Day 1: Mission v. Pilgrimage

“Imagine a team from France calls your church and says they want to visit. They want
to put on a VBS (which you have done for years), but the material is in French. They
have heard about how the U.S. church has struggled and want to help you fix it. They
want to send twenty people, half of them youth. Only two of them speak English. They
need a place to stay for free, with cheap food and warm showers if possible. During the
trip, half of the group's energy will be spent on resolving tension between team
members. Two people will get sick. They'd like you to arrange some sightseeing for them
on their free day. Do you want them to come?”

This isn’t said to discourage you but to let you know that great teams don’t happen by
accident. Great teams happen because they are spiritually prepped, educated on
effective missions’ strategies, and culturally competent. AIM has had great teams come
that help move forward what God is doing. AIM has also had teams that come and
hinder and damage what God is doing. This will be a tough, no-nonsense, 30-day
devotional because we desire for teams to be thoroughly prepared to serve in
Cambodia, and we want to limit the possibility that a team could hurt God’s efforts to
rescue and transform the abused. Take this devotional seriously and allow the Holy Spirit
to change you over the next 30 days.

As you begin, consider the following
question: Are you embarking on a mission or
a pilgrimage? A pilgrimage may be defined
as a journey that you undertake as a quest
for some religious purpose, whereas a
mission is the work or calling of a team to
fulfill some purpose on behalf of or with
another group of people. The key feature of
a pilgrimage is that it is focused on your own
spiritual growth while a mission is focused on
the fulfillment of a calling on behalf of
others. There is a time and place for
pilgrimage – this is not to say that it is wrong to seek your own spiritual growth –
however, this trip must be about mission lest you hinder the work that God is doing in
the lives of the Cambodians you will encounter. Are you embarking on a journey that
will fulfill your own spiritual needs or on a mission – to serve others and to glorify God?
We are preparing you for a mission, and if you are signed up for a pilgrimage, this trip is
not for you.