Help Desk or Round Table? Your Mission Trip Might Need a Makeover

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Dr. Hunter Farrell challenges everything you thought you knew about short-term missions with compelling insights drawn from his 30+ years of global mission experience and anthropological research. He reveals startling statistics about our mission economy: American Christians spend $3.5-5 billion annually sending 1.6 million people on short-term trips, yet often these efforts fall short of creating lasting change.

What's gone wrong? Farrell introduces the concept of "selfie missions" – our cultural shift from changing the world to changing ourselves. This individualistic approach positions Western Christians as saviors rather than companions, creating problematic power dynamics. Drawing from interviews with over 1,400 mission leaders across denominational lines, he offers a radical alternative: a "theology of companionship" centered around breaking bread together and embracing mutual vulnerability.

The most transformative insight comes through examining Jesus's own mission approach. Christ consistently engaged from a position of weakness, empowering those on society's margins by giving them agency rather than treating them as passive recipients of charity. This challenges our typical Western approach where we arrive with all the answers and resources, positioning ourselves at metaphorical "help desks" distributing solutions.

Farrell remains optimistic about short-term missions despite these critiques, seeing them as powerful "liminal spaces" where deep transformation can happen when approached correctly. The key lies in co-development – recognizing that true change requires mutual participation guided by the principle: "What you do for us without us is not for us." His powerful Congolese fable about Ngalula illustrates how communities already possess what they need for transformation.

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