Mission work is simple. Seriously, think about it. Take a crummy place, add some overly privileged youth, throw in a Bible verse and a dash of awareness, and there you have it—a mission experience. The problem is that this is a canned, fast-food, Americanized version of kingdom living—where Jesus and missions fit into our lives only to accommodate a shallow Christian purpose.

Harsh? Yes. True? Yes.

A hundred years ago, what did missions look like? People would feel a burning call from God, sell every possession to travel to an foreign destination, spend years interacting within the culture that might love them or kill them; then depending on how things went, die peacefully or be murdered in their sleep. It was a win-lose-win situation. Now, fast forward to present time: What is our idea of missions? Usually it's a week when we work on somebody's house or church for six hours a day and spend evenings playing cards and eating meals that females in the group have made. We cry because we realized some poor sap loves Jesus as we do. Then we go home. Once home, we tell people we saw Jesus, talk about how we are changed forever, then go to the movies. It is a win-win situation.

The Call

I know there are tons of resources out there about how we can turn our youth into mission-minded kids—challenging them to be Christians with hearts for missions year round. Still, they don't seem to address the most important issue. It's not about special programming that causes them to look at starving children and wear a bracelet. It's not about setting up a mission experience that shuttles youth across the globe. It's not about traveling to places where they can serve. It is challenging them to answer why they serve.

Missions, especially in the youth ministry department, have developed into a nasty thing: a program. Most of us are bombarded by ads and offers to take our youth to a far-away land to hug a child and paint a house. These promotions promise us a trip that is rich in experience, easy to participate in, and potentially life-changing. The hard work is done; just show up and let the Jesus power take control.

Where in Scripture—in Jesus' life—did the mission field look like that? Paul didn't read a colorful brochure and book a trip to transform his life. He was called. Mary Magdalene didn't come home from school, see a "Beach Week" flyer and quit sleeping around. She was called. Missions are not about the place or even the people, but about answering a call.

Helping youth develop a missional lifestyle is not about placing them somewhere to serve, but about nurturing them to listen. Easy, smooth, fun and cool are profane words to describe mission work. Is that how John the Baptist described his service right before his head was on a platter? Words such as challenging, painful, rewarding, convicting and redeeming should be the words associated with missions.

So what can we do to ensure authentic trips and authentic servants? Here are five suggestions: