Unsexy Church
Unsexy Church
Season 3 Episode 01: Short Term Mission Trips
In this episode, we're diving into the powerful impact of short-term mission trips.
What happens when ordinary people leave their routines and step into a new culture with the gospel? Pastor Bob, who's led over 100 trips, "bootcamp for sanctification:—a chance for accelerated spiritual growth. Here is a couple topics we explore:
- Why does First Baptist Church Tampa prioritize these global partnerships?
- Do long-term missionaries really prefer teams over financial support?
- How do these trips reveal hidden gifts and callings in church members, from shy teens to confident adults?
This conversation will challenge your perspective on short-term missions, whether you're a seasoned veteran or have never considered going. Because ultimately, we're all missionaries, called to connect people to a life in Christ wherever we are.
Find out more on this episode of Unsexy Church!
Hey everybody, it is August 26, 2025. Welcome to Season 3, Episode 1 of the Unsexy Church Podcast. How are you doing this morning, Pastor Bob?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great, Darren. That was a very formal introduction. I like that.
Speaker 1:Changing the tone a little bit. You know Trent's kind of a. He's not so serious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's a little more loosey-goosey yeah.
Speaker 1:Got a fun fact for you today.
Speaker 2:We're starting out of the gate with a fun fact, fun fact.
Speaker 1:It's actually a question, oh no, the question is when did the first short-term mission trip occur?
Speaker 2:When did the first short-term? So biblically speaking, you're asking me.
Speaker 1:Anytime, the first one you can think of.
Speaker 2:The obvious answer would be the church in Antioch sending out Paul and Barnabas. I think that's a good answer. It is, but I'm not sure it's the right answer. It might be a better answer would be the church in Antioch sending out Paul and Barnabas. But I think that's a good answer, it is, but I'm not sure it's the right answer. It might be a better answer, right? So we're going through the Gospel of Mark, right, and in chapter 4, jesus heals the demoniac, right, and then tells him the demoniac says I want to go with you wherever you go.
Speaker 2:And Jesus said no, go, tell your family and friends.
Speaker 1:That might be the first mission trip, but is it short term?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's true. He didn't give them a. You know, go do this and then come back. It was just go, so maybe.
Speaker 1:What about Jesus sending out the 72?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that happens in Mark, chapter 5, and Luke. Where is it?
Speaker 1:Luke 10. Yeah, that happens in Mark, chapter 5 and Luke 10.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so he takes his disciples and sends them out, has them come back and report.
Speaker 1:So maybe Some might even say when the father sent his son.
Speaker 2:I don't know, was that short term? No, because the Holy Spirit's with us. Right, still right, okay, I don't know, but yeah, so interesting, that's what we're talking about today are short-term mission trips right.
Speaker 1:Why should we go on a short-term mission trip? Why should a church be involved in short-term mission trips? Should a church be involved in short-term mission trips? So maybe just to ask you, pastor Bob, in your estimation, how many short-term mission trips have you been on? Have you taken?
Speaker 2:I honestly I'm going to have to estimate, cause I don't honestly remember um 37 years of ministry, plus a lifetime before that of being on mission and doing missions. I I'd have to guess well over a hundred short-term mission trips. That's amazing. Um, that's, that's just a guess that's like over three a year in ministry but yeah, I mean, yeah, two or three, yeah, I mean when, when you look at it, um and so when, when I go on trips and people say, how did this compare?
Speaker 1:I'm like they all kind of go together in some ways, and yet they're all distinct, they're all interesting. Sure, what are like? Where have you gone? What are some? Where are some of the places that?
Speaker 2:you've gone on short-term missions Over the United States a lot of the Southeastern United States, canada, mexico.
Speaker 1:So short-term missions can be in the US. Oh, of course yeah.
Speaker 2:Short-term missions can be even local if you really want to get down to it. So yeah, and I've been blessed to travel around the world a little bit and go on trips to different places Brazil, south Africa and Dominican Very cool.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's hard to compare them because I'm sure they're all different, but like what's the most, I don't know, maybe the strangest or the most memorable place? What was the place that stands out to you when you think of short-term mission trips? Wow?
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're all. Really, it's not the places, it's the people, it really is. I mean, that sounds cliche, but it really is true, it's the people. And each place you go, there's a unique quality to the people. There's a culture there, right, but at the same time, many times you're you're connecting with church there, so you're, there's a familiarity that that is striking when you can travel around the world, be with people that don't even speak the same language as you and you serve the same Savior and you serve the same mission, and it is just a bonding thing.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I don't know that I could pick a place and say this is so, who's your favorite short-term missionary partner? I love them all equally. I love them all the same.
Speaker 2:Well, I do have one favorite. Darlene got to go with us this time to South Africa, so I'm going to pick my wife as my favorite short-term mission partner. Man that's awesome.
Speaker 1:You know, when I was, uh, when we were considering coming to FBC Tampa, one of the things that that really caught our eye was that this was a church that, uh, was not just on mission locally, but it seemed to be a church that really cared about global missions and really cared about engaging in missions and sending people out. And that was an exciting thought for me and for my wife to think about being able to be part of a church that that was really important to. And I think at FBC Tampa it's obvious, I think, that missions is important to us.
Speaker 1:We host a GO conference, we have a missions committee. We do several mission trips throughout the year. Even who are some of our partners? Where do we go? Who are some of our short-term mission trip partners?
Speaker 2:Sure, they've changed over the years. We've we've had some partners in cuba, we've had some partners in nepal, but currently we are partnered with um kenya. I'm I'm pausing to make sure I get the names right of each of the so repair christian Christian School and Interlocking Ministries in Kenya. We have partnerships in the Dominican Republic with Kenneth and Valerie, who do a great work of planting churches and sharing the gospel there. And then in South Africa, we have partnered with Hoppy Palm and you're familiar with that one, of course and COSA Gospel Mission, reaching the people in the townships around East London, south Africa. We have a partnership with Charles Graham in Dermont, arkansas, currently. So that's our national partner.
Speaker 1:Arkansas is like you call it a national partner, but Arkansas is like a foreign country. I'm just telling you, it is a different culture.
Speaker 2:It is different. So, yeah, as a church we have a kingdom mindset. It's not just about what God's doing at First Baptist Church of Tampa, but what God can do through the people of First Baptist Church and that he's called us to go, and that is across the street, across the state, across the nation, across the world. And so we've actively tried to pursue that, having this goal of taking the gospel wherever God sends us. And we believe the best way to do that is through partnerships, where we find people in locations who are actively, weekly, faithfully presenting the gospel, reaching people, and then we come alongside and try to partner with them so that we're not just going to a location dropping in for a week and then there's no connection with the people that we've met or shared Christ with. Now we know we have people that are there that can follow up and disciple and love people.
Speaker 1:Right. So I'm a member of First Baptist Church. I'm an average member of First Baptist Church. I've been here for a few years and gone to a few GO conferences. I've met our missionaries, a lot of our mission partners, and I'm thinking, man, you know I'm praying in my prayer life. Maybe the Lord is leading me to go on a short-term mission trip. Maybe we should maybe ask the question why short-term mission trips? I mean, you've kind of alluded to that a little bit, but why should I, as a church member, prayerfully consider going on a short-term mission trip?
Speaker 2:I would start with the bigger picture first and say why should we as a church have short-term mission trips, maybe, and then pull it down to the individual why should I go on these mission trips? And I would say, number one, it's just obedience. God's called us to do it, he's called the church to go, and so we understand that as a church to mean every day that we are, as we are going, we are sharing the gospel. So that's we're on mission when we leave the church to go wherever. So we understand that. But we also understand that we have a kingdom mindset, that God has called us to go to the nations.
Speaker 2:And so, as a church, we have short-term missions because it helps keep a kingdom mindset before us, it helps us keep a gospel mindset before us when we go on these short-term missions or when we go through our daily lives. It is to present the gospel, it is to share the gospel. And so having a mindset that says if I'm going to go share the gospel, I is to share the gospel. And so having a mindset that says if I'm going to go share the gospel, I need to understand the gospel, I need to reiterate the gospel to myself over and over again. And so we want to have a gospel mindset, and then we just want to have a missional mindset that we're living on mission, so as a church, corporately, that's kind of the why. Um, why should an individual go? Man? That's a long list.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Maybe, maybe, maybe, what? What are we trying to? I mean, we've answered this a little bit. What are we trying to accomplish when, when, when we go? That may help, Cause I think sometimes, you know, maybe some pushback could, could, why would like? I'm not a roofer, you know I'm not a construction guy, why would I go do something? That's not even my trade? You know I'm not a great painter, I'm not a good. You know, why would I go do that overseas? What really are we trying to accomplish when we go anywhere on a short-term?
Speaker 2:mission trip. Sure, two things One, we're trying to share the gospel wherever we can go, and two, we're trying to come alongside our partners to encourage and equip them to do what they're doing. So mission trips are going to look different when you go on different mission trips. Some trips, like you mentioned, construction or painting there are some trips that involve that kind of thing, but they also involve sharing your faith, going into classrooms, going into homes, doing pastor training. So there's different elements that go along with the different trips that people can use their different giftedness for, and that's why we plan them that way. It's really just dependent upon what the partner needs to help them to move their ministry down the road.
Speaker 1:So the focus is more on, like you said, what the partner needs. They're the one on the ground, Excuse me. They know what's needed most there, right, exactly.
Speaker 2:So we went to South Africa this last summer. Darren, you were on that trip with us. We took 16 of us and we did multiple things. We partner with Hoppy Pullman who plants churches in squatter villages around East London hundreds of thousands of people living in these shacks. So he's planted churches there. He mentors those pastors. He's also put two orphanages there and an AIDS home. And so when we go, two orphanages there and an AIDS home.
Speaker 2:And so when we go we do multiple things. We do some physical work on the orphanages. We do some physical work on the churches painting, light, construction, those kinds of things just to keep them up. We've built a wall around one of those orphanages to keep because there was a brothel right literally right next door, just for some protection and safety. So that's just hands-on labor that many people think I can't go on a mission trip because I can't teach, I don't know how to share my faith, but I can use my hands. I can glorify God that way. So we do those things. We minister to the children with Backyard Bible Club, sharing the gospel. We go into churches and preach and teach. So that particular trip there's multiple things that we do. Dr is similar, although most of the time in the DR, we're spending time going into classrooms in schools, which is just an amazing time Just to be able to share our faith and share the gospel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was going to say when you go into those classrooms, you have the opportunity to share the gospel in the classrooms.
Speaker 2:Yes, and it's an amazing time, and my favorite part of going on those trips is to sit back and watch our folks be stretched Because they go and they're afraid. I don't know that I can do this, I don't know that I know how to share my faith, I don't know how to share my testimony and then to let them practice before they go and then watch the Holy Spirit use them in those instances and then realize, oh, I can do this through the Holy Spirit. I think you're right.
Speaker 1:I think that's not the best part, that's one of the best parts. I mean, obviously the best part would be someone seeing someone come to saving faith in Christ. But man, just seeing someone realize potential that they have, a giftedness that they have, and just stepping out in faith and using that and stretching and growing, it is amazing to watch. So that's one of the benefits, right. What are some of the other benefits? Maybe of if I'm an individual praying through going on a trip? How is that helpful to me as an individual believer? Sure.
Speaker 2:I think, spiritual growth. I love how Lourdes Vinovich said it. When she went to DR for the first time she went on her first two mission trips this last year she went to the DR, then she went with us to South Africa and she described a mission trip, a short-term mission trip, as bootcamp for sanctification.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2:You just get thrown into the fire and it has such a impact on you spiritually where you just see yourself growing and feel that you come home desiring to continue.
Speaker 1:When you you know when, kind of along the same lines, when you're in a place where you know you really don't know anyone except for the mission partner. You may know something about the culture, but you don't know the culture. You may not necessarily know the language. It just really has a way of stripping down confidence and making or self-reliance is a better stripping that self-reliance and pride out and helping you realize how dependent you are on God Right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think you've hit some key words there. I think there is a greater dependence upon God and the Spirit when you're pushing yourself to do what he's called you to do, in uncomfortable situations, sharing your faith, sharing your testimony. But as you grow in that dependence, you grow in spiritual confidence which seems, you know, oxymoronic almost.
Speaker 1:But you see God work and your confidence in him grows and you see, him. Use means you know and just your confidence in that just grows. That's amazing.
Speaker 2:Exactly. And you and you come back from these short term trips with more of a spiritual fervor, saying I didn't think he could use me. He used me there. If he could use me there, he can use me here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I was going to. It's a question I was going to ask you what do you think Like cause? I think I feel that right when I come back home, I feel that after I've been on a trip, I'm like I've gone across the sea to go see these folks, to tell these folks about Jesus. I can, I can walk across my street. You know how how does that, how, how are, how does that motivate us right to be Jesus' hands and feet and tell the gospel here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think once you get a taste of the Spirit working and see Him at work in people's lives, you want to be a part of it and then, if you get blessed to be used in that, this dependence upon God and then the confidence that he can use you the more you taste that, the more you want of it when you come back.
Speaker 1:I think you know, like when people tell me sometimes you know, I quote unquote tried church or I quote unquote tried Jesus, or it just didn't work or it was just nothing, it was boring. Or people tell me that they're dry in their spiritual walk, and I understand there are times that it does get dry, but almost always there are a couple things that are not happening in their life. I think what makes the Christian life exciting is when you're stepping out in that kind of faith to share the gospel. To share the gospel when someone's not always, but when someone's dry and just feeling very unsatisfied in their Christian walk. Usually they're not in the Word, they're not praying on a consistent basis and they're usually not sharing their faith. And that's what makes the Christian life and walk exciting, Right, when you see God working other people, when we're on mission for life.
Speaker 2:When we're not fulfilling the purpose God's given us, we're going to feel that Right. If I'm not fulfilling the purpose of being a light in darkness, of sharing my faith, of doing that for which God laid hold of my life, I'm going to experience dryness, in that it's only when we are doing what God has called us to do that we experience the blessing and the joy of being obedient Right.
Speaker 1:And this kind of goes along the same lines. But I mean just as an individual. I've seen people in a sense discover a talent or discover a gift, or maybe even a spiritual gift that they didn't realize they had, and it was just a way to fan that into flame right Just an example.
Speaker 1:I was thinking about Carson Smith, just because Sunday our scheduled Scripture reader couldn't read and I just kind of turned to the choir. Who? Carson Smith is a brand new member and our choir said would anyone feel led to lead scripture today? First hand up, I will, and that's one thing I learned about him at South Africa. Man, if there's something to be done, it doesn't matter, he's going to volunteer to do it. Man, it's cool to see people do that, and those of you that don't know, carson, he's 12, I believe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right man, it's cool to see people do that.
Speaker 1:And those of you who don't know, carson, he's 12, I believe.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right, and we just got to see God use him and his sister. He's the sister on this trip, and he was. He was one of the first that would throw his hand up.
Speaker 1:Oh man, and then later on I'll share my testimony Exactly, I'll share the gospel. Yeah, I'll do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, body had to write the check on what he'd said earlier, later on, but he did. He followed through and even with him, as he was sharing his faith in a backyard Bible club with a couple hundred kids his own age. You could see that he was overwhelmed by the moment. But through some coaching and through the Holy Spirit he pushed through and did an amazing job with it and each time he shared along the trip he got better and better and grew in it Exactly and grew in confidence.
Speaker 1:And you see that happen over and over and over again. Lourdes is another example of someone in our church who was shy, didn't think that they could step out in that kind of direction. And now I don't think you could get her not to share the gospel. Oh, absolutely, yeah, yeah, like you could get her not to share the gospel, oh absolutely yeah, she's all about it and we could do that for almost everybody.
Speaker 2:That was on the last trip we were on together, for sure, but probably every trip we go on, just about every trip we go on, if somebody genuinely invests in it and they put themselves out there, they grow, yeah, and then they come back stronger, strengthened, and that has an impact on those that we come back to right?
Speaker 1:that's my next question how does it? How's it helpful or beneficial, or how's it build up the the body here at fbc?
Speaker 2:tampa. Sure, for those it's not just we're sending people. Those people come back and they're part of this family and they share the stories and then they come back with this new spiritual fire about them and it drives them forward, it grows their spiritual gifts so that then they can build up other people around them here. So, yeah, there's many benefits to the church as a whole for individuals who go. Another thing is just the relationships that you build on these trips.
Speaker 2:You know people before you go, but after you spend two weeks with somebody, you really get to know each other when you're spending night and day with everybody and you come back with stronger bonds, stronger relationships, deeper relationships, more healthy relationships that carry on when we come back.
Speaker 1:And those relationships seem to be more God-centered you know what I mean. In the sense like when I'm at home and I'm in my everyday average walk, when I see someone at church or even outside of church, my default is maybe to ask them how their day is. We talk about their job, we talk about and all these things are important. We talk about their job, their family, sports, things that are happening, but this seems to kind of a short-term mission trip relationship seems to hone that in a little bit.
Speaker 1:What's God doing in your life, what's he doing here? And we have these shared experiences of seeing God work in people's lives and it gives us I don't know, it just gives us a more God-centered relationship. Does that make?
Speaker 2:sense Completely. There's almost more of an intentionality to the relationship, rather than just a surface level kind of thing. It's a deeper, more intentional relationship that's God-centered, exactly.
Speaker 1:What about? So, just kind of thinking back to when I first came to FBC Tampa and I'd heard about some of our mission partners. You know, I'd heard about Hoppe, I'd heard about some, you know, dan, some of the others that we'd had, and but then when I got to go to South Africa the first time I, you know, I met Hoppe. Actually I met him at a GO conference, but then I really met him Spent a week in his house.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, I can say personally that that has affected my prayer life, in the sense of the way that I pray. And how would going on a short-term mission trip affect our prayer lives? What are some of your thoughts about that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's profoundly impacted mine because I can pray for missionaries that I don't know. Short-term mission trip affect our prayer lives. What are some of your thoughts about that? Yeah, it's profoundly impacted mine because I can pray for missionaries that I don't know.
Speaker 1:But when you know them, when you see the culture, when you see the people that they're ministering- to when your feet are on the ground, your boots are on the ground and you're in the middle of what they're in the middle of every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Right, yeah, after my first trip to Africa, which was 20 years ago, I just made a commitment that I was going to pray for the pastors that I knew there every week. So that's my routine is on Sunday mornings, as I'm coming in to get ready for worship, I'm praying for the missionaries that I know personally. I'm praying for them by name. I'm praying for pastors and their churches by name, and I don't know that I would have the fervency to do that, right, if I didn't have that personal relationship with them and see what they're working through and being faithful to do on the ground. So it does build that partnership with the relationship with the partner, and I would turn that the other way around.
Speaker 2:Another reason why we have partnerships is to encourage them, right, so our partnerships are supposed to be mutually beneficial, right, so the First Baptist Church can bless them, but they can also bless us as well, not financially, but just be a blessing and help us have this kingdom mindset. But every time we go on a mission trip, part of that trip is to encourage our mission partners to come alongside them and say you're not in this alone. There's somebody that cares about you. There's somebody that's praying for you when you need something. You know we can't answer everything, we can't do everything, but we're here Right, and I think to a person of our mission partners, um, that is one of the greatest benefits is just knowing that they're not in it alone, that there's somebody there with them.
Speaker 1:I think for me, as far as my prayer life goes, it just gives me more specificity. It gives me things to pray about for them when I'm there and I see it. It just helps me be more specific in my prayers and, I think, more meaningful in my prayers, not just a general be with the missionaries kind of a prayer I mean.
Speaker 2:we want God to be with them. Obviously, sure, sure, sure, and there's nothing wrong with those prayers?
Speaker 1:No, exactly. If you don't know them personally, you can still pray for them. Still pray that way, right, but it deepens the prayer life, Exactly.
Speaker 2:It's a more informed prayer life where you can say I know Pastor Eric, I know his situation and I know what's going on in his church. Let me pray for that specifically.
Speaker 1:And so, kind of going back to what you were saying, what does? We've talked about individuals, we've talked about our church here. How is it helpful for some of our mission partners? I think about one thing I think about is I mean most of our mission partners. I think about one thing I think about is I mean most of our mission partners have a home church, but not all of them. And I think, man, what would it be like to be without the fellowship and the support of the local church every week, you know, we can come you know, every Sunday get recharged, get built up, be encouraged in our walk and in the faith.
Speaker 1:For some of these guys in some seasons of their ministry hasn't been that way. They're planting churches and it might just be them at first. Right, how does us going to them? How does that helpful for?
Speaker 2:them. Yeah, I think you have to measure it in different levels. One would just be tangible, right? So when we go on a mission trip, one of the questions we ask is what are the needs that we can help meet? Right so, is there a physical need that we can help meet that will help them in their ongoing ministry? So just helping meet physical needs, functional needs of their ministry and their program, that's very encouraging to them.
Speaker 2:Things that maybe need to be done, that could not, would not get done unless we were there Right, that they don't have the resources or the manpower to get done, that we can come alongside and then, once that's done, it's a relief for them and they can use that. And so there's some physical things, but I think, beyond that, it is just the spiritual encouragement again of knowing that they're not in it alone, that there's prayer partners with them, that there's people that care enough to travel to wherever they are and to help them. One question we get asked all the time is why would we spend X amount of money to send 16 people to South Africa? Wouldn't that missionary rather have? Let's just pull that money and send them the money right.
Speaker 2:Couldn't he do more with that? And Hoppe will tell you and I think all the other missionaries would tell you, they would take the mission team over the money anytime, anytime, for the reasons we're talking about now, because of the encouragement it is to them. It's the encouragement to their mission field. It's an open door when a mission team goes to the mission field, it gives these missionaries a door into mission and into some homes that they wouldn't normally have. Right, because people are curious why did you come all the way here? So to a person our mission partners have told us we would rather have the teams than the money. Now they'll take the money, don't get me wrong. They need the money.
Speaker 1:They need it. They need it.
Speaker 2:They'll utilize it, but to a person they have said we will take the team because of the encouragement they are to us personally, to the mission and to the carrying out the goals of the mission.
Speaker 1:You know, and I think, when we come back from a trip like that, I think the missionaries understand, when we have a better, when we've seen it with our own eyes right, and we've touched with our own hands things, we can come back and be and be a champion for their, for their ministry, and I think they understand that and and understand the value of that.
Speaker 1:I know we're we're about out of time, but just a few more. Just a few more questions. Just there's some misconceptions out there. Right, you just hit on one. Wouldn't they rather just have the money? But someone asked me how would you like to host 10 to 20 people who don't know the culture, who don't know the language, who you have to kind of help guide through the systems? Isn't that more work for the missionary than what it's worth? What would you, how would you answer those folks?
Speaker 2:If I'm out on the mission field and I'm working diligently and many times by myself, trying to get things done, if a group of 10 or 20 people want to show up and help me. I'm going to take it. Yes, it'll be an interruption into my life, yes, it'll be a hardship during that week, but the benefit far outweighs the hardship. So yeah, I think they would all say that?
Speaker 1:What would you say to the person who says aren't short-term mission trips just kind of glorified Christian tourism?
Speaker 2:in that they can be if you're not careful, if you're not intentional.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And I think there is part of a trip where you do enjoy seeing God's creation and going to a part of the, but that's not why you're there. It's not the main purpose.
Speaker 2:It's not the main purpose, and so, again, each one of our teams has to be intentional about that, and we talk about that in our mission prep before we go. This is why we're going. This is what our purpose is. Everybody on the team knows exactly what their purpose is and going Um, and so it can be that if you're not careful, but that's not what it's intended to be at all.
Speaker 1:Right, exactly, and I would just that's kind of my next question, probably probably the last question really is how do we just kind of briefly, um, how do we prepare if, if, If I feel led, I feel like the Lord's leading me to go on a mission trip to anywhere, how do we prepare kind of formally as a church and maybe even as an individual?
Speaker 2:Let me give a shout out to Randy Sheets, right now, Just a great church member of ours. One of our deacons teaches a core group, but he's also our missions coordinator and so he coordinates all of our trips, all of our partnerships, and that's you know he's. He's got his own business, he runs, he does this on the side yeah, Praise God and does an amazing job. But each one of our trips they have a point person. They have a person who's in charge Sometimes it's a staff member, sometimes it's not.
Speaker 2:Uh, and that that person kind of is the point person with our ministry partner to say, okay, what do we need to accomplish during this mission trip? What are the goals, what are we trying to do, what are the missions? And then we share that with the church, get people to say I think I feel led to go on that trip. And once they've committed to go on the trip, knowing what the purpose of the trip is, we'll do team meetings leading up to each trip, telling them about the culture, telling what they expect and then setting the expectations of if you go on the trip, this is what we expect from you, Whether they're going to do construction or not. We always ask team members to be able to share their testimony within three minutes.
Speaker 2:You know your testimony is not the gospel. Your testimony is that which? What's the appetite? So somebody wants to hear the gospel. Your testimony is what difference has Christ made in your life? And then be able to articulate the gospel clearly and succinctly, using whatever method they want to choose. Roman road bracelet colors, whatever it may be, colors, whatever it may be. And so we want people to be prepared because whether you're you're building a building or you're in a classroom, you're there to share the gospel, Right. So we, we help people think through those things, prepare those things. We work on those.
Speaker 1:Everything we do is just the means to share the gospel Correct.
Speaker 2:So we, we, we prepare folks so that when they go on the field they're as prepared as they possibly can be, and then let the Holy Spirit kind of take it from there.
Speaker 1:And I think just being on a couple of different trips with FBC Tampa. The leaders do a really good job of painting a picture of what it's going to be like when you get there, we try yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, it's hard. It is hard, you've never been there.
Speaker 1:But I think you set realistic expectations and so no one's totally caught off guard once they get on the ground somewhere, because that can be disturbing, right, but I think we do a really good job there.
Speaker 2:We try to bathe the trips in prayer as well, praying as a team before we go, asking the church to pray, praying over the team as they go out, asking the church to pray for the team while they're on the field. So the power is in the spirit, the power is in the prayer. It's not in our ability, it's in his, and so prayer is a big part of the preparation as well.
Speaker 1:For sure, I've asked a lot of questions. I know this is not going to be the exhaustive treatment of short-term mission trips, but is there anything else that you just want our church folks to know about short-term trips or about our partners, or about our missions committee or anything like you know just what have I missed? What?
Speaker 2:do people need to? Know, no, you've done great. Go Conference is coming up just a couple months away, in October. That's when we bring our partners here and we celebrate with them and encourage them and we can hear more about what God's doing in their life. So I think all of our partners are coming this year, and so we're looking forward to that. So we're getting ready to go to Vermont here.
Speaker 2:We are a couple of weeks we're going to to to Arkansas. I've got a group of 22, I think, or so so, going there this year and even before that, we're just going right across the street To the Tampa Baptist Manor on mission, exactly. So, yeah, I would just remind our church that we're always on mission, just every now, and then we take short-term mission trips.
Speaker 1:What is our mission? What is our mission?
Speaker 2:Connect people to a thriving life in Christ.
Speaker 1:Exactly man.
Speaker 2:That's what it is. God has called us to connect people to him. So we want to do that and we do it as missionaries every day. Each one of us is a missionary and we need to keep that as a mindset. We just every now and then come together as a church and say here's a specific need in a specific place, at a specific time that we can go help.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's good stuff. Hey, we just want to say thank you for listening to the Unsexy Church podcast. Bob done a great job today. Just want to remind everyone out there stay unsexy you.
