Malnourished children in desolate African villages.

Underground house churches in outer Chinese provinces.

Sex slaves lining the street in a Thailand slum.

A burgeoning pub church in Western Europe.

What do these scenes have in common? Streams of Christians on mission trips.

In an effort to raise awareness and develop partnerships, missionaries, humanitarian aid workers, social activists, and nationals are bringing in busloads of American churchgoers to get a first-hand look at the terrible realities in which they minister. You can talk about the need, but when a megachurch pastor wades through the cesspool that villagers drink from, it really hits home. You can show pictures, but a five-minute interaction with starving children is a wake-up call. You can tell stories, but a silent worship service with persecuted Christians is the perfect object lesson. Heartstrings are pulled. Dots are connected. (Purse strings are loosed.)

But what effect does the observation have on a mission field? How does and endless string of guests and visitors affect the dynamics of a church plant? What do the persecuted and enslaved think of the mission trip tourists?

I believe in the power of first-hand experience. I think that every point of contact, every interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate Christ’s love and compassion. I think that a little bit of help is better than no help at all. Still, it feels like the worst kind of Christian consumerism- where church leaders shop for mission opportunities that fit their budgets and time schedules and will play well with their target demographics. I’d hate to see us get to the point when churches focused on the plight of poverty-stricken children decide to get involved in with street kids in India only because the hotel facilities there were more comfortable than the ones near the orphanages in Uganda. If your vision trip leaves you with creative mission trip t-shirt designs rather than creative solutions for the desperate situations people find themselves in, we’re missing something.

Are we there yet? Hopefully, no. What can we do to avoid it?

• For starters, be sure that it’s God (and not the latest craze or what you feel your church might be ready for) that guides our missions involvement.
• Recognize the importance of relationships in ministry. If your church as a missionary sent out already, pursue long-term involvement in that ministry before you start something new.
• Stay committed. Don’t hop around from place to place and cause to cause. If your people are bored, don’t foster their ministerial ADD by switching to a mission field that might seem sexier.
• Don’t ever be just an observer. If you interact with people in need, love them. For every photo you snap, spend time talking to and praying with people.
• Refuse to tell any story that isn’t true. Call it a “mobilization technique” if you want, but exaggerating numbers, and dramatizing risk is just lying. It creates false expectations and fuels the unhealthy comparison of mission fields and people groups.
• Focus on the Church. Planting a healthy, missional, indigenous church should be the goal of every mission endeavor. Meeting basic human needs is important. Building dependence and leaving spiritual orphans is irresponsible.

If you have the opportunity to go on a mission trip, there’s no excuse not to. Just know that it isn’t enough to observe poverty, slavery, oppression, and lostness. If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Awareness brings responsibility.

Here’s the problem, though- your Bible College degree in Religion and your seminary-conferred M.Div. may have prepared you for professional ministry, but business? Not so much. Your years of church work and missions haven’t exactly provided you with a lot of “marketable skills.”

Or have they?

In my last post, I pointed you to Apartment Life, a company that arranges free housing for believers who will commit to building a sense of community among tenants. I mentioned that community development would be a great platform for church planters and incarnational ministry. Beyond the creative access platforms they provide, however, Apartment Life offers us something else: An example.

What do you have to offer that people in your community might find valuable, important, or worthwhile? How about your leadership abilities? You’re a whiz at sensing needs and developing a plan to meet them. You can communicate clearly and motivate people to change their behavior. Integrity is important to you. You’re good with money (yours and other people’s), you believe in accountability, honesty, hard work, and sacrifice. You know how to gather and build community. You know right from wrong, and you know how to encourage people to do what’s right.

You have valuable skills! Why not use them to interact with unbelievers in a natural and beneficial way?

Frank Daly went from being a priest in the Catholic Church to being chief ethics officer at Northrop Grumman, a southern California defense contractor. Instead of waiting for people to come into his church to confess their sins, he went to them.

In fact, lots of companies are hiring ethics officers.  Many are setting up internal ethics hotlines, and others are outsourcing ethics counseling to independent services. Business are willing to invest lots of money to fight theft, corporate espionage, fraud, and lawsuits. Ethics officers make themselves available to counsel employees who might face an ethical dilemma. Identities and confessions are kept confidential, but eventually provide the business with reports on potential trouble spots that need to be addressed and recommend ways the business can keep things on the up and up.

Most businesses work to retain customers and clients- something you do every day by listening, teaching, encouraging, and meeting needs. Why not offer those services to a local coffee shop? Your community-building efforts could translate into regular customers and same-store sales, for the business. Apartment complexes, high school and college campuses, even local businesses, all benefit from a sense of community. Best of all, your services would provide you with a platform to build relationships with unbelievers and impact your city.

You’ve put together a thousand posters, flyers, and t-shirts. How many local businesses can’t afford to hire professional graphic design and branding services? craigslist is full of requests for charity fund-raisers, after-school tutors, or campaign managers. You could do those jobs in your sleep!

I’m not suggesting that we sell ethics, community development, or even pastoral care. I am saying that there are real-world applications for your skills and knowledge. Something like ethics counseling, community development, or  might provide a great part-time job for a church planter or a great free ministry your church can provide for your community.

Christians need to start thinking like missionaries. You can lead the way by putting your marketable skills into practice for something outside the church.