short-term missions

When Dr. Aaron Mitchell felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to leave behind his comfortable life and a busy medical practice for the unpredictable streets of Cairo with his teenage son Caleb, his faith was put to the ultimate test. The timing of the trip coincided with the war breaking out in the neighboring Israel. In this episode of the Limitless Spirit Podcast, host, Helen Todd, sits down with Aaron to explore the emotional and spiritual implications of answering God's call. His story, a narrative of courage and trust, reminds us that the path of true discipleship often leads us through the wilderness of our fears and into the promised land of divine purpose.
 Aaron's candid recount of their adventures offers a vivid illustration of the challenges and joys found in connecting with people across language barriers and the rich spiritual rewards that follow. Aaaron challenges us to answer the question: "If we are comfortable, are we doing enough for God?"
Visit World Missions Alliance website: rfwma.org to doscover opportunities to serve in short-term missions across the globe.

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Mackynzie 'Mac' Archer comes with a deep love for the Haitian people and vulnerable populations. She is an anthropologist, researcher, consultant, and advocate. In this episode we dive into some of her findings in short-term missions, the orphanage system in Haiti, and her most recent doctoral research on the emotional labor of care-affected children.

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Resources and Links from the show

Most Children In Haitian Orphanages Aren’t Orphans — But US Missionaries Take Them Away From Their Families

Disquieting Gifts: Humanitarianism in New Delhi

Travesty in Haiti: A true account of Christian missions, orphanages, fraud, food aid, and drug trafficking

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Conversation Notes

• How Mackenzie got to Haiti (6:00)
• The reality on the ground at an orphanage (7:30)
• Interviewing children in orphanage systems (10:30)
• Let’s talk about life in Haiti right now (12:00)
• The impact of instability on orphanages (15:00)
• An increase in malnutrition (21:00)
• Most organizations unable to meet basic needs (23:00)
• Sustaining poor child welfare practices (26:00)
• Good intentions (27:00)
• One story from a short-term missions volunteer (31:00)
• Accountable empathy (38:00)
• Are we willing to receiving from other cultures? (41:00)
• The emotional labor we see at orphanages (47:00)
• Wiping the eyes of children between groups of visitors (52:00)
• Emotional labor in family reunification (57:00)
• Building relationships instead of structures (1:12:00)

Welcome to a special stand-alone episode of the Go! Podcast. Every year, our church, Liberty Bible Church, sends out multiple teams both domestically and internationally to partner with established partners in their ministries. We have found that when done well, these short-term teams are incredible God-opportunities to see transformation in the lives of participants and partners alike. 

This year, we have or will be sending 6 different teams to serve, and one of those recently returned and included our very own Cami Santner. Today we'll hear from her about her experience serving with this short-term team in Costa Rica.

If you are wondering whether this is a podcast for you, check out this short introduction episode. We seek to answer two basic questions: 

• What have we been doing in the name of short-term missions? 
• And what ought we to be doing in the future?

This podcast is intended to help you and your faith community to answer these important questions. 

  If you’ve been searching for podcasts about short-term missions, chances are you already suspect that what most of the church calls “short-term missions” doesn’t exactly line up with what we read in the bible about missions. If you are anything like me—or like any of the people you’ll hear in this podcast—you probably think that there’s got to be a better way. Well we think so too, and that’s what this podcast is all about: Imagining better ways to engage the world and to play the part God wants us to play in the wider mission of the church all over the world.  

 The people we’ll feature in this podcast are calling for increased creativity, more humility and mutuality, and more attention to context and culture. These are folks who have begun experimenting with new approaches to short-term missions--approaches that challenge the status quo and offer new ways forward. This podcast is a platform for these visionaries who are calling for better ways for the church to engage the needs of the world. By sharing their experiences, our hope is to foster rethinking and creative re-imagination about the ways that the global body of believers might work together on a whole new basis.

MA International Community Development, Northwest University

Most of the folks you’ll hear on this podcast are also contributors to a new book called Re-Imagining Short-Term Missions. So if you like what you hear, and want to learn more about what these folks have to say, the book will be a great resource for you.

Website: https://reimaginingstm.com

Publisher's book page: https://wipfandstock.com/9781666712919/re-imagining-short-term-missions
Email: reimaginingstm@gmail.com
Instagram: @reimaginingstm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100078703976617

In this week's episode, we learn more about another Liberty short-term trip sent out by the church this summer. In July, we sent a team to minister to long-time missionaries in rural Alaska, who for decades have utilized radio to reach the widely dispersed population of the region with the Gospel.

Tragedy struck this family last year, when the husband suddenly past away leaving behind his wife and three adult children. Liberty was lead to send a team to come alongside this family with practical help as well as to invest in our on-going partnership with the radio ministry. Today we'll hear from two participants in this trip: Mark Wilson and Tris Hinkley. They'll share more about some of the work they did and the incredible encouragement it was supporting that family and community.

To learn more about the gospel radio ministry in Alaska, KCAM, visit their website at www.kcam.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

Liberty Bible Church has partnered for many years with a ministry supporting national church planters in Romania. This partnership has included several short-term teams sent to work alongside these missionaries. With the easing of COVID restrictions, Liberty sought to renew that partnership this summer with another team from our church.

February 24th changed all of those plans. That's the day that Russia invaded neighbor Ukraine sending millions of refugees across its borders to countries like Romania. In response to that crisis, Liberty's team refocused their short-term trip to work instead with families displaced by the war. This included traveling to work with partners in southwestern Ukraine.

Today we'll hear from the leader of that trip, Cornel Stef. Cornel is the president of Partners in Evangelism International, the partner organization working with our Liberty team. He is joined by one of the team participants, David Beckwith. They'll share their stories of what ended up being a powerful and impactful experience.

For more information on Cornel's organization, Partners in Evangelism International, visit their website at www.piei.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

In this episode, we continue our 4-week series on short-term missions and their impact on the local church. Today we're looking at a ministry that's near and dear to the heart of our church: the ministry of Joni & Friends. This organization was founded by author, Joni Eareckson Tada, to "accelerate Christian ministry in the disability community." Every year they run retreat camps that offer special needs families opportunities for spiritual and emotional renewal.

Liberty Bible Church has been sending short-term teams to these camps for a number of years. Every team that we send comes back transformed by the power of serving in an inclusive, loving environment. Today we get the privilege of speaking with two individuals who served on this year's Joni & Friends team: Bethany Thomas and Misty Spanburg.

For more information about the ministry of Joni & Friends, visit their website at www.joniandfriends.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.

No other innovation in global missions has impacted the church more in the last 50 years than the trend of short-term trips. Each year churches in the US send out more than 2 million individuals on such trips both international and domestic. For all it's benefits and pitfalls, one thing is certain - this type of ministry will remain significant for some time.

Today we're beginning a new series that looks at these short-term missions trips. Our first episode will set the stage by exploring this concept - What makes an effective trip? What are the model's advantages? What are the dangers? We'll be speaking with Steven Ose, who facilitates short-term missions teams with the organization, Cru.

For information on Cru, you can visit their website at: www.cru.org.

Go! Podcast is a part of Liberty Bible Church Global ministry. Visit our website at www.findliberty.net.