Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:35-38
As believers in Christ, we have been called by Jesus to start claiming his plentiful harvest. As a missions organization, MBMS International strives to follow this call by enabling and equipping people to enter this harvest field. We call this mobilization, and we fully believe that there are several ways that one can respond to Jesus' invitation. God works in powerful and diverse ways and our goal is to allow Him to do so through the short and long term assignments, prayer ministry and financial support of our MB constituents.
As our new mission statement shows, we are all about transforming lives in mission. And one method for achieving this mission is short term mission. In 2007 we sent out 700 short term mission participants in a variety of programs to many different countries. We are obeying Christ's commission to make disciples of all nations by embodying a whole-hearted love for God and a self-giving love for others. We aim to transform lives in mission among the 2 billion people who have not heard the Gospel or seen a demonstration of the life changing power of Jesus.
One small example of how this happens comes from Phil and Carol Bergen in Burkina Faso, Africa. Three years ago, the Bergens hosted a team from TREK - one of our short term programs. In order to accommodate all the TREK team members, different families from the village were asked if they would host some of the TREK participants. Now that the Bergens have started regular church services, two of these TREK host families have begun attending and have brought some of their friends. Can short term mission make a difference? These families saw the effect of Jesus on the lives on the TREK team members. They saw the difference in their lives and wanted the same thing.
As an organization we desire to have our relationships testify to the reality of Christ's presence in our lives. We desire to transform the lives of the least reached people. These lives, however, are not the only lives transformed through short term mission. Perhaps the true beneficiaries of short term mission are the participants themselves. MBMSI believes that as individuals serve in experiential mission, they can become transformed into the individuals that God wants them to be: fully engaged, fully passionate, fully seeking Him. Of our last thirty long term missionaries, over 90% had previously completed one or more short term assignments with MBMSI. This is no coincidence.
MBMSI trips may last three weeks, three months, or three years, but the effects they have can last much longer - eternal in fact. Short term teams can transform the lives of the least reached, as they themselves are transformed into Christ's servants. There is nothing short term about mission.
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