Short Term Missions Summary

Mack and Leann 's Guide to Short-Term Missions was a excellent book. As a husband and wife team Mack and Leann Stiles have directed short-term missions for 14 years. Although the book was wonderful it consisted largely of personal stories from Mack and Leann 's many missions trips. These stories were wonderful and gave great insight into the daily life and logistics of being a missionary. While I did find these stories to be funny, insightful, and educating they are not my stories and I feel I would in no way do them justice were I to try to re-relate them. Instead I would like to focus on the many other missiological gems in this book. The fist subject we will look into is giving up control. To truly be a sevant of God one must be willing …show more content…
So gradually, imperceptibly, Christians absorb this cultural sea in which we swim, but we can never experience God on our own terms. On a short term we put our faith on the line. . . . and its there that we experience God most clearly. To experience God we must give up the control we crave.” (pg, 22) Many people struggle with change. The struggle with change is really a struggle for control. Control makes us feel secure, it lets us think we are in charge of our life. So when God takes us out of our comfort zone we can often feel out of control. Unfortunately, to become a missions minded person we often times have to give up control of our lives and our desires to God for that is the first step on the long journey to where ever you are going. Once we let go of the reigns God can start to form our mindset to mach His. The next step on the journey is forming a missions mindset. God wants us to have a missions mindset. He wants us to have a heart for all people, cultures, tribes, and languages. He wants us to embrace differences and make the gospel available to all. The book discusses four points that help cultivate a missions