Before the Desert (part 3)

I mentioned before that I hesitate to use the term “missions trip.” I guess it helps people differentiate it from being a vacation.

But the term “missions trip” conjures up images in my mind of hit and run evangelism that is really more about American Christians feeling good about themselves than it is about the people they’re supposed to be serving. A lot of damage has been done throughout the world in the name of “mission trips.”

CTR is really intentional about people understanding that we go in to other cultures as students and servants. We go to learn and better understand their culture, not to westernize it. We go to serve their needs, not arrive and decide what their needs are. We go not to share the Gospel but to be the Gospel.

One key difference in the way CTR approaches missions is the emphasis on relationships. CTR has established relationships with a few people groups and organizations in other countries and we work to become better friends and build bridges into their culture and their lives. If you talk to people that have been to the camps a few times you’ll notice that they talk about it like they talk about spending time with friends and family. It’s a beautiful thing.

~ by Dave on November 4, 2007.