“No Place Without a Witness.” How? Short-Term Mission Teams.
The following study — a look at the role of short-term mission teams in Christ for the City International — is by Dr. Duane “Chip” Anderson, CFCI President.
“When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2
Jesus spent a lot of time teaching his disciples and letting them travel with him as he ministered to crowds of people. By the time that Jesus sent out the Twelve in Luke 9, the disciples had seen Jesus heal a leper and a paralytic, calm the seas, cast out demons, heal a women who had been sick for twelve years, and raise two people from the dead.
When Jesus felt it was time for his disciples to participate in ministry, Jesus called the Twelve together and “gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.”
From this we see Jesus used a short-term mission team to engage his disciples in ministry! Luke chapter 10 tells us that “after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.” So Jesus used short-term mission experiences not just for his most intimate and close disciples but also for his next level of disciples.
Following Jesus’ example is why one of the core components of each CFCI Base is a department for sending out short-term mission teams.
Short-term mission outreaches were the way that Jesus discipled his followers on what it meant to carry the Gospel to others and to see the power of God at work in the lives of his disciples and the lives of others.
Both times that Jesus sent out his followers, we find these common elements:
• He empowered them with authority over demons and sickness,
• the groups of two were sent to the cities,
• they were to go with few possessions,
• they were to bless the houses they entered,
• they were not to move from house to house,
• eat whatever was put before them,
• they were to heal the sick – interceding for people in pain and need, and
• curse the cities that did not receive them.
Both times there were similar results in what the followers experienced:
• the disciples came back with joy,
• people had been healed, and
• they had seen even the demons expelled in Jesus’ name.
Most interesting was Jesus’ comment upon hearing the testimonies of the seventy-two. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18). These are powerful words and it is the only time that Jesus refers to the fall of the kingdom of Satan directly! The ultimate defeat of Satan is through followers of Jesus ministering to people!
Mobilizing people into ministry is a key component to our strategy to “help people transform their cities by transforming lives.” I see at least three reasons why each base and each ministry of a base needs to be recruiting, training and sending out its own short-term mission teams.
- It is a way that Jesus trained his disciples to live out Kingdom values.
- The teams were blessings to the people who received them (and a curse for those who did not). Either way, people were given an opportunity to see the Kingdom of God come near their lives and make a decision.
- The participants on the teams had their lives and worldviews altered forever.
In each base and ministry we should be seeking to make disciples by inviting Christians to work alongside us. We also need to engage them to explore their own ministry talents and giftings toward the healing of others. Short-term mission experiences, like the ones that Jesus used, is one way that CFCI is committed to using in its efforts to reach people for Jesus Christ so that there is “no place without a witness.”
Britt said:
Thanks for all you do as leaders and hosts of the short term mission teams that visit Nicaragua! You are all making such an impact over there and I cannot wait to come back this August and serve as a witness to all that the Lord can do and will do for Nicaragua!
PS…I completed my application 2 weeks ago and cannot wait to be back there with you all!!!
Nathan said:
That’s awesome!!! We can’t wait to see you and the gang again! You’ve got to try and convince people from the ‘08 team to come back so we can play signs again!