How My Entire View of Missions And Charity Changed One Summer

HOPE photo - entrepreneur

Every summer, we host 20 interns at HOPE International and throughout our Network. These remarkable men and women are a summer-long shot of adrenaline to our organization. They do real work and make a very real impact on our ministry.  This summer, Bailie was one of our interns, and she helped create the launch plan for The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good, including a launch party that I’ll never forget: See book launch photos here. She also expanded our reach in PR and marketing and researched how HOPE can better target social media audiences.  I appreciated Bailie’s commitment to prayer, to loving others, and to Christ, and she was a joy to work with this summer!

As Bailie returned to Liberty University for her final year, I asked if she would be willing to guest blog. Here’s what she wrote:


Bailie photo

By Bailie Porter, intern of HOPE International

I vividly remember those first few days as an intern at HOPE. Intimidated by the term microfinance, I set out to fully understand what it was and how HOPE had a hand in it.

Reflecting on this journey, I had no idea the ride I was in for.

To explain fully though, I must go backward.  I have participated in 12 different mission trips over the past 8 years, varying from all over the U.S. to five separate countries.

I dreamed of someday feeding all the hungry children in the world and digging wells in every country that didn’t have clean drinking water. These trips equipped me with numerous experiences, from re-roofing houses to sharing the Gospel in small communities of Lima, Peru—to handing out aid to the financially poor in Bosnia.

But at HOPE, I learned about unCharity, the power of a hand up rather than a handout. As I learned more about microfinance and how HOPE empowers people to use their God-given abilities to work with dignity, I eagerly called home.

I told my parents one thing: that I could never return to what I had thought about poverty. I now believe microfinance is one of the most effective tools to create sustainable change and help people work their way out of poverty. Not to mention that through relationships with loan officers and biblically based business training, people are coming to know Christ! But looking back, I struggled with how much good my previous mission trips had really been.

Please don’t get upset at me, but my perspective on mission trips and charity are changed, and I realize the following things:

  • I am incredibly thankful for each and every one of the mission trips that I was blessed to participate in. Through these trips, God broke my heart for those in desperate situations of poverty. He showed me how to actively share my faith with others. And He gave me a love and appreciation for all the cultures and people God has created in His image.
  • Mission trips in North America often promote a superhero mentality. We think that we will rush in, rescue individuals from poverty, and be Jesus-like superheroes (I have been in that place more than I care to admit). We think that “our way” is of course going to help them, whether that is a model for church structure or old clothes we left them. Sharing the Gospel with people is what we are called to do, but is there follow-up when we return home? How many Peruvians my team shared Christ with were then discipled and encouraged in their faith?
  • Short-term mission trips are important, but the way we go about them needs to change. There is a place for relief work—which is an immediate response to natural disasters, etc. And there is a place for long-term missions work, where as Christ followers we develop relationships with people and share Christ’s sacrifice of salvation with them.

Beyond that though, I refuse to go back to the primary mode of helping: handouts.

I desire that people see they can provide for themselves, no matter their status and no matter how many times someone has looked at them and said, “You are incapable.” I want them to know that they are amazing, unique human beings created in the image of God, made to worship God and use their gifts to glorify Him through their work.

But above all, I believe inward change must precede outward transformation. God so desperately wants a relationship with each of us. Renewed passion and purpose given from the Creator changes everything.

 

 

 

 

1 Comment

  1. isaac jerica
    September 19, 2013

    am happy 4 this church press on yours isaac evangelist from kenya john 3,7

    Reply

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