It was 1997, when ringer tees and Adidas slides seemed to be the college uniform. I was a sophomore at Texas Tech and had been involved in a college ministry since I arrived. The ministry partnered U.S. colleges with international cities, committing to send students to share the gospel and build movements of disciple-makers. One night, I attended a prayer meeting led by Staci and Misty who had recently returned from Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, Russia, our partnership city. They told stories of hardship and spiritual awakening there only 6 years since the fall of communism when the country was opened. Evidently Russians, especially college students, were thirsty for information about life outside of the Soviet Union including barbecue flavored chips, the hit TV show Friends, and religion.
I felt disconnected from this far-away place, but I could see they needed to hear about Jesus and I was happy to pray for their salvation and well-being. It didn't feel personal until I read the letters from some of the Russian college girls written to us. They pleaded for us to come and help them know God. They were begging for the discipleship I had received the last two years. My neck got hot, my stomach sank, and my eyes welled with tears. Growing up in Texas, I had never been without spiritual resources in my life. I could imagine, having tasted and seen that Jesus is good, they were desperate for more.
I left the room and sat by myself to process what was happening. I knew I was probably going halfway across the world to meet a spiritual need and I'd never even left the country. My faith was fledgling at best. I grew up in the church, but I'd only recently begun to study God's Word and really surrender my life to Jesus. What could I offer? Was I any further in my faith than they were? How would I get the money to go? I sat alone on the stairs with people buzzing around me, stunned that God was inviting me to go and sat in general overwhelm and fear of the unknown. In contrast to the fear was this haunting question from Romans 10:14, “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” That felt personal. Like God was opening my eyes to what I had and to what I must give away. I was sitting on a gold mine of Bible knowledge, a spirit made alive by the good news of Jesus, and a deep faith community. How could I not share the best gift I’d ever been given?
I signed up to go on my first mission trip that summer. I got my passport, attended team meetings, sent my first financial support letter and watched God do big things to support my “yes” to his call. Bags of toiletries, medicine and other, probably unnecessary, overseas travel items lined the wall in our dining room that June. We left from L.A. after a few days of training and a photo in front of the Hollywood sign. We shared the gospel in Russian parks and on the riverbank, led English clubs and made new friends. We were “shaking the bushes” for the established teams and bringing them new disciples for their existing ministry.
And that’s just it. We were there to support what the Lord was already doing. Not to change the world in a week, but to play a part in a bigger story. All I had to do was say yes and there was a trip planned: leaders, a team, flights, housing and a purpose all planned out for me. They led me through the whole process and it absolutely changed me. If you want to unlock a new way of seeing God’s love and power, or you just need a spiritual catapult, go on a mission trip.
I saw God in new ways through this different culture and the ways He provided for our team. I saw my own weaknesses and God’s kindness and patience in response to them. I saw poverty and a different way of living, different values and strengths in another culture unfamiliar to me. Apparently my culture wasn’t the center of all things! This was an important discovery for me.
After that summer, I went on many more trips as the Lord led and every time it felt as though I was the one who needed help, who needed more of the gospel. The Lord always found something to grow or reveal and deepen—my joy, my humility, my understanding of His love. And it is such a gift to be included in the spreading of God's name and His salvation. As Acts 13:47 tells us, “For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” Is there any greater privilege? God has chosen to use us, His Church, to take the good news to all nations. Not only the pastors and theologians, but you and me!
God does not require us to be great communicators in order to preach the gospel. And He doesn’t require us to be fearless before we go on mission. Have you ever heard the phrase, “Do it afraid”? Amen to that! Even Paul said, “I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:3-4). On God’s power. What a comfort as we step out in faith to preach the gospel to the nations.
Every Sunday at my church we hold out our hands to receive a blessing (and commissioning) from our pastor who prays over us from Acts 20:24, “that you might consider your lives worth nothing, if only you may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given you, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Going on short-term mission trips is not the only way to testify, but it's a powerful and intentional way. If you haven't experienced bringing the good news to the nations, consider joining a trip in the next year and watch God graciously use you to “declare his glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).