On a Mission

Many churches regularly send their members on short-term missions trips. These groups can be more teen-oriented, young adult oriented, professionally-oriented (doctors, nurses, carpenters, engineers, etc), or a mixture of any or other of these. While many say they have prepared their people for the challenges of new cultural experiences, including U.S. inner cities as well as foreign fields, their efforts I have found are “surface” at-best.

I Peter 5:8 warns believers to “be aware” noting our enemy/enemies stalk their prey, seeking the most vulnerable. But too often we confuse being “aware” with being “afraid” when the two are clearly NOT the same. Often those who are afraid are those who are not aware, simply because they have no idea what they are supposed to be looking for or looking OUT for. On the other side, those who are aware are not nearly so afraid as simply cautious when faced with questionable situations and/or questionable people. The key is education.

I remember being told by an adult missions leader how he was himself almost “lured” away into a highly dangerous situation by a man that approached him and his interpreter overseas. He was so excited with the prospect of sharing with the man’s family that he gave no thought to this turning into a potential trap until the trap was almost sprung on them. Fortunately, they escaped. Another story that comes to mind is a youth pastor that told me of one of his young girls almost being lured by a would-be city official demanding proof of their city permit to do street witnessing while on an inner-city missions trip. Again, fortunately a tragedy was averted, but not until it was almost too late.

Has your church, your religious college/university, etc ever provided such training to its missions teams? I recall doing so several years ago for the adult leaders of a large private missions organization that takes some 6,000 teenagers into the missions field each and every summer. Their director confided in me noting, “Ever since the movie ‘Taken’ with Liam Neeson came out as well as the story of Natalie Holloway being murdered in Aruba while on her senior trip with high school friends, parents have started asking more and more questions regarding their teen’s safety before we take them overseas.” As well they SHOULD!

Those who are offering, sponsoring or organizing missions trips really should consider taking on a more proactive posture to safety regarding their participants. Trouble Spotters can help you with this process, also in documenting such efforts should the “unthinkable” occur. Our primary goal is to allow your groups to enjoy their experience, free from incident, as we are sure this is your goal as well. Why not team up and help insure this will be the case? Contact us for more details as we can help you be “aware” without being “afraid”. We too are on a “mission” to save lives — YOURS!

Jeff McKissack, Founder
Trouble Spotters