by Pastor Patrick Cho

There are many reasons why people go on summer missions trips – some good and some not so good. There are those whose mentality is that summer missions provide an opportunity to see the world. For these, it is not so different from a vacation to another country. There are others who go on summer missions in order to get the boost they need for their spiritual growth. They might not be doing well spiritually and so they treat summer missions as a spiritual catalyst to a closer walk with God. For these, it is not so different from the experiences they had growing up going to Bible camp each summer.

The reason why Lighthouse has been committed to missions each summer is out of a desire to be obedient to what the Lord has called all believers to do. In the Great Commission, Jesus told His disciples to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18-20). This is more than just helping people come to an understanding of the gospel (though that is certainly a vital part of fulfilling the Great Commission!). It also involves teaching them the whole counsel of God’s Word and helping them grow in their faith to maturity, and being committed to this until Christ returns.

This is why when we go on the summer trips, it is important for us to have likeminded churches to work with. This way when God is gracious to save an individual on one of our trips, they are not completely abandoned to fend for themselves when our teams return home. Instead, we can help get them plugged into a local church where they can continue to grow in grace. Summer missions are not a replacement for church planting, and it is not fulfilling the Great Commission to simply go to another country to share the gospel only to return home a few weeks later without giving new believers a place where their faith can be nurtured.

The goal of missions is to have people understand God’s truth and then have a church home where they can grow more and more each week as their understanding of His truth deepens. Some might ask, “But isn’t that what we try to do here in San Diego?” The answer to that question is a resounding “Yes!” This is because the mission call to make disciples is something all believers should be committed to regardless of where they are in the world. It does not matter whether you are in the Czech Republic, Argentina, San Jose, or San Diego. The mission is the same. Several years ago, Pastor John helped our summer teams understand this concept when he defined missions as “doing church somewhere else.” It is all about being committed somewhere else to the things we are committed to here at home.

We certainly keep this in mind when deciding on who should go on our summer trips. We want those to go to represent the Lord and Lighthouse well, but we also want them to consistently represent themselves. This means that if they are going to another country to preach the gospel, they should be showing a commitment to evangelism here. If they are going to help equip and serve the churches in these other countries, they should be the kinds of people who are committed to doing that here as well. Missions is about doing church somewhere else and that is a great reason to go on our summer trips – to demonstrate for others the love you have for Christ and your commitment to living for Him day to day through your faithfulness to His truth and His church in the hopes that others will be drawn to Christ by your loving example and proclamation of the gospel.