Have you ever been on a mission trip?
I have had the privilege of going on a few. I was blessed to be able to go on a handful with my church youth group growing up. Domestically I went to inner-city Philadelphia twice. I was also able to go to Germany two different times to share the gospel with teenagers. Since my youth days, I have been to Zambia, Serbia, New York City, and the Dominican Republic. In just a few weeks I have the opportunity to go back to Germany with a small group of high school students from Berean.
Each of these trips has had an incredible impact on my life.
Through these experiences, I have learned how to better share the gospel with others. These trips have also served as anchor points in my spiritual life, propelling me on to a greater and deeper commitment and faith in Christ. They have played a significant role in my call to full-time pastoral ministry.
These trips also helped to give me a larger and more complete picture of the world that we live in.
It is easy to think of the world as all looking like the middle-class suburbs that I have lived in and am used to. Seeing the slums and poor living conditions that many people in our world live in has given me great compassion; It continues giving me a much bigger perspective on life.
With each of these trips having such a large impact on me personally, I greatly anticipate the time that I will be able to take my daughters on trips like these. Have you ever considered going on a mission trip with your children? Not every trip is conducive to doing this, but there are many trips that are. I can’t wait to travel with my daughters. I want to help them to see the world, gain a bigger picture of it, serve alongside them, let them experience the ministry of the gospel and God working in ways and conditions that they are not used to.
Let me challenge all of us to not only go on a mission trip ourselves but to strategically have our children go on one with us.
I hope to take each of my three daughters on a trip individually. I would love for our entire family to go on a trip together sometime as well! It is important for me that my girls get to put the Great Commission into action from a global standpoint as well as to learn, grow, and be stretched in their faith. As a parent, that is one of the best things I can do as I continue to disciple them and prepare them for a life of faith in Christ on their own.
I can’t wait to do this with my family. Maybe we’ll get to join your family on a trip and serve together. I hope you will join me (us)!