"I swear if one more person loses their passport!" Comedian John Crist is the honest mission trip leader. John Crist is a standup comedian. For more info, bio and live tour dates visit www.johncristcomedy.com
This is so sad but true. So many missions trips are hurting the third world communities instead of helping them. Thank you for saying this in a way that is funny and makes people think.
Mat Lag Well first of all if you would like to really dive into this some really good books are "Toxic Charity" and "Helping Without Hurting in short term missions". We often think poverty is about not having stuff so we give them stuff. Or we do random work projects like painting the school in the video. But people who are poor often feel a sense of shame that they can't help themselves. We often feel pride when step in and do things for them hurting both parties. Instead we could be sending all that money we raised to a full time missionary so they can hire someone from the community, creating jobs! Or we give women and children stuff giving the Father more shame that he can't give them what you can. We won't take the time to invest in people and in communities we just dump stuff and a gosple message and think it will take care of the problem. Hope that makes sense 😀 Definitely look more into it!
Anthony Ortiz Personally I think LONG term missions can have a huge impact. If you want to do SHORT term missions I would suggest finding someone who is a full time missionary in that community. Someone who knows what the real needs are and will be honest in how you can help. Then short term missions can be a big blessing. Come alongside a full term mission and help them in the work they are already doing 24/7
Taleah O'Malley great points. My grandparents were missionaries (long term, for decades) in a third world country. The best way to do short term missions is to help a missionary already based somewhere. They will know what will do the most good and what the people will need and will serve as an anchor for future communications and missions, as/if needed.
😂😂it’s so true this Saturday I’m leaving for my second missions trip and that has been the most talked about thing. When I went last year and this year
I posted pictures of myself with children from where I "served". I didn't even ask for their consent to plaster their faces oline. I deleted those pictures when I realized my intent in posting them was purely for self-promotion. My involvement in missions was not only meaningless, but destructive.
I just came back from a trip where the pastor was telling everyone to keep the shopping trips and sightseeing on the down low so people back home don't get the wrong idea. Meanwhile his wife was putting everything on Facebook! Everything!
As a missionary I have seen both types of short term mission groups. The ones that come down with purpose and really doing change lives and eternities. And the others that are just here for a vacation, which is terribly frustrating. Great video, laughed the whole time.
As a Worker in a "prohibitive" country, I've appreciated each sentence and each utterance in this video. THANKS! Hope people get the message. You know, sometimes more harm can come by these "short-term mission" trips than benefits. Hey, I can tell you stories!!
This is funny, but very true. Most so-called "mission trips" have almost nothing to do with actually reaching people with the gospel. They're more like vacations that people take to feel good about themselves.
excellent point as usual, this was hallarious, Its good to remind ourselves of our own stupidity every once in a while, that we can easily fall back into sin if we have the wrong motives.
I've been a missionary for 14 years. We only use local workers. And churches don't like that because it takes away reasons to come. Well we don't like to see people struggling to feed their families... We pay the locals so they can take the money back home. What do we do? We make food and sit and eat with them. We take food and water to the workers. But we don't bring people from the States in to do work. We serve the workers while they work. When you go into a poor country sometimes it's nice just to give the locals the money. We serve them and give the gospel. Just my opinion from a girl who's been on the mission field for a very long time.
It may come across that no matter what you do as an American it's just going to be wrong. Americans, we like to send money, because it really makes the world go round and solves everybody's problems, right? Jk jk of course. then, on the opposite end we like to get so involved, go there ourselves, and solve other people's problems for them, and then take pictures with those people and send them back for the world to see what good people we are all in the name of Jesus. I joke, of course, about this too. The best way to consider the problem, is to imagine you just lost a loved one. If somebody sent you a hefty check to cover the funeral, but didn't come, how would you feel? Likewise, if somebody came organize the funeral and paid all the expenses, did the services, and then buried your loved one, all without consideration to your wishes in how to honor them, how would you feel? What people want is for someone to just be there and share in their struggle with them.
@@jred7 If it was a stranger who didn't know my loved one, and I was stressed out that I couldn't pay for the funeral, it would be a far greater blessing to send the money to cover the cost of the funeral rather than come so that the the friends and family of the deceased could mourn together without the added stress of the financial cost of the burial.
*_RIGHT?!?_* My friend flew down to Texas (idk where, think it was Houston) to go put up drywall or something with the youth group at our church. None of them knew how to do the job. No experience. They all had to be trained a tiny bit before hand and on the job.
the point is- if secular, there's no spiritual component to it. You can pretend and nobody would blink an eye. As a matter of fact, I will submit this to you- there's no innate goodness in anything that's not emanating from heart of Christ. And that we do see in the world that is good is usually a reflection of God's grace in an unbeliever's life.
@@asinegaasinega "Why did God create atheists? A Rabbi is teaching his student the Talmud, and explains that God created everything in this world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson. The clever student asks "What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?" The Rabbi responds "God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all -- the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone who is in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. and look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right." "This means" the Rabbi continued "that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say 'I pray that God will help you.' instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say 'I will help you.'""
Many would argue that very little is ever completely altruistic, atheist or not. Just because an atheist doesn't believe in spiritual reward doesn't mean his intentions are completely selfless. Also on the subject of building homes in Kenya... in developing countries, there are no building codes, sometimes no electricity or plumbing. Sometimes all that is needed is 4 walls and a roof, like in the example of Haiti where there are villages of tents. In many of these situations, there are foremen overseeing these projects. You don't have to have experience in the field to offer help and free labor. A woman last month asked for help cleaning up her yard... i'm no professional landscaper but I helped clean it up really good. It doesn't take much to be a blessing to others.
I am a Christian. I love this, and thank you for making it. We have no business sending our children out this way. They are immature and uneducated. And maybe we ought to focus on getting our own country in order first.
The only other kind of churches are the dead and buried ones - i.e. the mainline ones - Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran, etc. So you either attend a stage and band church or a dead and buried one where everyone is over the age of 70 and ready to die so that they can get buried right next to the church (like most of my relatives). Those are the only 2 options for churches and I've been in many dozens of churches of all denominations and affiliations and even non-denom and non-aff.
@@MGAF688 where i live in Lebanon,PA there are a lot of Mennonite churches. i am sure that for many of you you immediately get some kind of mennonite stereotype in your mind. maybe from some that you have met or from what you may have heard about them. i am not originally from Lebanon but i have been here since 1989, i was not even raised in any type of church let alone a mennonite church. i have been in mennonite gatherings where you had a huge range of mennonites from black bumper cars maybe even some horse and buggys< i am not positive on that one, all the way up to people that look and dress like anyone else might dress. i have been in mennonite churches that definitely are not stage and band churches but they are not all dead churches either. they are kind of down the middle
“We must never waver from our goal: to get pictures with minority children for our Facebook profiles” literally that’s what I hate the most about mission trips. Most of the time people use them to reinforce the notion of the “white savior” when honestly they’re usually doing more harm than good. Like he said in the video lots of countries have high unemployment rates and need those opportunities. But by going and providing material services instead of, you know, spreading God’s message, they’re doing those people a disservice and it’s so annoying when they post it on social media
sad but i think that many american christians see themselves as these privileged people that are going to help these poor people in need. as if the people that live there cant work for themselves
I'm late to this conversation but... When I was a teen we did a "mission" trip (not quite the same thing since I lived near the Mexico border and we drove across for a long day trip) to an orphanage where we did paint the dorms (or whatever they were called) and brought fruits and vegetables for the garden (planting them as well). Were those unemployed going to work in that underfunded orphanage for free and donate for the garden? We didn't have Facebook or any other means of "advertising" what we did. If the people in the country can do it why don't they? People bitch about Christians preaching their message and then they bitch about Christians showing their message through works.
@@loyevangelists Here's a thought, why doesn't everyone who is capable of helping people who need help no longer help anyone. Everyone for themselves and fuck you to everyone. At this point, considering the shits that are coming up in the world, we should definitely stop ALL charitable work, foreign and domestic. ALL give aways from charity and the government should stop and people that have money should keep their money and time for themselves. Those that don't have can take care of themselves without any help whatsoever since they can work for themselves.
@@mortimerbrewster3671 I don't think they were saying everybody is like that. Just a lot of people. Sometimes people do good and other times they just don't
Nick Quinn short-term mission trips are generally just fundraisers for the organization that put it together. They charge you a ton of money to take you and show you where they're operating so that you'll be moved emotionally and send them monthly contributions. Some are actually doing some practical good, but sadly most are just very complicated fundraising companies skilled in emotion-based marketing.
Darin Wood lol, same one time I went on a missions trip to Africa...have you guys realized how many black people live there. It's incredible. Everywhere you look it's dark if you know what I mean. Except for South Africa, you definitely see the light there if you know what I mean. Lol minorities Peace ✌
I love this video because I have spent three of my summers in college on mission trips actually sharing the gospel and seeing people pray to receive Christ! You'd be amazed, my church was not entirely supportive and thought that going up to strangers, building relationships with them on the spot and telling them about Jesus was weird because I intentionally sought them out! Even though I explained to them that God has clearly called me to do this, they still questioned it. Keep up the great videos and keep showing the church that we need to be the CHURCH and not just CHARITY
My sister was a pastor. Went to Mexico to help an orphanage. The trip made the local newspaper in Texas. How? I guess my sister called them up and told them she wanted publicity? Yikes.
So sad but true. So sad most churches call mission trips vacations. Site seeing, doing things to help people, but hardly any preaching for souls. No power. No Holy Spirit.
Hahahah 'we must never waver from our goal..to get photos with minority children for our facebook profiles'...literally every short term missionary from my church!!
Too true. I did a mission trip to the tenderloin when I was 15 (I was raised in a very poor household, so keep that in mind for just a bit) and I found out after I spent a year scraping every penny I could find to do Gods work that half of the money I raised for the mission trip was actually for a surprise day at 6 flags. None of the kids knew that half of the money they raised was for a day at an amusement park that no one wanted. I saw a guy get stabbed to death in an alley (3 others kids witnessed it as well), and then the next day pastor was like "alright we've done a lot of good work, so we are going to have the rest of the trip be just relaxing". I really didn't feel like riding a roller coaster after seeing a dude get stabbed to death. Missions trips are a disgrace to charity. Do your part by yourself. Its the only way. Fuck organizing that shit, your money will never be spent appropriately.
I've never been on a mission trip. My son has though at 14 years old. This is how he said it went pretty much. It cost us a lot of money to send him. It's probably better to just send the money it cost to send him there. They could hire locals to do the work. Missions should be to bring the gospel, I would think.
Oh man, so dead on! I loved it! Especially that small bit about losing passports. I’ve felt that way myself on some of the teams that have gone with me and people lose their passports in the most random places!
