Do We Really Do Missions for the Experience?

I tell people at church that my wife and kids are going to Venezuela for the whole summer and they typically rejoice that they are able to minister in this way. However, most often when I tell fellow Christians outside my church, they typically respond with, “Well, that will be a good experience for them.” I don’t understand this. We’re not going for the experience! We’re going to plant, water, and harvest – whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission. How do you convey a vision for missions, whether at home or abroad? Why don’t many Christians “get it”?

I suggest that during the sweet years of American culture when most people were nominally Christian, there wasn’t the persecution enough to keep the church on her toes. Only now when the political climate is getting hot against Christianity in the West is the church starting to awaken. Sadly, it may be too late. We’ve had missionaries all over the world and there is still work to be done. The church in South Korea has become a great witness and has been faithful to send missionaries that rival, if not exceed, the contribution of missions in the West. The next great source of missionaries is China and India. There is an effort started in China to send missionaries westward back toward Israel and take the gospel to the people who have traditionally been the most hostile toward the gospel. This is not just a good experience. This is a matter of life, death, and eternal life.