In This Issue: From Check to Champion, Escape Guilt and Help Short-termers
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Practical Mobilization by Shane Bennett is published once a month.
From Check to Champion, Escape Guilt and Help Short-termers
By Shane Bennett
If you’re at all like my parents, during this week alone you received three letters for prayer and financial support from aspiring short-termers for upcoming summer projects. The letters nicely add to the stack of a dozen or more you’ve already received. If you’ve built a reputation as someone who’s interested in promoting missions, you’ve sort of painted a “raise support from me” bull’s-eye on your chest. Do you find this frustrating? Overwhelming? You’re not alone. Ask my parents! But maybe, just maybe there’s a way to honor God, encourage short-termers, and deal with the stack of mail.
As I see it, you have two options. The first is easy: give them all money, pray briefly for each as you write a check, and then let it all go. The second requires a bit more thought and is the subject of this article.
What if, instead of sending checks then checking out, you chose to champion the cause of one or two of those who seek assistance from you? My hunch is (and this is coming from a guy who’s raised prayer and financial support for 18 years) that you could have a significant impact in a couple lives and indirectly in the lives of those they touch. It’s the age-old shift from shotgun to rifle. Sure you won’t have shot a dozen birds, but, instead, the game you bag may last the whole winter!
Two things before I float out ideas about how to do this: 1) If your church has someone who coordinates the efforts of all short-termers going out from your church, some of these ideas might not apply. Please consult with that person first. 2) You might not feel like you have a lot to offer. Consider this, if you’re older than a friend going on a short-term, you’re probably smarter. You may also have more experience. Both of these are gifts from God. Use them. You can approach the following from an “older, wiser mentor” perspective or simple as a friend. Either way, allow God to use you to facilitate success in his servants.
Connect
Prayerfully choose one or two and arrange a time to get their full story. Maybe invite them over for dinner or chat over a cup of coffee at the church cafe. The key here is to build relationship. Think of yourself more as a mentor than a supporter. Let them know you’re in the game for more than a check. Explore with them what they have to give and what they need God to do for them. Pray with them early and often.
This connection could go a number of directions. Two are particularly important to consider: 1) Early conversations with a potential short-termer may lead you to believe that this summer is not a good time for them to participate on a project. Tread lightly with this. But if your discernment alarms are jangling, you’d be wise to talk to the person honestly. Maybe speak with their pastor or parents as well. 2) On the other hand, you may be thoroughly sold on this short-termer. So much so that you’d be willing to champion their cause to your friends and network. Introduce them, get time for them at Sunday school classes and churches, host dinners for them.
Covenant
You might want to formalize your relationship by drawing up a covenant. State plainly what you envision bringing to the relationship and what you expect of them. I can imagine a document that includes the following: I will give X amount of dollars to send you, I will pray for you daily, write you X number of times, arrange a dinner party for you when you return for you to tell your stories. I will meet with you X times before you go and X times after you return. You will read the material I give you to read, write back when I write you, give 100% to your team and work, and complete the writing assignments I give you to help you process your experience.
Keep in Touch
Write your short-termers often; aim for weekly. If they can get e-mail, great. If not, you’ll need to write early! You may also want to consider sending some sort of care package to them. Check with their organization regarding restrictions on packages. Depending on the work they’ll be doing, you could send material along with them for the work. For example: packable, relevant kids’ presents if they’ll be working in an orphanage.
Conclude
Be at the airport when they get off the plane. Sure you can’t go to the gate anymore, but it counts if you’re standing just beyond the security zone. A low-key welcome back sign and flowers don’t hurt either. If you can bring a cadre of fans, all the better. Now’s when the real work begins. You can’t hear a summer’s worth of stories and life change over one cup of coffee. Get together, then get together again. Check in several times over the coming months.
Help them think about what stories they have to tell, which are appropriate or not, and how God may open doors for them to tell these stories. Give them tips on communicating their passion with grace, boldness, and brevity.
One of the best things you can do for short-termers is help them understand what God has done in their lives and what this means for the rest of their lives. Talking is great for this. Writing is better. Give them assignments, asking about what God did in and through them. Help them consider how this trip connects to and equips them for what God has ahead. Encourage them to evaluate what stewardship of this experience means for them. Be sure to read what they write.
If you’ve stuck it out this far (in the relationship, not this article; athough both are noble and laborious tasks!), I think you have the right, and likely the responsibility, to give some advice and recommend next steps. Doing so appropriately may give your charges the courage and conviction to launch into the next phase God has for them.
May God give you grace to significantly invest in the lives of a couple of short-termers this summer. Since many Missions Catalyst readers have years of mobilization experience, I’d like to invite you to share your stories and tips for caring for short-termers. Send an e-mail to me with “short-termer care” in the subject line.