I had a great time this week working with the Park Plaza Jr. High mission team. Our group traveled to Oklahoma City to work at
The Refuge,
OkCity Rescue Mission, and at
Special Care.
Short term mission work is invaluable to the person going, the person receiving, and the church as a whole. While all of the activities that we participated in could have easily been replicated in Tulsa, removing these students from their comfort zone and transporting them to the unfamiliar surrounding of downtown Oklahoma City and Edmond was an effective way to add depth and deeper understanding to their experience.
For the students going on these short term mission experiences there are some great benefits of travel. Loosely quoting Mark Twain, "Travel is the best antidote to bigotry, narrow mindedness, and self centeredness". From my decade of experience escorting Jr. and Sr. high school students’ local and international trips abroad it is clear to me that most students find that their trip results in realizing God's material blessing, spiritual growth, renewed faith, and an increased commitment to the great commission. These things and a new perspective on life are significant benefits of youth mission trips. We saw this played out Sunday morning with the three baptisms of Kale, Julia, and Nathan. Just as significant, I think, is what happened this morning as the students gathered for class; barriers to new friendships that were deconstructed over the week continued as I witnessed 6th, 7th, & 8th graders whom usually did not interact with each other on a typically Sunday morning seek out one another for conversation and relationship.
For the persons on the receiving end of these experiences, amazingly, just the presence of an outsider can be a great encouragement to suffering people. Serving the church and spreading God's good news to a needy world is the primary purpose of mission trips. Ultimately the goal of all missions work is to spread the good news of the new life available through Jesus Christ. No matter where we serve in the spectrum of Christian service, people will benefit from our willingness to go.
Just the mere presence of these young Christ followers impacted The Refuge and the city homeless shelter where we served. The work they accomplished, while seemingly small, will compound with the other small works accomplished all yearlong by other groups, and soon the impact of The Refuge will win back a portion of OKCity for Christ, one person at a time.
No more evident was the IMMEDITATE impact of our presence felt than at Special Care. The faces of the children as they received the one on one attention that every soul craves could be easily seen in their eyes and through their smiles and heard through their coos and grunts. The impact of our presence was also felt by parents who came to pick up their children and found them being interacted with, held, and being cared for by our students.
Short term mission work is good for the health of our youth group and the church as a whole. Self-centeredness and an inward focus can stifle the growth of any youth group/church over a period of time. When anyone decides to go, the whole church is able to participate in the work through the training of, giving to, and praying for the one going and the one receiving. When the whole church is focused on being a witness to others, faith is put in action and the whole body grows together.
Beyond the impact of service, another benefit of trips away from home, and outside of your comfort zone, are the relationships that are built and the bonds that are formed and strengthened between students, between the adults involved, and between the adults and the students that they serve. The time spent riding in vans, playing Ultimate, competing at
Pole Position, worshiping at the
Survivor Tree, and sitting on a curb eating custard from the
Orange Tree was invaluable to build trust, friendship, and relationship between us all.
As my daughter continues her involvement in the youth ministry at Park Plaza, I too look forward to the many ways to serve her and her friends as we go about trying to be better followers of Christ together.
Labels: mission work, park plaza, youth group
