Are individuals who go on short-term mission trips more likely to become long-term missionaries?
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1. Yes
a. STEM 1995-1999 study by Daniel McDonough and Roger Peterson.
b. 40% of Abilene Christian University’s apprentice program become long-term missionaries. (Evangelical Missions Quarterly April 2002: 228-32.)
c. Gateway to longer service. (Latin America Mission News Service. 19 Jan. 2000.)
2. No
a. Possibly does more harm than good. (Missiology, 2006)
c. STMs have little appreciable impact on giving. (Kurt Ver Beek)
d. STMs can be a burden to field personnel. (Evangelical Missions Quarterly January 2008: 44)
3. Maybe
a. More data is needed. (Scott Moreau, Introducing World Missions, 2000: 279.)
b. We are currently at the tipping point. (Daniel Rickett, Evangelical Missions Quarterly January 2008: 43.)
c. More scholarly research is warranted. (Robert Priest, Christianity Today. 5 July 2005.)
Audience: Churches
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