It is fall again. Storytellers from short-term mission trips are making their way around the Santa Barbara Presbytery. They “come and tell” at congregations around the presbytery perhaps because they were simply willing to go on one of the five IMPACT trips this year; and because their stories are full of fresh truth about their transformational experiences.
IMPACT, International Mission Project and Cross Cultural Training, is a mission-sending ministry of the Santa Barbara Presbytery. Since 1993, more than 300 people from the presbytery have been sent to serve in 12 countries. One of the reasons, perhaps, for the continued success of the ministry is that participants (from age 15 to 79) have returned to tell, teach, share their stories within their churches and from church to church. They are living letters to the people who sent them out–their children, parents, brothers, sisters and friends. They speak to good listeners!
IMPACT is relational, cross-cultural, built for individual and corporate learning. Twenty-four of the 32 churches in the Santa Barbara Presbytery have sent people on IMPACT journeys. These churches not only support the ministry and the participants but provide council members, pastors and presbytery staff for support, guidance and teaching. Participants leaving for summer trips are commissioned each summer at a presbytery worship. Congregations experience not only the fresh testimonies, but also the benefit of the renewed connections to other churches in the Presbytery. And of course, the new stories are an added invitation each year to people thinking about taking the next step, to go on an international, cross-cultural mission.
IMPACT has the advantage of drawing from presbytery-wide missions expertise each year. Journey participants must commit to a five-day training camp as the first part of their journey. Called “Cross Training,” this is a vital time of preparation for sending ambassadors of Christ and of our churches to serve across cultures. We partner with Christian ministries in developing countries, serving in a wide program variety and in very different evangelistic contexts. The training time builds teams of people who have often never met. As a team and as individuals, they must be ready to be learners, to serve in whatever way they are needed across the obvious barriers such as language, and the not-so-obvious barriers.
IMPACT hopes to prepare people to be trusted servants who, if asked, are ready to share their stories of faith both in country and at home. Because we are asked to respect and support the witness of Christ as a part of the mission of our host ministry, we must prepare before we leave. At times, we are asked to proclaim the truth, and in other countries, we are asked to simply live, work and act as Christ to those we serve. Service projects to our ministry partners invite many different people of different age groups, with different gifts. In 2005, IMPACT sent five teams: A team of teachers to teach Chinese English teachers in Kunming, a team to continue supporting the construction of a Christian school in Jinja, Uganda, a team to assist in an outdoor adventure camp for youth in Romania, a team to conduct a summer camp for handicapped youth in Ukraine, and a team presenting the Gospel through puppets and music in Honduras. Teams have recently served in Anatalya, Turkey, working with children in summer day care centers. IMPACT teams average eight people each, and teams vary from youth teams led by adults, to inter-generational teams. Because we desire to grow in our relationship with ministries in each country, we are happy to receive an invitation to return. Cross-cultural and missions learning and interpretation grow richer and more mature as we serve for several years with one partner.
The short-term journey is a growing ministry in the North American church. A recent study reports that in 1965, only 540 individuals from North America were involved in short term mission. Today, the estimate is at least 1 million short-termers sent out globally every year.1 God’s people continue to look for a way to grow in faith. More are looking beyond the comfort, safety, luxury, and yes, at times, past the remoteness of missions programs they can’t touch, feel, see or hear. These journeys are an opportunity to be a part of Christ’s work in individuals in both cultures, and in the church.
IMPACT’s records show that 15% of the participants are already in or are now training for full-time ministry or missions work. More than 25% of IMPACT participants apply to take a second or third trip. And those who are taking fourth or fifth trips are now involved in leadership of teams and of IMPACT. If people experience the call in the first place to go on a journey, they are most likely seeking to grow.
They have opened a new door in their lives, and the evidence is strong that changes in their thinking, choosing and acting have happened. Behold, I stand at the door knocking …
KAREN GREENSLATE is director of the IMPACT ministry of the Santa Barbara (Calif.) Presbytery.
1 Maximum Impact Short Term Mission by Roger Peterson, Gordon Aeschilman and R. Wayne Sneed; Stem Press; 2003; Minneapolis, Minn.
