What is a SHORT-TERM missions trip?

A mission trip can be a life-changing experience. When you see the receptivity of the people to the Word of God and experience God using you to lead someone to salvation in Christ, you are never the same. The benefits are numerous!

A typical mission trip starts on a Saturday, which is a travel day to reach your destination. After being picked up at the airport and being transported to the hotel, there is a short orientation meeting to explain the ground rules of the week. On Sunday morning, the teams always attend a Vida Nueva Church. Depending upon the trip and the destination, if a preaching pastor comes on the trip, he may be invited to be the guest speaker that morning. You can read more here on how to prepare and be safe on our mission trips.

In the mornings, from Monday to Friday, you will get the day started off with a team devotional and time of prayer. Then the teams load up on the bus and go either to a park, neighborhood, pedestrian walkway, or school for outreach. There will be many opportunities for one-on-one evangelism in the parks, neighborhoods, and pedestrian walkways. These are places filled with people who will easily engage in spiritual conversations with the team members. Be prepared to lead people to Christ.

When the teams go to schools, they will share the gospel through values lessons in classrooms which wrap up with gospel presentations. We have seen tremendous results in the public schools and want to continue to go through this wide-open door of opportunity.

After the morning activities, the groups are given a break to eat lunch and rest. Some team members like to go out and evangelize during their rest time while others stay in to get much needed rest. Remember, the weather is warm or hot year round and you can get worn out if you don’t pace yourself.

In the afternoons and early evenings, from Sunday to Friday, the teams go out to neighborhoods where we already have a church presence. The activity starts out with prayer and then each team member is paired with an interpreter. Don’t worry if you can’t speak Spanish, an interpreter can help you. The teams go out and visit door to door to invite people to a Family Festival and more importantly to share the gospel one on one. Most people are excited to have someone come into their home and open the Bible and share about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some of the best contacts are made during this part of the activity. While teams are visiting door to door, a team stays behind to set up the festival in the neighborhood park.

Usually, at about 6:00 pm, the activities of the festival begin. There will be a jump house and many games set up. There will be fun music playing in the background and refreshments available for all. After about an hour of fun there will be an evangelistic drama and a gospel message as well as an invitation to pray to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. As soon as the invitation is given, the children are separated from the youth and adults so that the children’s workers can share a message that the children can understand. At the same time, the teams go to the youth and adults to counsel those who have made professions of faith and share the gospel with those who have not. Many of the people pray to receive Christ at this point in the activity. This is my favorite part as it is such a joy to hear so many people talking about Jesus in such a small area. The neighborhoods are literally turned into holy ground as everyone who ventures nearby hears about Jesus.

The contact information of each person who makes a profession of faith is obtained and noted on a yellow card. At the end of the activity, all the yellow cards are collected. These are then given to the pastor of the church for follow up. The goal is to incorporate them into the local church and help them grow in their new relationship with Christ through discipleship. Over the years, many of the people who have been saved in these activities are faithfully serving in local churches throughout El Salvador and Central America and some are even pastors or missionaries. The results have not only been wonderful in the lives of those who have been saved through the witness of the teams but also in the lives of the members of the teams. Many who have made short term mission trips have gone back to the States challenged to be more committed to God as a faithful witness where they live, and many have ended up on the mission field. A mission trip can be a life-changing experience!