Mission Trip
Syndrome
If you were a
youth group kid like me I am sure you are very familiar with “mission trips.” Growing up my high school youth group had a few mission trips that we went on
every year and I can remember them like they were yesterday. I think I
remember them so vividly because they were these monumental spiritual
experiences for me. I have plenty of funny memories like being chased by llamas
in Ecuador -you wouldn't think it, but a herd (pack? ... flock?) of llamas is pretty scary if they are charging you down a mountainside. But what I remember
most was how impacted many of us were. It seemed like every time God touched peoples' lives on those trips. Without fail kids would come home on a “spiritual high." Unfortunately, in a similar pattern we cynically began to believe that it rarely
lasted. People would be convicted or encounter God in a profound way and we
would all confidently declare that things would be different – that we were
finally going to take this Christian thing seriously. It had to be because of
what we had experienced together. Some people had lasting change – but many of
us slowly moved back to life as usual, like nothing happened except we went on
a really fun trip with some good memories. I have since become less cynical and I
sincerely believe people had real experiences on my high school trips. Real
enough experiences where macho football guys were crying while sharing around a
campfire (in front of girls no less).
I think these experiences pose a big question in
youth ministry or really any short term trip. It makes us wonder what’s up with
these “spiritual highs” and why do they
often wear off for so many of us?
