Mission projects change lives

Short-term missions (STMs) changed my life.

They’ve played a huge role in helping all five of our children to grow in their faith. Their STM experiences did what we could not do as parents.

They learned that the world is not about them. They learned how to minister. They learned the big picture of what God is doing in the world and how to join him.

STMs are the reason I started AIM – I wanted to see young people have more opportunities where God could use mission trips to change their lives. If you’re a youth leader, parent, or discipler, you have to have STMs in your tool kit to be effective. I can’t say it strongly enough – your young people need to be on a mission trip this summer – it’s worth whatever sacrifices that may be involved and is far more valuable to their development as a whole person than any academic experience or camp you could offer them.

Here’s an example of a life recently transformed, because of short-term missions. Aaron Darlington writes about his experience in Uganda and how it changed his life:

The majority of our ministry here is relational discipleship. We have partnered with Bugolobi Church of the Resurrection, a local Anglican church with a rock solid faith. We spend a lot of time ministering to, and with, the youth (12-24). We partner with members of the church and evangelize the local communities door-to-door. Each home presents a fresh and distinctive opportunity. In each place, my main desire is simply to love the people. This looks different to everyone. I feel as if I could write a full blog about each experience.In one home, God had me fall in love with a three-year old girl named Blessed. She played with my hair and bracelets and clung to me with tiny clenched hands. In another, the Spirit led me to confront false religion with my only weapon, the Word of God, and to proclaim the divinity of Jesus. At another home, I hoped to inspire a man and his wife by sharing that the Bible can be their guide for everything-that it will be the lamp under their feet and a light to guide them, that it will teach them how to be a good husband or wife and how to be good parents, etc. And as soon as I finished, they opened up with a million questions and struggles, and we spent several hours pouring over scripture in a sort of marriage counseling Bible study session.

And finally, in many others, God had me simply love on the people by blessing them, praying for them, listening to their struggles, and sharing my own. It’s very easy to fall in love with the people of Uganda-time and time again they opened their doors and welcomed me in as one of their own. There is much hurt in this place, but God’s grace is abounding. It will be hard leaving.