Time was when missionaries were all funded the same way. We all went on “deputation.”

That means we traveled around visiting churches and friends. We talked about the ministry God was calling us to and invited people to “join our support team.” When enough money had been pledged, or when the giving was actually in place, we went to”the field.”

That still happens, of course. But many things are changing, and changing fast.

In July, I blogged here about “26.6 mile missionaries needed.” In that posting I mentioned that four million people went on a short-term ministry last year. The trend since 1998 looks like this:

1998 – 97,272

2001 – 346,270;

2005 – 2,000,000

2008 – 4,000,000

Here’s how the same numbers look in a line chart.

Although I can’t document it, it seems clear to me that this kind of growth is having an effect on the money available to support traditional, long-term missionaries.

Short term trips are not free. I don’t know the total amount of  money spent on them, but it has to be a pretty big number.

How many appeals do you get every year from someone in your church or extended family raising money to go on a one or two-week mission trip?

Chances are you have done that yourself. Maybe several times.

Is that wrong? No, of course not. That’s not the point. The question is, How has it affected the money available for long term missionary support?

What do you think?