I thought I knew what missions looked like, but now I realize it’s not about what you do, it’s about the difference you make. Sometimes, we overlap the two, we think that just because something was done that it’s over. That’s not our ministry experience when we really walk with God. Looking at the model of God’s communities, and the way he orders creation from the beginning, they’re designed to be sustainable and fit for continued existence.
Jesus also created a sustainable ministry, he called and taught a variety of people who he sent out after him to continue the work of God. That work often came through education, which creates another generation capable of sustaining that work, that is God’s model.
Too often, what happens in the world is unsustainable. Good intent becomes projects that are executed, but not followed up on. New infrastructure rots, uncared for, and becomes more of a danger than a blessing. Our focus, to mitigate that, is to develop people who care for the physical side of our work. Our contacts become friends, family, and we bring them into the fold and teach them to provide for themselves and then others by participating in God’s work and it’s really a beautiful thing.
Missions unfortunately, do look like short-term relief, high turn around rates for employees, unsustainable funding, and sometimes very fallible approaches, but they shouldn’t. Missions with a development focus takes time, but for us that time is worth it because it will last long after us.