Short term missions a great recruiting tool for career missionaries

USA (MNN) — Short term missions has always been a great tool for recruiting full-time missionaries, but it’s becoming an even more important part the equation now.

Dan Branda is with Association of Baptist for World Evangelism. “Our candidate seminar that we held this summer, 69 new missionaries were appointed under ABWE. In surveying them, 79-percent of them had been on cross cultural missions trips for two to four weeks,” says Branda.

That’s telling ABWE one thing. “There’s a lot more involvement,” says Branda, “and, before someone commits to a career, or life-time, in a foreign field, they many times have opportunities now of going there and seeing it and experiencing it before they actually commit to it.”

Recruiting new workers becomes more of a two stage process. “We promote all of the opportunities short-term, but realizing that church planting is a long term commitment,” says Branda.

ABWE’s short term missionaries this summer numbered about the same last year. Terrorism and other threats may be responsible for that. But, ABWE expects to see tremendous increase in ‘short-termers’ in the years ahead.

You can join a short-term team with ABWE, by going to their web site http://www.ABWE.org.