when missions hurt the local church

a friend of mine who i have mad respect for asked the following question tonight:

how do you think kids see their church after one week of playing, eating candies, doing crafts and receiving gifts from americans in a VBS…???

my friend is nicaraguan and he works with a ton of CHRISTians from the united states who want to see GOD do great things in nicaragua. his point is that there “has to be an alternative way to spread the message and help the people without harming local churches.” my friend believes in missions. i know this because i have had the privilege of working along side him for a decade in diriamba. i’ve seen how much he cares and i have learned a great deal from him.

i believe we are supposed to be a part of spreading the joy of CHRIST throughout the world. we need to be involved in sharing the good news of the kingdom of GOD in other countries. we just HAVE to make sure that we do this in a manner that helps the local church rather than hurting it.