Short Term Missions Trip Strategy

…and Sowing Seeds

The kingdom of God is all about sowing seeds and watching them grow. Maybe this is why Jesus  talked about seeds so much. Jesus was the SEED of Abraham, the fulfillment-in-person of God’s stated purpose to “bless all the families of the earth.”

Jesus referred to Himself, using the seed analogy, when He stated in John 12:24

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

The fist time I read that and the penny dropped, I realized that the death of Jesus was not simply a one time event that would be recorded in history and forgotten, but a springboard to action for millions of Christ followers who would step out and sow their lives as seeds—to “throw down”a and commit to be a blessing at whatever the cost.

Think about it. A seed is is a tiny thing loaded with potential–and finds fruition only as it is sown in faith. Once that happens, God goes work and brings life out of darkness. In time what is hidden below the surface, known only to us and God, burgeons for all to see.

Jesus described this incredible kingdom phenomenon in Mark 4:26-28

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

I believe in these two verses we find the key to a successful missions trip to Mexico, Australia, or anywhere. Missionaries, whether serving long term or on short term missions trip, go as harvest workers. As such, they will sow seed, they will work and water the ground, they will watch and pray, they will trust God for increase, and when the time is ripe they will harvest. That’s it. That is what missions is all about.

How do we sow seed? We can speak God’s word (proclamation),  do acts of kindness (demonstration),  plant ourselves into a community of people and ask God to shine through us (incarnation), and sow prayers in the dark,  private closet-moments as we lift those we love before God’s throne (intercession),  banking on the promise that

“the Father who sees in secret, will reward you openly.” Matt. 6:4

I once heard a remarkable analogy from a remarkable Christian missionary by the name of Danny Lehmann that I would like to pass on to you. According to Danny, every missionary is a “harvest worker” who goes out into God’s harvest field wearing a workman’s belt.On this belt is strapped a bag of seed, a trowel, a watering can, and a sickle. Each of these tools are vital to his work, but which tool is used at any given tome depends upon the stage of work at hand.

Seed sowing is the initial stage, and is of course  absolutely vital if there is going to be any life or growth at all. How people to need to hear God’s words spoken and see  His love demonstrated! A short term missions trip is an opportunity to sow seeds that will grow for eternity. Youth missions trips, by and large, are seed sowing enterprises! Missions in Mexico are seed-beds that are bursting with the fruit that comes from the love and passion of young seed sowers!

But in many cases the tool most necessary may be the watering can. How people need the refreshing water of encouragement and understanding! Perhaps the trowel is most needed, to dig deeper and open the ground up to receive the seed and the water!

Ultimately, the sickle will be used to harvest the crop. In evangelistic terms, this is generally viewed in evangelical circles as the point of “conversion,” never to be under estimated or neglected. And yet, certainly only one aspect of harvest work!  As someone who served a minister of evangelism for many years in the local church and has led missions in Mexico, Asia. Australia and Europe, I can say I have a strong belief in the power of a God encounter via the simple proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. Youth missions trips provide such an opportunity.  But over the years I have come to appreciate the fact that conversion is process that is in motion long before the sickle is employed. Think about it: “first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head” ALL happens before the harvest! This should be a sobering parable for all missionaries—and should open up a whole new understanding to us as to what kingdom work is really all about.

If I thought God wasn’t the most exciting and interesting person in the universe, I would probably look elsewhere for another God. After all, that is what worship is all about: finding someone worth giving your all and “throwing down” all you have and putting it all on the line for Him.

Life’s too short to waste time doing anything else.

One of my favorite words in the English language is enthusiasm. I like the way it rolls off the tongue. I also like what it communicates. When you break this delicious word down into bite sized pieces, it yields its root meaning: “en” means “in,” and “thusiasm” comes from the root “theos.” So basically “enthusiasm” is the state of being  “in God”!

God is the most enthusiastic person in the universe! Every moment of His existence is infused with love, discovery and the joy of being alive. If this is true of Him, how much more should it be true of us?

Isaac Newton once wrote:

“I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

Here is one of the greatest scientists of all time sharing his secret to life–he was a boy playing on the seashore diverting himself now and then! And all the while the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before him!

Youth missions trips to Mexico, Australia, or anywhere we have not been before offers an opportunity to learn something new, engage in interesting relationships, find dimensions of your personal faith you didn’t realize even existed, experience new dimensions of God’s grace, and discover how big and beautiful our world really is.

We serve a Mighty God who says to us:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-29 TMSG)

I want to learn those unforced rhythms of grace! Like Isaac Newton, I want to run free on the seashore of God’s country and see yet another dimension of His love for me!

Our ability as leaders in any field hinges on the style of leadership we employ. Leadership that inspires and motivates, whether it be in the context of the local church,  an organization, the classroom or a mission trip to Mexico, is the elusive butterfly of success for every one of us in the position of working with people. While it is obvious that lack of leadership poses a problem, what is often overlooked is that wrong models of leadership can do more harm than good–dwarfing long term efforts and in many cases soiling the reputation of your organization.

I cannot tell you the number of people I have crossed paths with over the years who were bruised and battered by leaders they worked with. Some of these people have dropped out of ministry. Others have fallen from the faith. All of them have a story to tell of leadership that operated from a wrong model: men or women who thought they were doing the right thing but in fact were doing more harm than good.

In this article I want to focus on two contrasting styles of leadership and demonstrate how one style is detrimental while the other is radically effective. Whether you are leading a team on a mission trip to Mexico, leading a family or running a business, leadership style counts!

T R A N S A C T I O N A L    L E A D E R S H I P    M O D E L

I will start with transactional leadership. This is a model of leadership that sets out to get people motivated to do what the leader wants by employing methods that are leader-centric and , frankly, rooted in the principles of the power and coercion. (Avoiding a “power trip” while on a missions trip to Mexico is vital!)  Here are some of the marks of transactional leadership:

Old, traditional type of leadership. A point could be made that this is an “old school” leadership approach, because it is giving way, in many circles, to a new way of doing things. (I use that term advisedly, however,   because the original pattern Jesus laid out for us is NOT a transactional leadership model, and the argument could be made that “old school” is to do things Jesus’ way.)

Based on power—“a power trip.” This is a key feature of transactional style leadership. The transactional leader has one thing in mind: to get his followers to do what he wants them to do. The vision he has in his mind is the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong. And since he is the leader, it is his job to protect that vision at all costs. People he leads are either part of the solution or a part of the problem—and he approaches them accordingly. Needless to say, there are serious problems to this line of thinking. If a leader views people as pawns on a chessboard, they will begin to feel like pawns on a chessboard.

Works through coercion. The question always on the mind of the transactional leader is: “How can I get the follower to do what I want them to do to meet my goal?” And the inevitable answer always comes down to some form of manipulation or coercion. Bribes and threats come into play, though these words would never be used, of course. Which exposes another problem that arises with this style of leadership:  dishonesty and duplicity. Not good!

Leader gives direction and you are expected to follow it. On the surface, this doesn’t sound like a bad idea. After all, knowing how to follow orders is essential to teamwork, isn’t it? But what if the leader asks you to do something you know is wrong? Or what if, in asking for clarification, you are denied a hearing and told to “shut up and submit?” While the leader might have the upper hand and get her way,  at the end of the day YOU will not feel like you want to keep following this leader, which begs the question: is this person really leading?

The mission of every leader should be to multiply himself–and that is a risky, but rewarding, exercise! What often trips a leader up in the process is the erroneous assumption that if he gives his power away, he loses something. The reverse is true: power that is clung to evaporates–and power invested expands!

Factory model. This paradigm is what drives  the transactional leader. He sees himself as the owner of a factory exists with one thing in mind: to produce the end result that he envisions. Everything that happens in the factory exists to serve this leader’s vision. People are like workers in the factory who each have their part t play in producing that end result. Their work must be done in a certain way, as prescribed by the leader, and their output must be acceptable to the leader or they will risk being replaced. In return for a “job well done” the leader will give perks: money, security, recognition, a place in a society, a pat on the back, etc. Underlying everything that goes on in a transactional environment is the unspoken understanding of a contract between the leader and the “follower.”

Very  authoritarian. This style of leadership tends to be very authoritarian. Unwillingness to submit to the leader is viewed as rebellion against God. There tends to be an over-emphasis on “what the leader says.” This may sound cultic, and indeed it is at it’s root. But it is a common style of leadership that has permeated all sectors of ministry and business. Even if this style operates in a civilized. controlled way, it will not be effective in the long run because at the end of the day leadership that is based on centralized power will eventually break down.

Abundance of  Rules and Regulations. To keep a transactional model on track, there must be an abundance of rules and relations. Otherwise, how could the actions of “followers” be controlled by the leader?

Little tolerance for Diversity: A transactional leader does not tolerate diversity simply because in her mind it does not contribute to efficiency. The “my way or the highway” mentality sets in. Diversity is seen as an obstacle to success.

Strong emphasis on hierarchy: Put simply, in a transactional environment the “lower downs” are treated differently than the “higher-ups.”

Information bottle-neck: The transactional leader guards information as a tool to get what he wants from his followers.  Decisions are made by announcement, leaving the “followers” to feel out of the loop and disenfranchised.  A big emphasis on departments and compartments marks the transactional environment—and people are punished for working outside their “department.” Innovation and teamwork are squelched.

Loyalty is the Highest Virtue: A transactional leader values loyalty above all else, including truthfulness. Tests of one’s loyalty abound. To fail to comply with the leader’s wishes is perceived as disloyalty and may result in demotion or being forced to leave the group. In a transactional environment, truth-tellers feel compelled to leave. In such cases, the transactional leader “makes an example of” those who leave, and a strong appeal for loyalty is given to those who remain.

Truth-tellers are the seeing eye of any team or organization and when they leave, the organization loses its way.

T R A N S F O R M A T I O NA L   L E A D E R S H I P    M O D E L

The transformational model is all about teamwork. Team members are seen as the most valuable asset to the organization. While the leader has a vision, his idea of how that vision can be accomplished is not set in stone. Others are invited to participate and add strength and value to the team. In the transformational leader’s mind developing people on the team IS the vision. What is accomplished through the team is gravy. Here are some of the marks of transactional leadership:

Emphasis on developing people versus promoting a program: In John chapter 17 Jesus told His Father “I have completed the work you gave me to do.”  As Robert Coleman, author of  The Master Plan of Evangelism writes:  “His men were his work!”

Influence instead of Power: This is a very important distinction. Power implies force–shock and awe–to bring about a condition of obedience. Influence implies imparting an inward motivation to follow and emulate someone. The spirit that drives Christian mission is to renounce worldly power and promote godly influence! These words are worlds apart! Guess which one Jesus advocated?

Personal initiative is encouraged: To have team members who are thinking outside the box, working with others to find solutions, and coming up with new ideas is the GOAL of the transformational leader. While such activity might warrant punishment from a transactional leader, it will bring promotion and recognition in a  transformational environment.

Liberating and Empowering: Believing that there is no one way to get a job done, the transformational leader frees team members to stop out, take ownership and  and do things in a way that puts their signature on the work.

Encourages  trust at all levels: The transformational leader has a goal that each person will be fulfilled and sees every team member as having a unique set of gifts and talents that should be encouraged and developed. The more teamwork and innovation thrives, the happier the leader.

Application of principles instead of rules to follow: While rules constrain and squelch innovation, the application of principles unleashes it. Jesus, the ultimate transformational  leader, showed us in the Sermon on the Mount how principles supersede rules and regulations. “You have heard from Moses…but I say…” Principles provide inner motivation and energy to accomplish a task. When the principle is understood and applied, rules and regulations are unnecessary.

The leader is not the superior. Jesus threw down the gauntlet by say “He who is the greatest in God’s kingdom is the servant of all.” and “whoever desires to be first (chief) among you, let him be your slave–just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”(Matt. 20:27) But there is the clincher:

Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”  (Luke 22:25-27)

In other words, the leader of the team serves the team members by providing them the opportunity to develop their skills and talents. That is the goal of transformational leadership! Other traits of transformational  leadership  are:

Accountability at all levels…

Truth telling is encouraged…

Everybody participates in the decisions…

Structure is very flexible and adaptable…

Great respect for the individual and openness toward entrepreneurs…

Always visionary in nature…

Need I write more? It is clear that transformational leadership is Biblical, inspires confidence, and in the long run will go much further in accomplishing the task before us!

Jul 28, 2010

Short term mission teams who come to Mexico can produce long term results, serving as a catalyst for local ministry. Here is living proof…

Our beloved ministry partners are Raul and Anabel Frutos, pastors of the non-denominational Church of the Holy Spirit in Chapala. Over the years we hosted teams with Eagle Nest working hand in hand with them in the ministry.

Nine years ago, we stood with Anabel, and formed a large circle of prayer with one of our Eagle Nest teams and asked God to do something significant in Tepehua area, which was then and is now one of the neediest barrios in the area. Within a few months the Frutos’ acquired a humble building in the heart of Tepehua and launched the “Love In Action” center (LiA) and began serving hot breakfasts to the single mothers and children and conducting practical skills workshops. The ministry thrived. The breakfast grew into a daycare. The daycare became and orphanage then the Mexican government started sending orphaned and abused children to LiA for love and shelter. The ministry demands outgrew the size of the facility. One day a Jewish man walked up to Ana and offered to fund an expansion and renovation project that would make it possible to house up to 60 orphans at once. What was a began as a one level pottery shack  became a fully contained two story home for 60 needy children!  (A  7 day  mission trip to Mexico can make a lasting impression to say the least!)

In January of last year a HUGE piece of property in a nicer section of town was offered to Love In Action— so the orphanage moved—-furniture and all— and left the Tepehua Center vacant. But not for long. Today  we are conducting a stage two renovation of the original facility and will be before opening its doors as a community center that will serve single mothers, house abused and orphaned children, and provide a springboard for more short term teams who come to serve the Chapala community!

Please pray with us that God will continue to water and nourish this vision and that the LiA Tepehua Center will be a light a shining in a dark place,and a catalyst for yet more ministries to come! (Your mission trip to Mexico, here with us in beautiful Lake Chapala, awaits!)

Check out these videos to preview Lake Chapala and Guadalajara…if the music on the Guad video doesn’t put you in the mood for a Mexico mission trip, nothing will! Bring a team on a mission trip to Mexico and serve with us for a week or two! You’ll be glad you did!