Can short-term mission trips be understood as pilgrimages?
At their best, yes. But many short-term trips from America are based on a misleading sense of mission. They are based on a sense of power that American Christians are going to do something for Africa, save Africa. Maybe it is America that needs saving, and this is a truth that can only be learned through a sense of pilgrimage. You see, not every trip to a foreign land can be called a pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is a particular form of journeying that involves a number of elements, including encounter, reflection, transformation, and the readiness to be drawn into a new sense of community with those different from us. It is pilgrimage that gives rise to the church as a unique fellowship of people drawn from different nations, tribes, languages, and races. Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
