POV: the Student Who Didn’t Sign Up for a Mission Trip

What’s Your Ministry?

Prom and graduation pictures popping up on social media remind me that Summer is almost here. If you are that student who isn’t going on a mission trip this summer (or if you know one!), this post is for you.

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It’s almost summer. Everyone else is doing some sort of ministry. Some have summer ministry jobs. Others are working at church camps or are summer missionaries. Everyone is asking me,

“What ministry are you doing this summer?”

I don’t know exactly how to say it. I’m not doing ministry.

My friend tells me not to care about what others think.

But my friend also does drugs.

She knows I don’t approve and she never does it around me.

But should I really be taking advice from her?

Anyway, everyone who is anyone in the Christian community, is talking about their summer plans. Some of them are raising money for their trips. Some of them are doing other things to prepare. All of them are gathering materials to use. VBS, Bibles studies, Gospel tracts. And they ask me,

“Why aren’t you gathering this stuff too?”

I don’t know exactly how to tell them. I’m not doing ministry.

My friend says she really enjoys her church. Oh, did I mention? She started back to church this year.

I went with her a couple of times. It’s a good church. I’m glad she started going.

But I am pretty involved in a different church, so that’s why I don’t go with her more.

While everyone else is doing ministry this summer, I’m going to get a job. I have to save money in order to pay for tuition next year. I think I’ll probably get to do some pretty cool stuff, even ministry-type stuff. But you know, just through my church at home. It won’t be a “thing” that I can tell my friends I’m doing for the summer. But when I say that, they ask,

“But what’s your JOB or ASSIGNMENT?”

I can’t answer that because it’s not like that. I’m not doing ministry.

My friend tells me about her Bible reading.

Yeah, she’s started reading the Bible. A lot.

She told me that she realizes now that harming her body through drugs is wrong.

She wants to quit.

I pray for her when I remember. Mostly I’m just her friend. I guess she shares these things with me because I don’t intimidate her. Some Christians do…she says. She says she can tell me things because I don’t condemn her.

It’s almost time to start packing up for the summer. Just one more final. Then I’m done.

Honestly, I do feel a little bad that I’m not going to do some sort of ministry. It would be great to see a life changed for Christ this summer like my other friends will probably get to do.

Well, I guess I better go. I’m going to meet my friend for coffee. She wants to talk about the Bible. She says she’s clean now and she wants me to check up with her every week to make sure she stays that way.

She sounded really happy on the phone. Like her life has changed for the better. Which I can tell it has.

Hey, I wonder if that’s what it will be like for my friends this summer. You know, seeing someone’s life changed. I guess I’ll ask them when the school year starts up again.

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• Sometimes ministry to others happens accidentally, while living life.
• What opportunities do you have to minister to others…even if you didn’t sign up for a mission trip?
• And if you did sign up for a mission trip, what opportunities do you have before, during, and after?
• What adjustment could you make in your life so that ministry to others happens as you go about your day?