How can we create truly effective short-term missions?

• 66% of evangelical Canadian pastors and 22% of Canadian lay respondents say that they’ve gone on an STM in the last 10 years.
• Weekly church attenders are more likely to go on an STM than occasional attenders.
• More young believers than older believers go on STMs.
• More members of larger churches go on STMs than people from smaller churches.
• More believers in Western Canada than ones in Eastern Canada go on STMs.

75% of pastors say that STMs are an important form of discipleship, and 2/3 of them agree that the spiritual growth of participants was their primary purpose in promoting STMs. Many see allowing non-Christians to participate in STMs as a form of outreach, and 2/3 of pastors feel that teams should reserve spaces specifically for non-Christians who have skills and abilities to contribute to the team. Unfortunately, none of the respondents mentioned ways they felt their STMs brought value to the mission fields.

The five most common focuses of Canadian STMs were:

• The construction and repair of buildings
• Leading Vacation Bible Schools
• Doing evangelism
• Encouraging missionaries
• Working with orphans

This resume is taken from the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.

Let’s explore ways to help short-term missions have a deeper spiritual impact on Canadian believers AND help indigenous churches accomplish their vision and encounter God.

Written by
Bruce Lungren
ACOP Global Harvest Worker