From the Editor
Short-term missions teams—are they an effective way to build a church, feed the poor, reach children on the streets? Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to take the funds involved and hire local talent for the job?
Possibly, but short-term missions trips are more than just finances. They are an investment of lives into lives. I have interviewed countless short-term missions team members. Some of their experiences you have read about in past issues. You will read others in these pages. But two responses have been so unvarying I finally banned them from trip write-ups because of redundancy.
1) "I lost my heart to the people of...Peru, Africa, Indonesia, fill-in-the-blank."
2) "I went to make a difference, but my own life was changed forever."
Every year BCM International fields countless short-term missions teams and individual ministry volunteers all over the world. In fact, for every full-time BCM missionary or pastor, dozens of volunteers are working alongside or giving their own time and funds to meet a specific project or ministry need. From the USA they travel to build camp buildings in Bolivia or minister to Orissa refugees in India. From Germany to cook for BCM's Camp Maranatha in Italy. From the Ukraine to fill in at Center Seven in Toulouse, France. From Metro Manila to teach VBS in rural Philippine villages. Short-term volunteers staff BCM camps in more than 25 countries. They reach out through mime and drama on the streets of Peru or Quebec. And so much more.
From those face-to-face encounters with a lost humanity in need of a Savior as well as with amazing brothers and sisters in Christ around the world is rising the next generation of BCM missionaries. By far the majority of all new personnel on any mission field today will share that they are there because they first lost their hearts on a short-term missions outreach and found themselves too changed to settle back into life as before. And that cannot be hired locally!
BCM International has short-term missions opportunities on five continents, ranging from camp volunteers to building projects, street evangelism to disaster relief. In fact, it can be said literally that the sun never sets on BCM ministry opportunities. Check them out. Join us on a God-adventure that will capture your heart and change your life.
