Running Head: The Good And Bad Of Mission Trips

APA Paper for The Good And Bad Of Mission Trips

Amanda Day
Arizona State University
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The Good And Bad Of Mission Trips

Mission trips are a time for people to spread their religion, help people in poverty,
or bring health care to people in need. Not everyone is in agreement that mission trips
are for the best. Mission trips are a controversial topic if they should happen or not.
Many missionaries believe that mission trips benefit the people of a foreign country.
They tell people about God and allow people to see the joy of the people who have
nothing. While others do not agree with the fact that mission trips should take place.
Mission trips can do good for both parties, the ones who are on the trip and the
ones who are being helped. People who go on the trip are affected by God’s love and
become a changed person. (​McAnally, T. ​). It can be a time for them to connect with
God, and when they return home they can focus on themselves, and their personal
relationship with the Lord. They are then inspired to spread the word of God when they
go home and are inspired to go on more mission trips.
Mission trips also affect the people who live in a foreign country. Not only do they
get to know the message of God’s word, but they get to spend quality time with people.
Not every mission trip is involved around religion. These trips can consist of running
camps, building houses, taking care of health related issues, and much more.
(​Beyerlein K. , Trinitapoli J., Gary A.)​ “​Our mission trips should not be about doing
anything, but simply about being with people.” (​Root A.​). Mission trips can be used for
religion though, and a lot of the time when people think of a mission trip, they think of
spreading religion.
On the other hand, not everyone sees the good in mission trips. “​They can end
up doing more harm than good,” said Gabby Ducharme, an ASU student. Gabby
believes mission trips can force an idea on someone. If a country is built to have a
different faith, it may harm the country. The people will not be acting how a society is
meant to be. (Ducharme).
Along with building an unwanted community in a foreign country, people view
mission trips as greedy, especially when posting about them on social media. ​There is
controversy around the topic when people go on a mission trip and post on Instagram,
“My heart is full of joy and I heard God speak.” The trip wasn’t intended for a missionary
to experience joy, it was meant to bring joy to the people of the country. ​“Posting
images of sick and starving individuals on Facebook or Instagram results in those from
the west seeing the photos and assuming that all people of that region are similarly
helpless and dependent on foreign intervention for progress. This is often a disservice
to the region, as it will give them an undeveloped, unfavorable image,” said the article
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“Voluntourism: The Economic Benefit and Societal Costs of Short-Term Mission Trips.”
They say it is just an opportunity to “showcase their trip on social media.” (E.S.
Anderson, R. Kim, K. Larios.)​. Another reason why people may be against them is that
religion may not be meant for the country. If someone tried to spread Christianity in a
dominant Buddhism country it may not do well to the people. (Ducharme). It would be
forcing something on a region that already has an established religion that is working
out for them.

Not only may these trips harm the people of the country, but it costs the
missionaries money. They spend so much money to go on the trip, when in reality that
money could be used toward something else. (​Bartelme, T. ​). Instead of missionaries
getting plane tickets, finding a place to stay, and providing food for themselves, they can
directly send the money to people of foreign countries. On an even more negative side
to that, sometimes the money doesn’t even get to where it needs to be or could be used
in the wrong way. (​McAnally, T. ​).

Mission trips are viewed as helpful and not so helpful. They are beneficial to
missionaries and their faith. They also allow them to spread God’s word and help out a
country that is in need. There is also a lot of negativity that mission trips can cause.
People don’t necessarily develop relationships with the people of the country. They can
also be seen as forcing an unwanted religion and never know if the religion they spread
will stick with them or develop into anything.
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Annotated Bibliography

McAnally, T. (2017, February 24). Short Term Mission Trips: The Good, the Bad, & the
Ugly. Solved! ​Seven Soils​. Retrieved from
https://www.sevensoils.org/blog/2017/2/23/short-term-mission-trips-the-good-the-bad-th
e-ugly

Summary:

This article is about “the good, the bad and the ugly” of mission trips. It talks
about how mission trips have changed the lives of missionaries and make them focus
on the Lord. They can see the world a little bit differently while helping out on projects
that need to get done. The article also talks about how mission trips are bad. Mission
trips cost so much money for one week. There is so much that goes into it, such as
finding a place to stay, traveling and food expenses. The money can easily be donated
and focused more on the people of the foreign country.

Evaluation:

The article provides every side to the argument if mission trips are good or not. It
talks about how there are several tasks foreign countries need help with. This includes
bringing materials to the people of the country and helping the missionaries grow an
even closer relationship with the Lord. It also goes into context saying how a real
relationship isn't going to build off of a week. The missionaries may never see the
people again and have no idea if their relationship with God stuck.

Exert:

“Another substantial positive outcome is the transformative power of these trips. There
are countless testimonies of US Christians who have been changed by God through
their experiences on a short trip.”

“It is expensive to get people to many locations.”

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●

E.S. Anderson, R. Kim, K. Larios. ( 2017). Voluntourism: The Economic Benefit and
Societal Costs of Short-Term Mission Trips. ​International Journal of Health and
Economic Development, 3(​ 2)​, ​28-37. Retrieved from
https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/docview/2191287195?accountid=448
5

Summary:

This article is about volunteering and mission trips. It talks about the social sides
of mission trips and the money around them. It talks about how missions trips cost
billions of dollars but do change the lives of the missionaries. Even though it may
change the lives of a missionary it does mention that missionaries may not be all in.
They are only there for a short time and may only stick to helping for that short time.
Another thing that was mentioned is that the money that was spent traveling could have
just been directly sent there and not wasted on travel fees.

Evaluation:

The author is very credible in this piece of work because there is a lot of citing
with evidence of the facts. Although it focuses more on the negative side of mission
trips, it is reasonable. The article talks about how mission trips can cost a lot and the
money can be used elsewhere to help them out. You can’t argue that the trip is going to
cost money and the money could be directly sent to the location. It argues that people
may not be all in or not have the skills taken to accomplish such needed tasks.

Exert:

“​One of the biggest incentives for the volunteers to raise money is the prospect of
travel and for many much of the appeal in travel is the opportunity to showcase their trip
journey on social media. This practice is problematic because it often reinforces
inaccurate stereotypes on the recipient community.”

“Posting images of sick and starving individuals on Facebook or Instagram

results in those from the west seeing the photos and assuming that all peoples of that
region are similarly helpless and dependent on foreign intervention for progress.”
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Beyerlein K. , Trinitapoli J., Gary A. ( 2011). The Effect of Religious Short-Term Mission
Trips on Youth Civic Engagement.​ Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. R​ etrieved
from ​https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01607.x

Summary:
This article talks about how short term mission trips affect a community. As many
of the other articles, this one talks about how the cost of mission trips are outrageously
expensive. Although they do, do a lot of good, missionaries are able to help show the
world to Jesus and can help out with a variety of needed tasks such as painting a
house. Mission trips have also proven that those who go on mission trips grow more in
their faith versus those who did not attend a religious trip.

Evaluation:
This source has many credible points throughout the article. It discusses both
sides of the argument, such as the cost being very high. This article was one of my
more positive articles on mission trips. It talks about how missionaries do a lot of good.
They have the opportunity to worship the Lord as well as helping out the community. It
persuades people from both sides of the argument and allows both viewpoints to view
the other side.

Exert:
“Mission trips can include supporting religious outreach of long-term
missionaries, worshipping with local populations, learning a foreign language, studying
a culture of a destination, sponsoring summer camps for young people, painting homes,
delivering medical supplies, or meeting with community leaders.”

“ short-term mission trips are unusually expensive religious activities.”

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Root A. (2008). The Youth Ministry Mission Trip as Global Tourism: Are we OK with
this?​ Dialog: A Journal of Theology, 47​(4). Retrieved from
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1540-6385.2008.00410.x

Summary:

This article is about a real mission trip experience. The mission trip consisted of
revolving around the Lord but the missionaries also incorporated a vacation into it. The
article also brings up how mission trips for the youth are popular. The reason behind
that is because youth want to move and experience the culture. Even those who don’t
want anything to do with a religion vision still want to participate in a mission trip
because they can “move”. Mission trips can also be “fun” and missionaries take photos
on their trips. Just like any other vacation, the pictures get put away and the trip is now
in the past. People may just stop right there and not continue on to help others.

Evaluation:

This article is very trustworthy because it is based off a real mission trip. It puts in
the fact that mission trips have a vacation packed with it. That could be a good or a bad
thing. The article puts facts around this point by saying children want to go on the trip
because they are moving onto something new. They get to experience a vacation which
everyone can agree is fun, but do youth go on the trip with the right intent? At the end of
the trip, it is just memories. It gets put in the past and people may not continue to move
on with their giving soul. This article persuades people because it is based on a real
situation.

Exert

“our mission trips should not be about doing anything, but simply about being with
people.”
“ The mission trip offers these movers a chance to ​go,​ to move into a new space and
harvest there new and unique experiences.”
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Ducharme, Gabby (2019, March 16). Personal Interview

Summary:

When talking with Gabby Ducharme an ASU student, she told me that mission
trips are not the best idea because they are forcing a religion on a certain group of
people. The country that missionaries go into may not socially and culturally accept that
religion. It may be forcing something, and that culture already has an established
religion. She believes that Christianity may not be made for every country. It could, in
the end, end up ruining something.

Evaluation:

When talking with Gabby she is very persuading. She brought up great points
about mission trips and how they are not the best thing. It is forcing a religion on a
group of people who may already have an established religion. She believes it may be
different if people went to help with a project, which makes sense. The people of that
country may already have a religion that they are fond upon and works well for them.
The thing they really need done is completing tasks.
Interviewing someone face to face made me have more a connection. I believe this is
my most credible source because I could see them explain their views to me, rather
than reading about it online.

Exert:

“In theory, they are a good idea.”

“They can end up doing more harm than good.”
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Bartelme, T. (2016, November 26). Do no harm? The pros and cons of short-term
​ etrieved from
missions. ​The Post and Courier. R
https://www.postandcourier.com/news/do-no-harm-the-pros-and-cons-of-short-term/artic
le_17f4cf56-a842-11e6-be97-a7c74edac56a.html

Summary:

This article explains the pros and cons of mission trips. It talks a lot about when
and how long mission trips take place. It also includes what kind of mission trips there
are and that mission trips can be fun. For example, a mission trip to the Bahamas is a
popular destination and also has touristy locations. The article also involves another
side of the article. Mission trips can be used for self-enrichment instead of going for the
pure purpose of helping someone. People also make a vacation out of it, instead of
going for the true purpose of what the trip is about, such as serving the people of that
country.

Evaluation:

This article is a trustworthy source and is unbiased. It talks about both sides of
the argument, whether mission trips are good or not. It has one side where mission trips
are a good idea because they can put on camps for people of another country as well
as helping them out with medical issues. The article also states a bad side to mission
trips. It explains that the mission trips cost a lot of money and people may turn them into
vacations. When missionaries come and help out with projects, they may be taking jobs
away from the people of that country. It keeps the idea that there are two different sides
to the argument and helps me come up with an unbiased way of presenting an issue.

Exert:
“There was a blank spot where we had done with vaccinations. There were no deaths.
They estimated that 128 children would not die.”
“They’re well-intended, but it’s an outdated model that’s not about solving the real
problem.”