“Missions,” in our day, seems to be the umbrella term for an ever-expanding set of jobs, callings, ambitions, and church programs.
Gone are the days when the word represented those who would set out for the field knowing it was likely a one-way trip. This type of missions aimed at converts, finished Bible translations, and churches that would last generations. Missions was seen as a lifetime endeavor, not a task to be completed. Of course, this is partly because of technological limitations; round-trip transatlantic journeys are much more difficult than round-trip transatlantic flights. And yet, I suspect there also exists some philosophical disagreement as well as to what the goal of “missions” actually is. What previous generations called “missions” we have specified and relabeled as “long-term missions.”
The point of this article is not to knock short-term work, mercy ministries, social programs, and other good endeavors. These are all helpful in their own way. But we should be aware that short-term endeavors, by their very nature, are insufficient to establish generational churches by the power of the gospel.
My goal is not to rebuke anyone but to remind all of us that long-term missions is costly—and it’s worth it. It’s
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