1. Short term missions are a powerful tool for personal discipleship. Jesus used short term missions to train his disciples.
a. Luke 10:1 – 20, Matthew 10
b. Philemon .6 “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.”
2. The Apostle Paul used short term missions as a church planting method. (Missionary Journeys)
a. Paul traveled with a team of men and women that had various gifting, nationalities and ages. They spent varying amounts of time in different towns. He was in Thessalonica for 3 weeks on his 2nd missionary journey and it led to planting a church.
b. Acts 17: 1-4, I Thess. 2:8 & 17-20
3. Short term missions lead to long term commitments.
a. Paul’s 3 weeks in Thessalonica led to the starting of a church and people going there “long term.”
b. 80% of missionaries on the field today got called while on a short term mission experience. More exposure to missions means more long term workers.
c. We have seen people’s commitment to pray, give and go to missions increase significantly after going on a Short Term Mission.