November 1, 2022
Vision Without Sight
A Short-Term Mission Trip to a Liberian Orphanage, an ‘Experiment,’ and a 6-Year-Old Blind Girl Named Princess
November 1, 2022
A Short-Term Mission Trip to a Liberian Orphanage, an ‘Experiment,’ and a 6-Year-Old Blind Girl Named Princess
September 1, 2021
Ludmilla and June sat in a makeshift examination room in a small Ukrainian Baptist church where a team of medical missionaries had set up a clinic. June helped the elderly woman pull her arm from her sleeve as she listened to her story of the cancer treatment and its effects on her body. Ludmilla also had a broken shoulder and a wound at the base of her neck that the surgeon would not operate on since it might involve cancer. The oncologist did not want to treat her because she had an open wound. Ludmilla was left to manage her
April 21, 2021
After a yearlong travel hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the leaders at Amor Ministries are hoping they can begin leading short-term mission trips again in June.
July 22, 2019
By Laura McKillip Wood The sun beat down on the American visitors as they made their way through dirt streets and stepped over the open sewers that lined them. Tin and wooden shanties crowded together. Whole families with five to ten members lived in one room. The smells of smoldering cooking fires, garbage, and sewage permeated the air in the slums of Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. Just the week before, a 14-year-old boy, loved by many in the community, faced the guns of a corrupt police force. Shot multiple times, the boy died immediately. The visitors knew nothing
November 6, 2018
3 Practices to Help (and Not Hurt) the People We Seek to Serve By Josh Rouse Scenario 1: A short-term team paints three buildings on a nongovernmental organization’s campus and hosts a VBS for more than 200 so-called “street kids.” They go home proud of what they were able to achieve. The problem (aside from “street kids” being a derogatory term)? They don’t realize those same buildings had already been painted by other short-term teams twice that summer, and those same kids had attended more than a dozen similar VBS programs in the last two months. Either the host
July 25, 2016
By Errol Schroeder Brendon Paladichuk is a member at Journey Christian Church in Greeley, Colorado. But he hasn”t always been a believer. God did a rewrite of Brendon”s screenplay, and now he”s living out a better story. Brendon grew up in a single-parent home with his mom working four jobs to make ends meet. Brendon went to church but was present only physically. Brendon wanted to be popular, cool, and noticed. Dirty jokes, cussing, fights, and alcohol were all a part of his story. Brendon was the man! One day his life took a major turn. He was in a
November 1, 2015
How one congregation prepares people for short-term trips and helps them see how they are part of a much bigger picture. By Tom Moen We use a document at Mountain Christian Church called “The Anatomy of a Short-Term Mission Trip” to help our people understand the gravity, depth, and commitment involved in getting the team ready to go, serve well, and return home to continue the mission. This information illustrates the great investment of time that goes into making a GO Team trip work. The team leaders and church staff work together to lead the team participants through this process. Our hope
January 15, 2015
By Rob Maupin My wife and I entered the local sub shop and began to order. The young man serving us noticed our tired, but happy faces and asked what we had been doing. We told him our church had packed 500,000 meals for hungry kids in Haiti, and it took us (and more than 1,000 volunteers) well over 11 hours of really hard work. We explained that even though it was tiring, we had a truly wonderful experience. “Why did your church do that?” he asked quietly. As we conversed, he said, “I”d like to be a part of
May 9, 2014
By Bob Russell A prominent ad for a new church plant reads, “Church doesn”t have to suck! Happy hour service this Sunday at 10:30 a.m.” Some might smile at that trendy message and regard it as a creative attention-getter, but the not-so-subtle implication is that most churches are boring and ineffective. Frankly, I”m tired of people bashing the church of Jesus Christ. I”m not referring to the world”s ridicule of the church””that”s expected. I”m referring to the criticism of the church from within. Popular Christian authors, convention speakers, parachurch leaders, and “cutting-edge” preachers frequently heap scorn on the bride of
March 15, 2009
  These days everyone is thinking about value received for money spent. In keeping with the times, we asked each of the Christian colleges in our annual survey to write a few paragraphs on this theme: “The High Value of Your Education at Our School.” Their reports follow.   Alberta Bible College Empowered to dream! Equipped to serve! Students join Alberta Bible College at different points on their faith journeys, but each is greeted with the same challenging question, “Where does your deep gladness meet the world”s deep need?”But students who are uncertain about attending ABC should ask
July 3, 2005
LeRoy Lawson reflects on a 20-month RV journey and the remarkable revival he’s witnessed among independent Christian churches—through megachurch growth, church plants, community engagement, expanding schools, and healthier leadership and unity.