Have you ever been on a mission trip with your church or youth group? Or maybe you have gone to serve with an organization in your town for a day, or maybe you have spent time working with a nonprofit around Nashville for a couple of hours for class. Most people have had some kind of experience serving, and it is our goal in Belmont on Mission to take that experience, harness one’s heart behind it, and use that to create better service experiences for those who serve and those being served.
When it comes to short term missions, there is a lot of controversy surrounding how and why people serve. When many missions experiences surround some kind of project that needs to be completed like building a community center or an event that is being put on like a vacation bible school. While this work is not inherently bad, it does not necessarily honor the idea of what a mission should be.
In analyzing what drives a mission trip, we must think about God’s call for people. Belmont on Mission believes that it is our role on earth simply to love God, and to love people. In doing this, we are ultimately serving God by loving and serving God’s children. As a steward of this earth and as a participant in God’s mission, we are able to discover our place in God’s story. When we discover our place in God’s story, we are going to discover or own stories.
Over the past few weeks, if someone has talked to you about going on a trip with Belmont on Mission, it is because they want to help you own your story. We believe that when we are able to own our own stories, that enables us to share with others what God has done in our lives. This type of empathy-based-relationship is the end goal in a Belmont on Mission trip. We do not care about a project being completed or an event being executed; if we can identify with the people we are serving, we can serve them better. In the end, that’s what it’s all about: loving God by loving people, and loving people by serving alongside them and entering into a relationship with them!
This week we are encouraging people to commit to serving on mission with Belmont as an outward commitment to a life of God-centered service. If you have any questions about serving with Belmont on Mission or missions in general, please do not hesitate to reach out! Also, follow us on social media @belmontonmission