When you decide to go on a mission trip, there might be a long list of things on your to-do list: write a packing list, make sure your passport is up-to-date, apply for your visa, etc… But recently, during a webinar with MPFC founder Sheri Postma and Charles Chapman from the Christian and Missionary Alliance. We learned that one thing matters above all when preparing for mission: ensure that you are spiritually prepared to commit to the ministry.
The August 2026 webinar reframed popular Christian thinking about mission work; instead of focusing on the question, what am I going to accomplish, Charles challenged us all to think instead in terms of
- Identity in Christ
- Healthy spiritual formation
- And finally, what right action is God calling us to?
All of this flows from the “Be, Become, Do” framework from the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
More Than A Checklist To Track
While it’s tempting to view a mission trip, particularly a short-term mission trip, as a bucket list item (a week of meaningful service, great photos, good memories, etc…), Sheri and Charles want to challenge us to think bigger.
That mission trip isn’t a self-contained event. Rather, it’s one thread of a much larger fabric woven together within a community. Short-term missions is one way God reveals His love and His truth to people, but it works in tandem with other ministries such as local missionaries and churches with ties to the community. The story you’re entering into as part of your short-term mission work is a long one that began before your team ever arrived and will continue for many years to come after your departure.
Why is this reframing important? Because it removes you, the servant, from the central focus. Instead of being someone who swoops in to save a community, you become a part of what God is already doing.
As Charles put it, “the goal is to move away from asking, ‘God what can you do through me?’ and instead ask, ‘God, what do you want to do in me?’
Be: Where Do You Find Your Identity?
The “be” in the framework is about grounding yourself in Christ. Before you step foot on a plane or even sign up for that mission trip, take the time to get curious about how you’re identifying. It sounds obvious to those who are passionate about serving, but it is an easy step to skip when the busyness of travelling and logistics takes over. Charles and Sheri made the important observation that when we skip the “be” step, that is when mission trips tend to go sideways.
Well-intentioned believers who show up without a settled sense of identity can all-too-often find themselves wrestling with the frustration of a bruised ego due to lack of validation from their team members or even the very people they’re there to serve.
Charles Chapman, Candidate Specialist with the Christian and Missionary Alliance
Photo courtesy of Charles Chapman
Here is a helpful list of questions to ask yourself as you work to discover whether your identity is grounded in Jesus or in ego:
- Why am I really doing this trip?
- What would I consider a “success” on this trip?
- What am I most afraid of?
- Where am I most confident, and could that confidence be hiding something that I still need to work on?
None of these questions are meant to disqualify anyone from service. Rather, they’re meant to help surface any issues that need to be addressed before they become a barrier to Christ-centered service.
Become: Spiritual Formation For The Mission Field
“Become” is the slower step in preparing for the journey, yet it is the most powerful one. This is the step where we truly invite God in to shape us as He sees fit. It’s the moment where we set ego aside and say to the Lord, “change me into who You need me to be for this service.”
During the webinar, Charles rightly observed that we tend to be quicker to ask one another, “what did you do today,” rather than, “how are you growing?” This social nicety doesn’t disappear on the mission field. If anything, it gets amplified because a short-term medical mission trip compresses a lot of pressure into just a handful of days to accomplish many things.
“Becoming” also means becoming a learner rather than trying to be an expert.
MPFC Sounder, Sheri Postma, serving at a medical outreach clinic in Africa
A recurring theme during Sheri and Charles’s conversation was one of leading with curiosity. Instead of coming with critiques, or thinking we have all of the answers, it’s important to get curious, stay flexible, and ask questions.
It’s a quiet and humble kind of growth, but it’s growth that lasts.
Do: Obedience, Not Achievement
Once we’ve worked through the “be” and “become” steps, only then can we arrive at the third and final step: “do.” Contrary to what the word, “do” might suggest, this step is not about accomplishments or achievements. Rather, it’s about obedience to God’s invitation to whatever He is calling us into. That could be anything from serving in a clinic overseas, serving faithfully at your job, or caring for your family at home.
There is nothing more spiritually significant about serving at a medical outreach clinic in Africa versus serving in some way in your own city. The significance comes from being obedient to God when He calls you to serve.
“Becoming” also means becoming a learner rather than trying to be an expert. A recurring theme during Sheri and Charles’s conversation was one of leading with curiosity.
Instead of coming with critiques, or thinking we have all of the answers, it’s important to get curious, stay flexible, and ask questions.
It’s a quiet and humble kind of growth, but it’s growth that lasts.
Do: Obedience, Not Achievement
Once we’ve worked through the “be” and “become” steps, only then can we arrive at the third and final step: “do.” Contrary to what the word, “do” might suggest, this step is not about accomplishments or achievements. Rather, it’s about obedience to God’s invitation to whatever He is calling us into. That could be anything from serving in a clinic overseas, serving faithfully at your job, or caring for your family at home.
There is nothing more spiritually significant about serving at a medical outreach clinic in Africa versus serving in some way in your own city. The significance comes from being obedient to God when He calls you to serve.
Charles Chapman with Senegal mission team;
Photo Courtesy of Charles Chapman
The Real Invitation
When we follow the “be, become, do” framework, we are saying, “yes!” to God’s invitation to partner with Him in the work He is already doing both in the mission field and at home where service may look quite different from what we often think of Christian service.
Wherever God takes each of us, the same sequence should be followed:
- Know who you are in Christ
- Stay open to the Spirit shaping and teaching you
- Remain obedient to the Lord in whatever He may call you to
