I confess. I read Wikipedia
looking for a simple definition. I
quote, “Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material (a vaccine)
to stimulate an individual's immune system to develop adaptive immunity”.
If you wonder how my brain translates that, here are my own
words, “if you give the body a little bit of something dangerous it will figure
out a way to defend itself. That way,
you avoid the real thing.”
I think that short-term mission trips can sometimes act like
vaccines.
When trips are done well, they stimulate discipleship relationships;
they challenge a deeper walk with Christ and an increasing investment in the
spread of God’s Kingdom throughout the world. They challenge current world
views and bring about an awareness of the majority world. They burst bubbles and challenge the
selfishness of the human heart.
Kathee and I were dating when we went on our first trip to
Central America in 1989 (enjoy the pic). The realities of rural Guatemala broke our hearts and
showed us a field of ministry that we had not imagined. Since 1994, we have been missionaries living
and ministering here in Siguatepeque, Honduras.
Our hearts still break for the spiritual, emotional and physical needs
around us.
When short-term trips are done in a mediocre way, Christian
tourism, they may very well serve as vaccines against the real thing. We all
long for real mission, real life-moving, life-changing purpose. When we get a little taste, it should stimulate
hunger for a greater life and move us to a greater purpose and commitment.
However, when a mission trip is superficial it can have the opposite effect. The travelling spectator may see this missionary life from a distance and assume that perception is reality. No need to be challenged or changed. The status quo is just fine.
However, you may need a booster shot each year to keep the
dangerous stuff from really taking hold!
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