Going on a mission trip? Already back? Check out the 12 part E-Zine series for different post trip topics and further engagement.
God has a plan for your life. It is personalized and custom-fit for your special skills and gifts. God wants you to be willing to DO whatever He wants, GO wherever He sends, and BE AVAILABLE whenever He calls. Are you willing to tell God that you are completely His?
Part 7: Stay the Course Locally I can’t help but imagine what must have been going through the disciples’ minds when they entered the upper room and Jesus took the basin and the towel to wash their feet. Duane Elmer writes in Cross-Cultural Servanthood how the disciples so often were seeking after the robe and the status that comes with it rather than Jesus’ model of the towel and of serving others. Jesus even told the disciples that they were to follow His example of servanthood.
Part 7: Stay the Course Locally “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5: 15-17 NIV)
It is likely that you have now returned to routines that were comfortable or at least familiar before you left on your short-term mission. Earlier in this e-zine you had an opportunity to decide if you would be willing to be available to DO whatever God wants, GO wherever He sends, and BE AVAILABLE whenever He calls. You may have determined that you have not been called to do cross-cultural service as a missionary. You are still called to serve, however.
Part 7: Stay the Course Locally It’s important to keep the momentum of service upon return of your short-term mission. One tool to help you determine how to do this locally in your own backyard is a community assessment. This assessment is a series of questions that you can accomplish with others in the church or independently. The answers will reveal both needs and opportunities within your community.
Part 7: Stay the Course Locally Engage your church in an introductory, local and low-cost mission opportunity.
This is a unique mission experience that is designed in both local and cross-cultural settings that will challenge your life. During your experience you will visit several different local ministry locations each day that will thrust you into a missional life. You will have opportunities to experience other cultures, other religions, and issues such as; hunger, homelessness, poverty, racism, and much more. You will feed hungry people, take prayer walks, serve, meet and talk to people of different cultures, explore personal mission purpose, and discover what living a life on mission everyday looks like.
If you would like to organize or participate in a Mission Plunge visit goconnect.org.
Part 7: Stay the Course Locally 
