Many people know that being aware of social justice issues is the “in” thing right now. If you’re not telling your friends about the world’s food shortage, the plight of AIDS in Africa or the fact that thousands of lives could be saved by giving them access to clean water, you’re not a true Christian hipster. What better way to boost your hipster cred than to tap into the stream of social justice and prove your cultural sensitivity by going on a short-term mission trip? Not only do you get the benefit of helping those who truly are in need, but you also get a multicultural experience all your friends will envy.

This mindset is a sarcastic exaggeration, but one that addresses the surge of popularity in short-term missions. What started as an unknown opportunity has grown into a worldwide Christian culture phenomenon. In 1989, there were an estimated 125,000 short-term missionaries (a person who went on a short-term mission trip during the previous year). This number grew to an estimated 2.5 million in 2003. The numbers do not lie: Short-term mission trips are the cool thing to do.

As with any growing trend, the concept of short-term mission trips has developed detractors. While many people are tearing apart the idea of short-term missions and encouraging churches to abandon these ministries because of an alleged lack of impact, there is one organization trying to find a middle ground.
The Lakota Journey is a non-profit organization seeking to connect youth groups with communities on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. While many churches and youth groups go to a new place every year for their short-term mission trips, The Lakota Journey encourages groups to come back year after year.

Instead of doing short-term missions with minimal impact, The Lakota Journey seeks to create a long-term impact with continual short-term trips. Bruce Bentley is the president and founder of The Lakota Journey. Bentley started working as a youth pastor in the Midwestern town of Boone, Iowa. The Lakota Journey was born out of his desire to find a way to get his youth group to serve people who truly needed it.

“I wanted to get involved in something else that was in line with New Testament principles and there had to be a ministry out there that actually was helping hurting people,” says Bentley. It was because of this quest for service that Bentley brought his first group out to the Rosebud Indian Reservation in 1996. This inquiry into meaningful service has blossomed into a current network of 400 students coming out to serve on a consistent basis.

“I tell interested churches to come with an open mind and consider the possibility of coming again in the future. What we want to see is the best possible ministry experience to the people we are ministering to,” says Bentley. The Lakota Journey was created out of a weariness of the “serve them and leave them” mentality of many short-term mission organizations.

“I felt like it was too limiting in a ministry prospective. You did your thing and left, and it didn’t seem adequate,” Bentley explains.

The problem with the “serve them and leave them” mentality is that so many churches today are looking for this experience in their short-term mission trips without knowing it. Bentley describes a common conversation that happens with youth ministry groups that initially are interested in The Lakota Journey, “after talking to many leaders on the phone and why they are doing missions, it becomes clear we are not on the same page philosophically. There are many church groups looking to put a summer mission trip on the calendar to fill that program niche.”

How exactly does The Lakota Journey separate itself from other organizations out there? It is done with their commitment to regular and consistent ministry. The vision of The Lakota Journey is to connect churches across the country with churches on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. This does not happen by a one-time trip, but by years and years of constant ministry.

Going to the Rosebud Indian Reservation is like stepping into another culture. Bentley points out, “You don’t have to go to Guatemala to do cross cultural missions, the Rosebud Indian Reservation is right next door.” The reality of the situation on the Rosebud Indian Reservation is the entrenched distrust of “the white man,” and all of the atrocities committed by them. Bentley and The Lakota Journey have learned that in order to have an impact, they have had to commit themselves to a consistent and dependable ministry.

A perfect example comes from a story Bentley tells about one of his first years out on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. As their kids’ club was winding down for the night, a woman named Eleanor stumbled onto their kids’ club site.

“I turned around and looked at this lady; and she’s a scary looking lady, just blasted, absolutely fall-down drunk.” The fun part was trying to walk her home when half the time she was crying and saying thank you for helping and half the time cussing me out for being a stupid white person and being there for the wrong reasons.” Even though the Rosebud Indian Reservation is a place in need, help only can be given through the context of trusting relationships.

To say there is a need on the Rosebud Indian Reservation is an understatement. A study from January of 2009 shows that the average income on Native American Reservations are three-fourths the average of a regular American income. This places most of the inhabitants on Native American Reservations at the fringe of or below the federal poverty line. Unemployment rates can reach as high as 80 percent n some places, which in comparison to the current national average is around 7.2 percent.

Beyond the poverty issue is the alarming rate of suicidal thoughts on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. The latest statistics show an alarming 193 attempted suicides and three successful suicides in 2006 alone. While this may not sound like a lot, for a community of 13,000, it is enough of a problem to require notice. In fact, the vast amount of attempted suicides inspired reservation leaders to declare a state of emergency because of suicide’s prevalence. Suicide has become the second greatest cause of death on the Rosebud Indian Reservation following accidents. To put it in context, the suicide rate in youth on the Rosebud Indian Reservation is 10 times the national average.

This is part of what spurs on the mission of The Lakota Journey: Discovering the Hope of God’s Vision in the Heart of Native America. Bentley believes that when hope is lost, suicides will continue to rise. “One girl this past summer told me that if we hadn’t been coming, she would have killed herself by now.
“After knowing children who have killed themselves out there, you can’t discount something like that because of the extremely high rate of suicide,” Bentley explains.

The Lakota Journey aims to bring hope to communities by helping them in holistic ways. Whether it is building and supplying a food shelf for local communities or building relationships with people on the reservation, The Lakota Journey sets out to serve people in every way possible. “The churches [on the reservation] have need of resources and energy, there are basic physical needs of individuals living at poverty level or below, and there are huge spiritual needs across the reservation.” Bentley adds, “The suicide rate has gone down this year. Have our groups had a part in decreasing those numbers? I hope so, but how can you measure? You have to trust in God’s work.”

Another factor that separates The Lakota Journey from other organizations is found not just in their commitment to long-term ministry, but the attitude of why they exist. “Some mission organizations when you pay and get in, they have people on site who cater to all your needs. They are there to make your group experiences worthwhile because you paid them money,” Bentley describes. “When we’ve gone to the reservation, we’ve learned that you can’t go in with those expectations, that someone isn’t going to cater to your needs. You have to realize that what you’re doing isn’t about yourself. You’re there to serve them, and you have to find ways to quickly plug in and be an actual blessing instead of looking at what you want to get out of it.”

There are so many needs to attend to on the Rosebud Indian Reservation and so many people needing help that there is no time to hold a group’s hand as they do ministry. The needs are apparent everywhere you look and anyone with a keen eye will be able to find a place to help right away. “Most pastors and leaders on the reservation are stretched pretty thin already,” says Bentley. “You have to go with a servant mindset and heart in order to serve and fill in.”
Even though The Lakota Journey focuses on impacting the Rosebud Indian Reservation, an unintended side effect is that churches that go are profoundly affected. Bentley says, “Most of the churches that have started have come back and are catching the vision. There is something they feel that is worth it, their approach to missions has been affected. They are rethinking what it means to be missional and it brings me joy to know The Lakota Journey has been a part of that.”

The impact does not affect just the churches. Many students cannot quit coming back to the reservation and continue to come back during their college years to work as interns over the entire summer. There is something infectious about building relationships that matter. Once you’ve developed a true bond, it becomes inhuman to abandon it. That is what The Lakota Journey hopes to instill in the groups that come to serve. “We’ve only lost a couple of churches over the years,” Bentley admits. “There are many churches who come out with us in June one year, but don’t the next. They still do things over the summer the following years. Even though we don’t retain them, they have caught the vision and are involved on their own.”

This is what makes The Lakota Journey such an impactful organization. Their focus is not on growing The Lakota Journey network to be the next biggest and popular ministry. Instead, they focus on getting people to get excited about building long-term relationships. All that is important to Bentley is that they continue to come back and that they do not abandon the relationships they have started to build.

The Lakota Journey proves that there is a way to do short term missions with a long-term benefit. While critics are eager to tear down the trend of short-term missions, it does not mean the entire concept of short-term missions must be completely deconstructed. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel; sometimes all you need to do is adjust. It seems that Bentley has done just that.

The Lakota Journey is always looking for more churches to get involved with their ministry. Bentley states, “I’ve turned away more churches than we’ve accepted. We are a lot pickier in that sense. If the person on the other side of the phone says that they are interested in our model, then we talk some more. We are kind of selective, but it is a necessary filtering process.”

While it may sound harsh, it is crucial if they want to keep in line with their mission and vision. The filtering is a must. This is not the place to come and do a one-time trip, in fact, it can be dangerous if that is what you are looking for. You may come seeking a one-time experience but find yourself getting sucked in by the numerous needs and the unique personalities you will find on the reservation. You won’t be able to do anything but come back year after year.

Click the following link if you have a church or youth group that is interesting in getting involved with The Lakota Journey.

Tone Hoeft blogs and podcasts about culture, media and faith at InProximity.org.