“Ice cream? But we haven’t done anything yet!”

That was the response of a recent trip participant when I suggested that after lunch we go patronize a participant in the Abundant Life Program who had launched an ice cream business from her home. She and her family were, by the way, exemplary mission trip participants: spiritually mature, prepared, passionate, and relational. So her question provided a great opportunity to highlight the value of relationship building in short-term missions work, and the danger of packing along an American, task oriented “Martha mentality.” (Luke 10:38-42)

That morning we had, in fact, accomplished quite a bit, having:

• Spent time fellowshipping with the pastor and leaders of his church
• Enjoyed an impromptu time of worship, comprised of musicians from the local church and the visiting group
• Shared recent triumphs and challenges of our respective churches
• Conducted visits to community members whose homes we, alongside the local church, would be painting the following day, learning about them and praying with them
• Shared the gospel and our testimonies of how the love of Christ had compelled us to travel so far to encourage and serve alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ
• And…enjoyed lunch with our Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ.

The truth is that, while there is certainly a time and place for hard work that produces tangible results, it is also essential to recognize the value of simply being versus doing, and the significance of one’s mere presence. This is a concept clearly evident in Paul’s words to the church at Thessalonica:

“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

And it’s also clearly visible in the photo below, taken during our ice cream stop, where American visitors, our host Dominican pastor, our bus driver, and translators enjoyed a lively discussion about…NBA basketball. When I witnessed the debate amongst believers in process, I smiled and whispered to the visiting group leader, “that’s relationship building…that’s ministry.”