The Mission Trip, Instagram & You

 

Does social media have a place on mission trips? It’s a good question. One that has prompted some mission trip teams to create hashtags for their trip while other teams stress: “No cell phones!”

 

When respectful service meets social media, the results could be helpful or harmful – or maybe a little of each – for both you and the people you serve. The reality is that neither of the above responses is wrong, but before you start live-tweeting your trip there are a few things to consider.

 

So this mission trip,

when you reach for your phone…

when you line up a picture…

when write an update…

…do these things:

 

Promote the dignity of others.

Because we are sons and daughters of the King, we all have deep worth and deserve respect. Before you take a picture or share an update, consider how the people you’re highlighting would like to be portrayed. Recognize that your service extends beyond your actions to the words you use and the stories you tell.

 

So be careful when you take a picture – always ask permission and avoid before-and-after pictures that highlight projects over people. Also pick your words carefully. You don’t have to pretend brokenness doesn’t exist in the place you serve, but share the whole story – that there is also hope, strength and beauty in the people you met.

 

When you promote the dignity of others, you are being like Jesus, who sees through our brokenness to people who are desirable, worthwhile and loved.

 

Separate service from self-promotion.

Using good actions to further personal reputation is nothing new. Jesus cautioned a crowd not to “practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them” (Matt. 6:1). Instead, Jesus invites his followers to get out of the spotlight when they give to the needy so that their works are for God, not to promote themselves. Jesus shares the result of such secret giving: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

 

With status updates that travel around the world in seconds and apps devoted to sharing your every move, serving others secretly is harder than ever. But we are called to love without seeking worldly rewards. It is impossible to fully love God and others when we are focused on getting others to love us. So don’t let your mission trip become a marketing campaign. Before your next post, consider what reward you’re seeking: a thumbs-up icon or approval from the Creator of the Universe.

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share the story of what happens during your mission trip. Just make sure you’re telling the right story…

 

Tell the right story.

Every post is a story:

A picture that proclaims, I painted this house.

140 characters that declare, I served at this nursing home.

A six-second video that says, I helped this community.

 

In each of these stories, you are quite clearly the protagonist… the main character… the hero. Unfortunately, when the plot is about you and what you did the real story is missed.

 

Instead, when you share about your mission trip, position your story in the far grander narrative of what God is doing throughout history – in and through God’s people as they follow Jesus. You are one of those people – a character in God’s bigger story. So yes, tell your story! But point to the larger context your story is couched within. Make God the hero when you share…

… a picture that proclaims, God empowered us to paint this house.

… 140 characters that declare, God gave us the chance to build relationships at this nursing home.

… a six-second video that says, God worked in and through us as we got to know this community.

 

Prioritize presence over posts.

A completed project. A scenic sunset. A cute kid. A funny face.

 

Each of these may cause a knee-jerk reaction to reach for your camera. Or perhaps you begin to think about what words will describe this moment. Or maybe you have already begun to punch out a witty one-liner to accompany the facial expression you’re sending a friend – a Snap that may or may not have anything to do with what’s in front of you.

 

But some moments were never meant to be captured but simply lived into… experienced fully… released gratefully.

 

Give yourself that freedom to be present. Leave someone a hundred miles away hanging, so you can fully be with the people next to you. Pass on taking a picture, so all five senses can take in this image now. Give up the video, so you can watch the real thing.

 

Create a new knee-jerk reaction to the beauty in front of you. And remember that living more fully into the moment rarely entails recording it, but often requires slow reflection…

 

Replace instant gratification with slow reflection.

So often, we encapsulate experiences in minimalistic messages. Your mission trip may get your attention for a few days, but by the next week you’ve moved on to something new. Because we think new is the new better… the better better.

 

But mission trips can be powerful experiences – if we give them time to be.

 

If you consider what you experience on your mission trip to be meaningful, avoid simply relegating it to a few Facebook posts or encapsulating it in an Instagram album. Instead, take time to process. Seek quiet moments of reflection – especially after the trip – and invite someone to sit across from you and ask intentional questions over coffee. Moreover, earnestly ask Jesus, What did this mean? and What’s next?

 

Better is rarely instant, but better is lasting. A quick post may produce plenty of “likes,” but slow reflection will aid in meaningful life-change.

 

 

So bring your phone on your mission trip… or intentionally leave it at home. But when you use social media before, during and after the trip, do it in a way that honors the people you serve, avoids self-promotion, tells a bigger story, doesn’t distract from what’s before you and won’t replace authentic processing.

 

 

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Sam Townsend helps write training, programming and marketing materials for YouthWorks mission trips. When he isn’t hanging around teenagers at church or digging into seminary homework, he is generally looking for a good conversation and a hole-in-the-wall restaurant to have it in. Sam still considers his first couple summers working for YouthWorks in Virginia and Pennsylvania communities some of the most transformative times of his life.