Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions: A Synopsis

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The Purpose of the Book

As an accompanying resource to the best-selling book, When Helping Hurts, The Chalmers Center’s Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert offers churches practical guidance on the right way to conduct short-term mission trips to materially poor communities. 

In the 1960s and 70s, these trips became popular — and that trend continues with churches deploying millions of members and spending an estimated $1.6 billion annually. The authors note those resources could be better used by local pastors, charity workers, and missionaries who best know their communities’ needs. 

That raises an important question, “If we have that kind of money and it can be used in that way, why not just send it and stay home?” The answer is that when rightly executed, short-term mission trips allow us to engage with God’s people and witness His work in communities across the globe.

I’ve participated in many such trips, both healthy and harmful, and found this book eye-opening — and sobering. It has dramatically shifted my perspective for the better. Before, I viewed short-term missions as a sacrificial, two-week gift of my time to “fix” decades of poverty. Now I understand it’s a gift for us to connect with and encourage believers who live thousands of miles away. Seeing mission trips as opportunities for fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ has allowed me to focus less on what I can do for them and more on fruitful ways to support the valuable work they do through my prayer, encouragement, advocacy, and financial support. 

The Perspective

This book is written from a Christian perspective and is directed to American churches who routinely send mission teams internationally to alleviate poverty. That said, its examples and principles also apply to domestic, cross-cultural projects.

The Key Points

Part One, “A Different Sort of Trip” challenges the common idea that short-term missions should focus on providing relief to low-income communities. Instead, those communities need long-term development which means more is required than distributing material goods and the time invested in a short-term trip. 

 A better approach is to partner with an existing organization or church already practicing ongoing, effective charity in their local context. Because those boots-on-the-ground poverty fighters know their communities and what’s best for them, an outside church should establish a supportive, ongoing partnership with them. 

That means an emphasis on spending time with them, listening and learning about their daily lives, and offering encouragement. To put it another way, our emphasis should be on offering our presence rather than our projects, to “be with” rather than “do for.” 

After an honest evaluation of your church’s mission programs, you may find a shift in mindset and execution is needed. This can prove difficult, especially if your church has been doing things a certain way for many years. In Part Two, Corbett and Fikkert offer extensive advice on “Implementing a Trip.” They cover how to navigate cultural differences, find a partner organization, shift existing trip practices, build and train a mission team, and apply field experience upon returning home. 

The Leader’s Guide walks team leaders through basic principles and gives background for planning a healthy short-term trip. The Participant’s Guide (which includes videos) can be used for team training before, during, and after the trip. It will shape your team’s perspectives and expectations before going on the field and prepare them to effectively continue poverty-alleviation ministry once they return.

Details We Love

The authors are committed to helping the American church understand how poverty alleviation and strengthened economies can be helped, not hurt, by our efforts. They emphasize subsidiarity, i.e., the importance of strengthening community relationships, which is built on the principle that local churches and organizations know more about their neighbors’ needs than an outside group 2,000 miles away. 

Considerations

It would be best for readers to start with When Helping Hurts, since Helping Without Hurting is intended as a sequel. Many of the principles and concepts will be better understood if the books are read in that order.

At True Charity, our focus is on long-term, short-distance ministry, which is the most effective for poverty alleviation. While Helping Without Hurting focuses on short-term, long-distance missions, it still provides valuable insight for building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds within our cities, states, and country. 

Who Should Read This?

The American church is sending millions of its members across the globe — and the potential impact is significant. Yet sadly, “The church of Jesus Christ is spending billions of dollars annually on approaches that often do lasting harm both to materially poor people and to those of us who are seeking to serve them. The poor deserve better than this … our King deserves better than this.” (Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions, pg 39). That’s why this book is a must-read for any church involved in short-term missions. 

Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions can be purchased at Amazon. If you do so through the link provided, True Charity will earn a small amount as an Amazon Associate.

This article is just the tip of the iceberg for the practical resources available through the True Charity Network. Check out all of the ways the network can help you learn, connect, and influence here.

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