Missions = Compassion (printable PDF)

Here's something I've never seen… A multicar accident occurs. As the injured are sitting on the side of the road, a fleet of tow trucks and other repair vehicles pull up - along with just one ambulance. As the hours pass, the cars are repaired - on the spot, while the accident victims huddle together, having received a couple bandages and a pat on the back as they are handed their keys.

That's an absurd scenario, to be sure. What's the number one priority in any vehicle accident scenario? The people. They come first, and the cars come second.

After leading short-term mission trips with youth groups for 15 years, and now helping organize short-term mission trips for youth groups, do you know what I've seen over and over and over again? Church groups rushing into a neighborhood, city, or village - racing like maniacs to accomplish as much physical work as possible - then patting a resident on the back (so to speak), and heading home.

It can happen on any kind of mission trip: home repair, community service, helping run a VBS or doing outreach, or even building a church building. The success of a mission trip equals how much work got done. Now, before you get defensive - feeling like I'm picking on you if you like to do work - relax. I'm not. I'll be the first to say that we need to do what we promise, and that includes fixing up a house, or leading a VBS, or serving at a soup kitchen. In fact, the service component of any mission trip (that is - what we are actually doing) is probably the most significant way that we communicate our faith in Jesus to the people we're serving. Or to say it another way, "Faith without works is dead." (James 2:20).

All that being said - we can't forget that while we're busy serving people, we're serving people. (Now, go ahead and say that three times, then re-read it againJ) Missions is all about having compassion for people.  If it weren't, it would just be called "work." This compassion-people-idea isn't mine, or just a tag line at Group mission trips. It's a Jesus thing.

Need just one example? In Luke 7 Jesus encountered a widow whose only son had just died. As the funeral procession passed by, Jesus saw the widow, "and his heart overflowed with compassion. 'Don't cry!' he said." Then he raised her son from the dead. Jesus saw people and had compassion for them.

Think this is an isolated example? Here's an assignment. Go to www.biblegateway.com and type in the word "compassion" in the search bar, then advance to the relevant results in the gospels. It works in any major translation, and the results are… impressive. Jesus had compassion for people. Period. His interactions with people surely met their physical needs (healing, feeding, etc…) but were always rooted in seeing their deepest, most human needs.

So what does a compassionate short term mission trip look like? For starters, it emphasizes their needs over our needs. To discover those needs, you'll have to do research before your trip, and be prepared to make adjustments during your trip. Hear this - it's not about you. Or your group. Or their desire to see a particular part of the world. Or some adult's desire to show off their roofing skills. A great example of this that we hear all the time at Group missions is the story of the youth group that finishes all their assignments two days before the week is over, and is disappointed in the "lack of work." Yet, the family they are serving is even more disappointed, because they were craving some interaction with people who would love and care about them. Big oops. Again - why do we do service on mission trips? As an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with people. Don't miss that incredible opportunity!

Along those lines, a compassionate mission trip places a high value on interacting with people, getting to know them, and listening to their stories. Yes - the work gets done, but in the greater context of building a relationship with a person.

Also, compassionate mission trips aren't judgmental of people. In practical terms, that means teaching your group that just because someone has satellite television or a nice car doesn't mean that they aren't worthy recipients of help. Or, it could mean helping your group discover why a person hasn't found employment, rather than simply judging them for not working.

We want your next short term mission trip to be the best ever. So as you prepare for that trip, start to create devotions and experiences for your group that help prepare them for encountering people with compassion. (Fortunately, you have all those search results as a great starting point.) Your students - and the people you'll serve - will be glad you did.

-Toby Rowe

Toby Rowe has been in youth ministry for 20 years and has helped lead more youth mission trips than he can remember. He has served at two churches and is currently the Missions Program Manager for Group mission trips. You can also find him co-hosting Group's Youth Ministry Podcast or being the Mission Mentor for youthministry.com.