Although these articles are a few years old at this point, Taylor Walters Denyer, of Friendly Planet Missiology, has written a couple of short pieces to help churches think through the pros and cons of sending mission teams on what have been typically called "short-term mission trips."
In "Should We Send a Team? A Historical Perspective," Taylor investigates the historical background of such trips to develop some criteria for whether such a trip is a good idea.
In "Why I'll Stop Talking about Short-Term Mission Trips," Taylor succinctly presents the need for trips to be part of longer-term relationships.
In "When Short-Term Mission Trips Make a Difference: A Testimonial," Taylor shares her own story of being transformed through mission trips, even as she cautions Americans to be realistic about what the outcomes of such trips are likely to be.
If your church has read through Taylor's material and still thinks a trip is the right thing to do, next week I will share posts from Lisa Beth White of Sister of Hope Ministries on how to go about planning such a trip in an appropriate way.
Dedicated to fostering conversations about the global nature of The United Methodist Church
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