared the gospel of Christ and the only way they were allowed to share was because they were known for the past of cleaning and buiding. Other groups had come in the past and tried to hand out info but the government wouldn't allow it, they are very strict about that stuff there but they saw our group and said we could because we had done service first.

I think wherever God leads the group needs to go, it not only changes the lives of the people there but yours as well -dar

 

I too, am in a full time ministry of missions.My job is to mobilize people to "GO". I think people Go where God shows them the need. I have talked to Pastors and showed them a need in a country and they could not see it. I first thought he was being hard headed. After I thought about it, I knew the Pastor. He was not a hard head he just didn't see the need as much as some other churches did. He did however see the need in Mexico as others see the need in Texas and Africa and so on. As missionaries, I believe most of us are led by the Holy Spirit. I also believe if we allowed God to lead us more, you would see many many more missionaries around the world. God is a missionary God and He still has a lot of places to send His people. Missions started in Genesis and doesn't end until Revelation.
It all depends on how each of us is effected by the Holy Spirit.

AGAPE'

 

Our Youth Group just went on a mission trip to Nevis West Indies in July. The way the place was chosen was that we had contacts from previous mission trips that expressed a need for the youth on the island to have someone show them how they could be active in Church-to "Disciple" them. Before committing to the trip, our youth pastor prayed, and had several others praying. God will lead, that is how the place should be chosen.

 

Missions is CAUGHT more than TAUGHT <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I like that, Brother! God planted my field on my heart when I was 19. I was fresh out of HS and a dear lady in our church (who, by the way, had health problems and probably should have stayed home) decided to go down to Mexico and help a children's home and get food (with the gospel) into a Huichole indian village in the Sierra mountains. The family asked for someone to go with her to look out for her and so I volunteerd! A free trip to another country! I never expected God to call me there. Just as I know God convicted my heart for Salvation, I know he called me here to Tepic, Mexico. By the way...if anyone wants to receive our periodic updates via e-mail, just send a request to [email protected]

 

r5dots: Thank you all for responding to my questions about foreign missions! But I still don't understand how the "place" is chosen? Is it a committee within the church?

Darryl: I will use my church as an example of how churches select their destinations. For example, if you wanted to serve as a missionary you would go through an international organization to serve. Most likely your church would be a partner of such an organization. So it would usually be your church that would support you through this organization. If you as a missionary choose to go to Korea for example, then your church would send an appropriate group to help you.

Every year our church sends some of our Singles group to Morocco.

The international missionary boards (offer) select areas where people have not heard about the love of Christ.

I heard on the radio recently that the US is 4th on the missionary list of where missionaries are sent. Other countries fear our fall.

In Christ,
Darryl

 

'Where' church groups go on these trips is usually decided by the pastor, or if there is a missions group in the church by the leader of it. A lot of times there is a personal contact, ie the pastor knows the director of XYZ mission board and so his church group goes on one of XYZ's 6 annual trips. Or they visit one of the churches missionaries. There really isn't any rule on how they decide where to go.