You’ve heard it said, CPR-3 is a faith-based movement awakening, connecting, and unleashing God’s people to breathe life and hope into the world. On Movement trips, people get to come to Haiti, be immersed in a different culture, step out of comfort zones, and do just that – breathe life and hope into the world. We want Movement trips to be the best representation of the church moving forward together to advance the Gospel and see life change happen and physical needs met. Movement trips, however, are not the end product, they are just the beginning.
Movement trips serves as a catalyst for people to go home. Home is where the majority of people on Movement trips are called to serve. It is in their communities, amongst the people they are surrounded by that God has placed their mission field. Sure, we want people to invest in Haiti or in whichever disaster relief CPR-3 is assisting in, but more than anything, we want people to be awakened and unleashed to live out a calling that they are to go into all the world and spread the good news – starting with their own communities. Movement trips act as a training and equipping tool to do this.
When you choose to go out of the country on missions and you get a glimpse spiritual and physical poverty, your understanding of necessity may change . You may see a lost and depraved world when you experience short term missions. Depravity and neediness, however, are not contingent on poverty, it is also seen in the absence of hope. Although this is not an exhaustive life, when you experience a Movement trip, we urge you to be awakened to these actions:
1. See Your Trip as a Fence Post – Often people describe conferences, camps, and missions trips as a “mountain top experience.” People return from these experiences on a “high” of feelings about cultures, people, and Jesus. After they return home, these feelings go away and they are back to “normal.” We’d urge you to use your Movement trip as a fence post instead of a mountain. If you think about your walk with God as a fence, it is essential to have a fence post every so often for stability and strength. A Movement trip may serve as a post to strengthen a relationship that is ongoing. For some, perhaps it is the first post in the fence – the start of a relationship.
2. Measure Your Means – Is it wrong to have surplus? No. Is it wrong to enjoy good gifts? No. Is it wrong to be obsessed with more. Well, maybe – how does the Spirit convict you in this area? In 2 Corinthians, Paul teaches us what our motivation for giving out to be and whose example we are to follow when he says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Are you giving to your church, to people in need, to organizations such as CPR-3 out of your surplus or are you giving sacrificially?
3. Take a Look Around – No matter if you live in the most affluent area, there are people who live in poverty physically and spiritually. How are you using your time to invest in things that will outlast you? Upon your return home from short term missions, where can you be investing? Does it start with a mindset of being awakened to see what’s going on around you? Are you using how you were wired to the potential of reaching others. Feel unleashed to find out how you can be investing in your local community whether it’s volunteering with a local organization, befriending other parents at your child’s activities with sharing the gospel in mind, going out of your way to lend a hand, understanding your footprint for how much of a consumer you are, or making different choices to how you spend your resources.
We hope that if you haven’t joined us on a Movement trip that you will come with us soon. We strive for sustainability in our work with people in Haiti because we want to work towards a better future with them, not just to bandage the present. We also strive for sustainability with you. Sustain your experience by what you do upon your return home.
Erin Cooper works as CPR-3’s Creative Director and as a coordinator for Momentum Youth Conference. Find out more about our team here.
Leave A Comment