How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission: For Volunteers, Churches, Independent STM Teams and Mission Organisations

How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission: For Volunteers, Churches, Independent STM Teams and Mission Organisations - The Ultimate Guide to Missions: For Individuals, Leaders, Teams and those Planning a Christian Gap Year: The Why, Where and When of STMs by Mathew Backholer. Revised and updated in 2020.

Copyright © Mathew Backholer 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 - ByFaith Media www.ByFaith.org - All Rights Reserved.

Scripture quotations unless otherwise stated are taken from the Holy Bible, the New King James Version (NKJV). Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any unauthorised means – electronically, mechanically, photocopying, recording, or any other (except for brief quotations in printed or official website reviews with full accreditation) without the prior permission of the Publisher, ByFaith Media – (Mathew Backholer) – www.ByFaith.org. Uploading this work to the internet (in whole or in part) is illegal, as is unauthorised translations. For requests for Translation Rights, please contact ByFaith Media.

References to deity are capitalised. As is the nature of the internet, web pages can disappear and ownership of domain names can change. Those stated within this book were valid at the time of first publication in 2013. Verses of Scripture in italics are the author’s own emphasis.

Published as an ebook in March 2013 by ByFaith Media. Updated in 2014, 2016, 2017 and August 2020.

Paperback ISBN – 978-1-907066-05-4.

Ebook ISBN (ePub format) – 978-1-907066-23-8.

Ebook ASIN (mobi format) – B00BSX42TS.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

‘As cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a far country’ (Proverbs 25:25).

‘The Lord gave the Word; great was the company of those who proclaimed it’ (Psalm 68:11).

Jesus said, …As the Father has sent Me, I also send you (John 20:21).

Jesus said, …You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:15-16).

Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

Video Clips of the author on STMs: ByFaith - World Mission DVD Clips.

Preface

‘As cold water to a weary soul, so is Good News from a far country’ (Proverbs 25:25).

‘To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin’ (James 4:17).

The author has been on more than thirty short-term missions (STMs) in over forty nations of the world, spanning three decades. How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission – For Volunteers, Churches, Independent STM teams and Mission Organisations has been written from first-hand experience. The author’s aim is that this book will aid you in your STM, whether you are an individual exploring the options at home or abroad, or a church leader planning to take a group. You may have two weeks free or be taking a gap year; you may be drawn towards a particular people group or country, or are just looking for the right mission organisation to join. This book will assist you in these areas, give your firm biblical foundation for STMs and will guide you through the process, before, during and when you return home, and includes many valuable insights. The application of the truths within this book will greatly help you on your journey of discovery and exploration into new lands and cultures on your STM.

In some chapters, the author refers to ‘we,’ this is himself and any other members of the STM team whom he was travelling with or leading. The boxed testimonies are all real events, though some of the names have been changed (even if just to protect from embarrassment!). Throughout the book, prices of items are stated in both British pound sterling (£) and American dollars ($) which at the time of writing was $1.6 to £1.00. Some prices are rounded-up (or down) to the nearest whole figure. Scriptures in italics are the author’s own emphasis. Square brackets [these things] indicate where the author has added additional information within a quote.

The author has a heart for the Great Commission at home and abroad and desires to glorify Jesus Christ, the Son of God through his daily living and writings. As a missionary evangelist (amongst many other duties and responsibilities), the author in his labour towards the Great Commission has met, interviewed, led, worked alongside, sat under and interacted with numerous Christian workers with a variety of callings and giftings from different denominations in many countries on several continents. These individuals have been friends, associates, contacts, advisors, team leaders, team members, fellow labourers on STMs, as well as workers in mission agencies; founders of organisations and ministries, including staff from mission training organisations. This global interaction has enabled the author to draw from a deep mine of knowledge that has helped in the production of this book. Thanks for all your testimonies!

The Son of God became the Son of man in order that the sons of men might become the sons of God. He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves – Selwyn Hughes.¹

Paul Backholer (the author’s brother) in How Christianity Made the Modern World wrote: ‘The question that every believer must ask themselves is, ‘Am I using my influence for Christ?’ What if every Christian today put their influence into action for the Kingdom of God, instead of indirectly supporting another kingdom by inaction? This is not only a challenge to us all, but an opportunity. This is a chance for us to leave a legacy outside of our immediate home, a chance for us to make our lives count and to know that our existence has meaning and purpose. Today is our opportunity to act and leave a legacy!’²

Mathew Backholer - co-founder of ByFaith Media (www.ByFaith.org). March 2010 and November 2014.

Since the Arab Spring, which began in December 2010 in Tunisia, North Africa, much of North Africa and the Middle East has undergone dramatic change and seen much turmoil over the past six years. With the rise of the Islamic State (IS) (also known as ISIS, ISIL, Daesh and Daish) in 2014, sweeping into and taking control over large swathes of Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East; with affiliated groups in pockets in North Africa and northern Nigeria etc. These are the countries that you should avoid on your STM. Terrorist attacks have also been against tourists/foreigners in Tunisia, Egypt and Mali in West Africa. In November 2015, 130 people were killed in Paris, France, and around 300 were injured in simultaneous terrorist attacks. These included gunmen/women and suicide bombers. Islamic terrorists have also struck in many other countries from Pakistan to Indonesia. January 2016.

www.MissionsNow.co.uk.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) A Worldwide Pandemic

In December 2019, coronavirus (covid-19 / CV-19) broke out in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China and by January 2020 had infected thousands of people who infected still more. The Chinese authorities quarantined entire cities, nobody could leave, by road, rail or air and additional makeshift hospitals were constructed to help isolate victims and prevent further infection. At airports across the world screenings for passengers who had left China before cities were in lock-down was implemented so that on arrival their temperature could be taken. It was discovered later that people who were infected could show no symptoms for around two weeks (later revised to five days) and yet could still be passing on the deadly virus which affects the respiratory system. Some countries asked for voluntary quarantine from citizens who had arrived from infected areas, requiring two weeks of isolation.

Different governments sent planes to repatriate their citizens who were then held in quarantine for two weeks before being allowed back into society. Some countries would not permit planes from China flying over their airspace, whilst many countries refused entry to those coming from China and would not permit Chinese planes to land. Soon the virus spread to other countries including South Korea and Iran whilst in the last week of February, Australia announced it was a pandemic and some cities in Italy were in a state of quarantine with roadblocks and policemen in place. South Korea closed their churches which often could accommodate thousands of people to help stem the flow of coronavirus infection. Across the globe, many cruise ships had infected passengers aboard and entire ships were quarantined in different ports around the globe or were refused permission to dock. At the time some experts from different countries recommended obtaining two weeks’ worth of food in stock just in case, whilst governments advised people not to panic-buy or to stock up.

By 10 March 2020, Italy asked its entire population to self-isolate and to avoid contact with people, whilst travel inside the country was restricted. Days before, all public gatherings had been banned whilst universities, schools and nurseries shut down. In Britain, many supermarkets began to ration the number of dry foods (e.g. pasta and rice), tins and antibacterial gel / hand-sanitizer each customer could buy. However, by the time that supermarket and shop restrictions came into place most had no antibacterial gel and had run out of toilet rolls and paracetamol. Many shelves were emptied and stayed that way for weeks. As soon as stock was replenished it would be quickly sold and supermarkets introduced a policy on many food items that no more than three or four of the same items (e.g. tins or cereals) could be purchased. There were long queues at supermarkets, just to get inside and at the tills; it took around two months to get back to a semblance of normality.

In the second week of March 2020, a huge British insurance company, LV stopped selling travel insurance because of covid-19 (coronavirus). On Friday, 13 March, many companies in Britain told their employees not to come in on Monday as many businesses initially shut their doors until April, though the majority did not reopen until July or even August depending on government guidelines and regulations. Other employees were told to work from home. Disney closed all its theme parks worldwide. Some countries closed their borders to all but their citizens e.g. New Zealand, and then they had to self-isolate for two weeks, whilst some island countries in the Pacific closed their borders full stop, even if you were a national.

Most airlines were cutting flights by 75% and one carrier cut their routes by 85%. One country told its citizens, If you want to come back to safety, you have to come back now! In a few days, it may be too late. At one stage during the pandemic of 2020, it was more expensive to buy a KFC 10-piece bargain bucket than a barrel of oil as demand for oil dried up; and it even went into negative cost, where the suppliers were paying the customers to take it off their hands!

On 16 March 2020, the Peruvian government due to coronavirus pandemic placed the country in lockdown. No flights were allowed to enter or leave without permission from the government. Around four hundred British citizens were stranded across the country and the only commercial airline leaving was charging almost ten-times the normal price of a one-way ticket from $3,000 to $3,500! At the end of March 2020, due to the global pandemic, the British government set aside £75 million to bring home British citizens from around the globe.

The British travel firm TUI cancelled 900,000 holidays up until mid-June 2020 and then extended it until 10 July 2020. After 3 months of lockdown, in August 2020 the majority of places and spaces that had closed due to coronavirus reopened, and a small percentage of people compared to 2019 were cautiously going abroad on holiday, whilst many opted for a stay-cation, a holiday in their own country.

The world as we know it has fundamentally changed with social distancing, facemasks or face-coverings antibacterial gel and many other rules, regulations and recommendations to help us live in a safer society and world where coronavirus can kill. An international study revealed of those who have been hospitalised due to coronavirus and survive, 50% now have a damaged heart. For many, it will take months or even years to recover and to get back to normal, if there ever is normality.

On 5 July 2020, Kazakhstan became the first country in the world to fully return to lockdown after it eased its lockdown in mid-May 2020. On the same day in July, Melbourne in Australia went into lockdown and its citizens were told to stay indoors for five days.

In 2003, SARS broke out and by 2020 no vaccine has been found. Covid-19 (coronavirus) is from the same family tree and whilst there are multiple medical trials across the globe, at present, there is no cure or inoculation, though there are some medicines that can help some people get better. There is no magic tablet or pill you can take to prevent this life-threatening virus, which can affect one person with devastating consequences and not affect someone else who can become a super-carrier and spread coronavirus to many people, with no symptoms themselves who themselves go on to infect others. Coronavirus can infect babies as well as those who are long past retirement age, the super fit and the regular person, some have survived, others have not. Those who are more vulnerable are: people who are over 70, those with existing health conditions, people who are overweight, and those with lung relation conditions, such as asthma.

Traveling in a Coronavirus World

As it has been said before, but it is worth repeating, the world as we know it has fundamentally changed and travel has greatly altered in such a short space of time. Some countries have reciprocal safe zones to make it easier to travel to, others have returned to a state of lockdown, or a localised lockdown of a town, city, county, province or state.

If you go abroad on a two-week holiday / vacation you may have to self-isolate or quarantine for a total of four weeks: two weeks upon arrival and two weeks upon your return. To allow quarantine free travel between countries there is talk of air bridges, where the rate of coronavirus is at least as good as in the UK, noted Prime Minister Boris Johnson nearing the end of May 2020.

Some countries have introduced holiday corridors which means that citizens from participating countries can still travel on holiday between and through (or to and from) participating countries, but details change from one week to the next. Some citizens went abroad in July and August 2020, only to be told by their governments or tour operators to come home ASAP.

There are fewer flights and less public transport and what is available is more expensive in a post-CV-19 society. There are increases in the cost of travel insurance which may not cover you for a pandemic or cancelled flights, repatriation or medical bills. Check the small print.

At present, there is no vaccine and only preventive measures can be taken: Social distancing, the wearing of facemasks (or some material to cover your mouth and nose), use of hand sanitizing gel, antibacterial wipes, disposable gloves or washable ones and regularly washing one’s hands thoroughly under warm water with soap for at least twenty seconds. In the future, there may be an immunity passport or a certificate which proves the holder has been vaccinated similarly to Yellow Fever. Without it, you will be denied entry to the county and turned away.

Some airports expect you to wear a facemask or face-covering and gloves. You can buy facemasks from vending machines, but it is better to take a pack with you. Due to aircraft being pressurised because of high altitude flying, air is recirculated throughout the cabin and cockpit. This means if one passenger is not wearing a facemask and sneezes whilst being a carrier of covid-19, particles could end up in another part of the cabin and infect others.

Some hotels and places of accommodation will have a gap of 24 hrs from the departure of one set of guests from a room until the new arrival, to allow time for a ‘deep clean’ to prevent any possible spread of potential infection. Luggage may need to be disinfected before unpacking. On arrival some countries may expect you to quarantine for two weeks!

If covid-19 is on a surface it can survive for 72 hours. With this in mind, be careful what you touch: armrests on a plane, seatbelt clips, door handles, buttons on a lift, light switch, public toilet flushes, water taps / faucets, taxi door handle, handing over money, self-service checkout screen, a handle on the tube / metro, the person who serves you food, cutlery etc. Avoid touching your face if you have not been able to wash your hands recently. Different countries have different rules for when wearing a facemask is mandatory; ‘mask wearing-zone’ even in some public spaces. Hand cleaning stations and or antibacterial gel are often available inside the door of a shop, cafe or restaurant. If it is not an automatic dispenser, pressing to top with your can be risky, but you may be able to use your elbow if it is wall mounted.

At theme parks, there will be hundreds of hand sanitizer stations, and the wearing of facemasks on many rides is compulsory. You may have to pre-book a time slot for a ride, and there can be long queues and less seating on each ride because of social distancing.

Remember, you may be away on holiday abroad or traveling through a country and another lockdown can be enforced. You could be trapped for weeks or months until you can fly home and the cost per flight may increase due to supply and demand as well as from profiteering. Just beware of this if you have no emergency funds or are on a tight budget. During the first lockdown of 2020, across many countries, some places of accommodation increased the daily rate for foreigners who were trapped, whilst others were evicted from their accommodation as fear gripped some hoteliers. Some travelers ran out of accommodation money and lived in the wild! One group of multinational travelers were found in a cave in India! In the same country, fear gripped many Indians who were concerned that Westerners were contaminated and they were shunned or shooed away in some instances, whilst in China, many Africans were shunned as were Chinese from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak. Travellers in Thailand noted how the lockdown was not like in Europe or Western countries where most people were told off or warned, but in Thailand, if you were caught breaking lockdown rules or the curfew, you could end up in prison, and many travelers ended up behind bars for weeks or months.

If an airline or a hotel cancels your flight or accommodation you can ask for a refund. Do not accept a booking at a later date (unless you want it) or a voucher from the company (which could go bust at any time). Have a full refund which in many cases you would be entitled to, however, this is easier said than done, as companies do not want to give refunds for fear of going bankrupt. Some airlines and travel companies have already gone under and more will go bust. Does your travel insurance cover you if you are isolated abroad or will you have to fend for yourself?

Within the United Kingdom, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) stated in the 2020 lockdown that firms must offer cash refunds for cancellations when: 1. No goods or service was provided. 2. The firm can’t provide the service due to lockdown. 3. You can’t use the service due to lockdown. Many companies are still flouting these rules and some travelers have been trying for months to get their money back: From the company or site they booked through, from their travel insurance, or a ‘charge back’ on their credit card.

If you are traveling in a motorhome and lockdown occurs you could be like the hundreds of European travelers in Morocco, North Africa in 2020 who arrived by ferry from Spain, but then the campsites closed due to lockdown and everyone was evicted. These travellers were left out in the wild with no connection to electricity or water etc. With the borders closed, they could not return to mainland Europe for some weeks.

At around 10pm, on Thursday, 13 August 2020, British tourists in France, Malta and the Netherlands had to be back in the United Kingdom within 30 hours, by 4am, Saturday, 15 August 2020 or self-quarantine for 14 days upon their return. The price of ferries, Eurostar (train lines under the English Channel between France and England), and airlines tickets increased in price as demand outstripped supply. One airline hiked its prices by 600% compared to 24 hours earlier!

Within one week, three more countries had been removed from the ‘safe list’ of countries to visit and British tourists raced home to avoid a two-week quarantine and air ticket prices greatly increased! At the same time a number of European countries saw a spike in coronavirus cases.

By the end of September 2020, due to coronavirus there had been one million confirmed deaths worldwide and nearly 34 million reported cases of covid-19 globally.

Additional Items To Pack

Hand sanitizer / antibacterial gel

Antibacterial wipes

Disposable gloves

Washable gloves

Disposable facemasks

Washable facemask or face-covering

1. The Importance of the Great Commission

Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to EVERY CREATURE (Mark 16:15).

Jesus said, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

STM mission video clips: ByFaith - World Mission DVD Clips.

The Great Commission

Jesus’ parting Words to His disciples, before He ascended into heaven, revealed His most passionate desire to reach the lost – the Great Commission – Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… This VERY important message which was entrusted to them was to be passed on from generation to generation (being practically outworked and fulfilled) because Jesus came to ‘seek and to save’ those who are lost (Luke 19:10), for ‘there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12).

God’s love for mankind is immense and is documented in the most famous verses of the Holy Bible: ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). ‘For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already’ (John 3:17-18). Jesus came to heal the broken-hearted, to bind up their wounds and to set the captives free, because the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him to preach the Good News to the poor (Luke 4:18-19) and we are called to follow in His footsteps.

Short-term missions (STMs) are a great way to be part of the Great Commission. Those that go often use their holiday (vacation) time, take a gap year or go outside of term time when colleges and universities have broken up.

In 1910, Bishop Ingham, Home Secretary of the Church Missionary Society, wrote: ‘When…Church members, whether they be administrators or soldiers or merchants or mechanics or clerks, are sent forth to their sphere of work to make them into spheres of influence – then and only then will the world see the sort of witnesses our Lord meant when He said, Ye shall be witnesses unto Me, and then will the Churches know as never before the real presence and power of the Lord."¹

Thirteen Waves of Christian Missions

Historically, there have been at least thirteen distinct waves of Christian missions with new missionaries being raised up and sent forth:

1. After the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ; at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was outpoured and those present in the Upper Room received power from on high (Acts 1:8-14 and 2:1-4). The disciples and the apostles went into all the world and proclaimed the Good News beginning in Jerusalem.

2. During the third to the sixth centuries much of Europe received the Good News, whilst in key locations there sprang up mission sending centres with missionary-minded monks.

3. During the Middle Ages when from AD 1100 to AD 1300, hundreds of Franciscans and Dominican monks went to evangelise the Muslims in North Africa, which had been a centre of Christianity in the second and third centuries. The Franciscan Revival (c.1209-1220), in Italy, gave extras impetus to the work, though in the span of two hundred years, two hundred monks from both the Franciscans and Dominican orders lost their lives in this missionary advance; many were martyred.

4. The fourth wave of missions came out of the Moravian Revival (1727), when in 1731, the Moravian Mission was founded and the small church at Herrnhut, (in modern day Germany), sent more missionaries in twenty years than Protestant Christians had done in the past two centuries!

5. The fifth wave sprang out of the Evangelical Revival (1739-1791), at the end of the eighteenth century and rolled into the twentieth century. Missionaries sailed to the farthest part of the world; largely to the colonies of European nations, but also to the unevangelised around the Pacific Islands, Asia and Africa. The Baptist Missionary Society was birthed in 1792. The non-denominational London Missionary Society was founded in 1795. The Anglican Church Missionary Society began in 1799 and the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed in 1804, though its beginnings were birthed in 1787. John Wesley of England, a former missionary to the American Indians (1735-1737), had encouraged missions all his life. Wesley’s right-hand man, Dr. Thomas Coke, officially inaugurated Methodist Missions in 1787 and became known as the Missionary Bishop of Methodism. He crossed the Atlantic to America eighteen times whilst the Wesleyan Missionary Society began its work in 1817.

6. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (1810), was the direct outcome of the Haystack Revival of 1806, which broke out at Williams College in America, touching other colleges and became the sixth wave of missions.

7. The seventh wave came out of the 1857-1860 revival that began in New York, America, and went worldwide. This led to an estimated 5 million converts and more people were called into missions. On David Livingstone’s return to Britain in 1856, from seventeen years in Africa, he gave new impetus to the cause of missions as he spoke at a number of universities (again on his return in 1864-65) and on the news of his death in 1873. Hudson Taylor, missionary to China was encouraged with the revival in Britain (1858-60) and believed that God would bless the mission field. He founded the China Inland Mission (CIM) in June 1865.

8. The eighth wave came from the Student Volunteer Movement which in forty years (1888-1928), led to an estimated 20,000 students becoming missionaries! This began when the Cambridge Seven joined the CIM and before sailing to China in Feb. 1885, spoke at a number of influential British universities, challenging the students to do something with their lives.

9. The Welsh Revival of 1904-1905 led to more than a dozen revivals around the globe and the ninth wave sprung from the campuses revivals of 1905 (largely in America), which led to an estimated 10,000-15,000 students becoming missionaries!

10. The tenth wave of missions began in the late 1920s, the native missionary movement, when Andrew Gih was touched by the Shanghai Revival (1925)² and began the Bethel Evangelistic Band / Bethel Mission where Chinese Christians formed teams and began mass evangelism, first in China, then across Asia. However, during the Pyongyang Great Revival (1907-1910)³ Koreans began mass evangelism campaigns such as the ‘Movement of Saving One Million Souls for Christ’ which began in the autumn of 1909. The Oriental Missionary Society (OMS) was founded in 1902 and in 1912, the ‘Great Village Campaign’ began where all 10.3 million homes in Japan were given a Gospel booklet and was completed by 1918! By 1923, the Tokyo Bible Training Institute had trained no less than one thousand national preachers and by 1925, OMS had 201 mission stations and an equal number of itinerary points had been opened.⁴

11. The eleventh wave of missions began in the late 1950s / early 60s when lay personnel took time out from work and went on STMs. These increased in strength as new mission agencies such as Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Campus Crusade for Christ (CCFC) and Operation Mobilisation (OM) were birthed giving the opportunity for a layperson to Go, even if just for a few weeks.⁵ See page 148, From Missionary Artisans to STMs.

12. From China in the 1920s came the vision of ‘Back to Jerusalem;’⁶ Chinese Christians evangelising along the old Silk Road (which lies along the 10/40 window – the least evangelised countries of the world situated at the 10-40 latitude), which was re-birthed in the 1980s. Since the 1980s, the native missionary movement from developing countries within the continents of Asia and Africa have mobilised to take the Good News to the nations along the 10/40 window of which Gospel for Asia (GFA) is very prominent.⁷

13. From the 1990s onwards, but especially in the twenty-first century, millions of Americans (and those of other nationalities) have accepted the call to their short-term mission.

American Short-Term Mission Statistics

The leader in the world for STMs are North Americans, whilst America is also the biggest full-time missionary sending nation in the world, followed by South Korea and then the United Kingdom.

In 1965, only 540 individuals from North America were involved in short-term missions. In 1975, 6,000 people from the USA went on a STM. By 1987, this figure increased to over 60,000. Between 1979 and 1989, the annual number of participants in STMs rose from just over 25,000 to approximately 120,000. By 1992, there were more than 250,000 short-term missioners (STM-ers). By 1998, there were 450,000 STM-ers. In 2003, there were an estimated one million STM-ers sent out. In 2004, data suggested the number could be as high as four million STM-ers. In 2005, 1.6 million U.S. church members went on a STM. In 2008, it was reported that 8 million U.S. adults went on a STM trip in the last five years, though 33 percent of the STMs were locations within the U.S. In 2009, statistics revealed that more than 2 million U.S. citizens went on a STM the previous year. See Appendix A.

Every Tribe, Nation and Tongue

The disciples of Jesus Christ were commissioned to preach and teach about the Kingdom of God; to proclaim the Good News of salvation, to make disciples, to cast out demons, to heal the sick and raise the dead (Matthew 28:18-20 and Mark 16:15-18) – all in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. These commands of Jesus Christ, spoken nearly two thousand years ago, are just as binding to us, as to the early disciples. They are passed from one generation to the next until every tribe and tongue has heard the glad tidings – ‘as a witness to all nations’ and then, and only then, will Jesus come again (see Matthew 24:14, Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 7:9). However, Peter in relation to the Day of the Lord (the second coming of Jesus Christ), reiterated that we have our part to play – our responsibility and duty towards mankind. God is ‘longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance’ and that we should be ‘looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God’ (2 Peter 3:9-12). This is when we fulfil our vital role in the Great Commission to: ‘Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to EVERY CREATURE’ (Mark 16:15).

Mission Related Scriptures

Thus says the Lord God, When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand (Ezekiel 3:18).

The apostle Paul declared to the Ephesian elders that he ‘kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it’ and was ‘innocent of the blood of all men’ because he did ‘not shun to declare the whole counsel of God.’ For three years he warned them night and day with tears (Acts