Pastoral Update: Reflections from the Dominican Republic Mission Trip

Exceptionally beautiful and deeply challenging.

That is the best way I can summarize my recent trip to the Dominican Republic, where I had the privilege of serving alongside local leaders who faithfully love and minister to their community.

This post will read a little more like a journal entry and a little less like my usual Pastor Dave blogs. In part, this is a report back to the church. But even more than that, it is a reflection from my heart.

This trip was one of the most rewarding and difficult ministry experiences I have had in quite some time.

Rewarding because I saw God’s people doing beautiful, faithful, Spirit-filled work. Difficult because trips like this have a way of exposing things in you. They stretch you. They humble you. They confront your assumptions. They remind you how much of your daily life is shaped by comfort, control, familiarity, and ease.

And then, in the middle of all that, they invite you to see Jesus more clearly.

We partnered with Ramas Vivas, a ministry we support as a church, and I came away deeply encouraged by the work God is doing through them. This is not a ministry built around Americans showing up to “save the day.” It is a ministry led by local leaders who know their community, love their people, and faithfully serve children and families with the love of Christ.

Our role was to come alongside them, serve where we could, learn as much as we could, and bear witness to the good work already happening.

And without question, God is doing great things in and among the people of the Dominican Republic. Here are a few takeaways I want to share.

Missions Is Not What We Often Think It Is

One of the clearest things I walked away with is this: I was not the missionary.

I was a ministry partner serving alongside the missionaries.

The missionaries are the local leaders in the Dominican Republic. They are the ones who know the culture, speak the language, understand the people, live among the people, and share the gospel as part of the community. They are the ones who faithfully show up long after our team gets on a plane and returns home.

More than ever, I am convinced that short-term missions is not the same thing as being a missionary. Short-term trips can be powerful, meaningful, and deeply useful when done well. But they are not about outsiders coming in to take over. They are about coming alongside the people God is already using.

That distinction matters.

It changes our posture. It changes how we listen. It changes how we serve. It changes how we prepare.

Everything Teaches

At one point, I sat in a circle with local Ramas Vivas leaders, using my AirPods to translate Spanish into English. As I listened, one idea stood out to me clearly: Everything teaches.

When we show up as Americans, people notice everything. They notice our responses to their homes, their food, their streets, their churches, their schedules, their way of life, their resources, and their daily realities.

And honestly, it is hard to suppress the shock you feel when the differences between their world and ours are so obvious.

There were many things that stretched me:

• the language barrier

• the lack of material resources

• limited dietary options

• intense heat and humidity

• my cell phone not working

• cold showers

• not being able to flush toilet paper

• concerns around healthcare and education

• insects and stray animals

• chaotic transportation

• cultural differences in communication

• unreliable utilities

• trash in places I was not used to seeing it

  
  

Two or three things from that list might be enough to give many of us in the United States a very bad day. For many there, that is just everyday life.

That is why short-term mission trips are not for everyone.

I do not say that to discourage people from going. I say it because showing up well matters. If we are not prepared to deal with our own discomfort, we can easily become more of a burden than a blessing.

Failure to adapt makes it harder to truly partner with the local people doing ministry. Being prepared to deal with yourself in the middle of that kind of challenge is essential if you want to be an asset rather than a liability.

I certainly was not perfect at this. I had to continually remind myself to be resilient, to depend on God, and to focus on why we were there. Not for my sake, but for the sake of serving these people well.

For the sake of showing Jesus, we have to learn to look past our discomfort and focus on what we have in common.

We are both made in the image of God.

We both need Jesus more than anything else.

And the ground at the foot of the cross is level.

And Then There Are the People

The beautiful and wonderful people of the Dominican Republic. This is where words begin to fail me.

The staff and leaders of Ramas Vivas have jobs and responsibilities outside of the ministry they do. Many of them do not have much by our standards, and yet they pour their lives into sharing Jesus with children, families, and communities around them. It is hard to describe.

I could see the Spirit of the Lord in their smiles, their generosity, their leadership, and their devotion to Christ. It was tangible. Our common ground was not culture. It was Jesus. And I saw Christ in them.

I left having learned more from them than I think I contributed. I left humbled. I left tender. I left on the edge of tears more times than I expected—which, if you know me, probably does not surprise you.

There is something profoundly beautiful about seeing the body of Christ in another place, another language, another culture, and yet realizing: these are my brothers and sisters.

Together, we are family because of Jesus.

Count the Cost

If someone asked me about going on a trip like this or getting involved, the first thing I would say is: pray.

Ask God to search your heart. Ask Him to help you discern whether this is the right season for you to travel and serve alongside Dominican leaders in ministry. This trip was both challenging and beautiful. But what in life, no matter where you live, has great value without great cost?

Jesus spoke honestly about this. As eager crowds followed Him, He told them to count the cost. See Luke 14. That is true of the Christian life, and, in a smaller way, of a short-term mission trip, too. There is a cost associated with going. There are financial, emotional, physical, relational, and spiritual costs.

My encouragement to anyone considering going is to count that cost ahead of time. Are you willing and able to enter the discomfort? Are you ready to listen more than speak? Are you prepared to honor the local leaders? Are you willing to learn, not just help? Are you willing to represent Christ and His church with humility?

Is it worth it?

Absolutely.

But it should not be taken lightly.

When we go, we represent our church. We represent our faith. And whether we realize it or not, everything teaches. The local leaders see us. The children see us. The community sees us.

As a pastor, I want us to do that well. I want us to be an encouragement to them, not a drain on them. I want our partnership to strengthen the work God is already doing there.

Not Everyone Should Go, But Everyone Can Be Involved

One of my biggest takeaways is that there are many ways to be involved without getting on a plane. Not everyone can go. Not everyone should go. But all of us can love, pray, support, encourage, and partner with what God is doing.

Prayer support matters. Encouraging letters matter. Financial generosity matters. Long-term partnership matters. Sending people matters. Receiving updates matters. Caring about what God is doing in another part of the world matters. We are the Church together.

And how wonderful it is to partner with other local expressions of the body of Christ.

I came home tired, humbled, grateful, and deeply encouraged. God is at work in the Dominican Republic. And I am thankful we get to be even a small part of it. Note: Our church supports several missions organizations and missionaries. A portion of our resources at ACC supports them. Look for regular updates during our Sunday Services to learn how you can get involved with our partner organizations.