In January of 2013, I participated in my first ever mission trip. It was a week long, and took me to an orphanage on top of a mountain in Jamaica. We were surrounded by mountains and jungle, and looking out you could see the ocean in the distance, spotted with tiny specks of white boats….

Through all of these guiding principles, our hope at Baylor Missions is that students come home ready to integrate these experiences into their daily lives—that it would not be a one-time, feel-good trip. At Baylor Missions, we believe it is our responsibility to ensure that all students have an outlet to reflect on their experience…

It’s all too easy to develop a “savior complex” when doing short-term ministry, which is why another goal of Baylor Missions is reciprocity. Our goal with discipline-specific trips is to create an experience where mutual transformation occurs—we are not going only to serve and transform the lives of others, we are going to be transformed….

Through relationships with global partners, Baylor Missions establishes long-term commitment. We commit to sending teams to a specific location to address a specific community challenge for three to five years. We recognize that a one or two week trip has its limits, but by working with global partners who are already on the ground doing…

Along with discipline-specific trips, Baylor Missions has developed lasting relationships with global partners. Global partners are individuals or organizations that have established ministries around the world and work to meet the needs of their specific communities. By fostering relationships with global partners, Baylor Missions is able to discern and support specific needs of communities around…

Each and every person has unique passions, strengths, and gifts. Through discipline-specific missions, Baylor Missions strives to incorporate a more holistic approach to missions that allows students to use (and discover) their unique gifts to serve Christ around the world—whether that is through orphan care, medical work, teaching, accounting, engineering, photojournalism, social work, or whatever…

So you’re going on/thinking about going on/have gone on a Baylor Missions trip. You may have some preconceived ideas about mission trips—there has certainly been some criticism of them in recent years, and for good reason. Robert Lupton says in Toxic Charity, “Contrary to popular belief, most missions trips and service projects do not: empower those…