love them as enemies or love them as neighbors. That’s our only choice.” Costa, who heads the Lebanese
Baptist Society that runs a seminary, Christian school, publishing house and relief and aid, said that education
and community development have become effective avenues for building relationships with Muslims, noting
that acts of mercy – practiced with a humble spirit – should become a way of life for Christians.
Delegates also considered the use of entrepreneurial missional models in effecting and fulfilling the work
of the church, as well as the effectiveness and even the ethics of short term mission trips. Lack of adequate
preparation, ignorance of the culture, arrogance, selfishness, and teams traveling to locations with predetermined
ideas such as believing they know the needs of the people, were cited as some of the problems
caused by short term mission teams. Persons going on these trips with a tourist mentality, rather than as a
response to a call from God, also prove problematic.
Short term mission trips, it was stated, should best be done within the context of a long term relationship.
Short term mission trips properly done often lead to a growth in ministry and giving by the sending church, and
may lead to the development or deepening of a longer term relationship. Persons may become aware of a
deeper sense of call of God on their lives as a result of their participation in these short term mission visits.
The environment was discussed from various perspectives. One session investigated environmental
decline and examined calls for responsible stewardship; while another session examined the role that
bioengineering plays in altering creation.
Also important were issues related to exploitation of persons, including the persecution of Christians.
Such persecution may be sanctioned by the laws of the state, such as in Iraq, where Christian converts are
required to leave the country within three months of their conversion. In some countries, it is the populace that
often initiates religious reprisals even more severe than reprisals by the state, as is the case in Saudi Arabia,
Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen and Iraq. At other times, it is petty officials or leaders at the local level who violate the
laws of their own country in harassing or otherwise persecuting Christians. In other instances, Christianity itself
is not the specific target, but any group that refuses to surrender to full government control.
The trafficking of persons, mainly for labor and the sex trade, is recognized as a growing problem. Human
trafficking is the fastest growing and the third largest form of illegal international trade, following on the illicit
trade of drugs and firearms. Its spread is due to a number of factors, but especially consumerism, poverty
and lenient laws. Many trafficked sex workers come out of a deprived situation and are forced to offer “sex for
food, sex for clothes, sex for education,” said Asha Sanchu of Northeast India, in her description of how human
trafficking begins at the victim level. The lack of employment, oftentimes resulting from lack of education,
training and other opportunities, can lead to persons being tricked into the sex trade, whether within their own
borders or in other countries, said Vladimir Ubeivolc of Moldova.
The unfair treatment of workers, such as those working in the tourism and hospitality sector and the
effects of that industry on the local environment and culture, was also analyzed, a topic made especially
relevant by the congress being held in one of the major tourism destinations in the world. Long hours of work
over extended periods, including weekends and holidays, and without commensurate remuneration is not
uncommon in popular tourist destinations, said Deonie Duncan from Jamaica, a country with a large tourism
industry. Workers are often reluctant to complain for fear of missing a promotion or, worse, losing their jobs,
Duncan explained.
Environmentally, some tourist destinations suffer from overdevelopment, including damage to coastlines
and reefs, air pollution, destruction of natural watersheds, poor waste management and the inordinate
consumption of water, electricity and seafood. Culturally, the local culture is often undermined or even
denigrated by tourism interests.
The extent to which Christians and the church should embrace culture was also discussed. “We all have
different cultures, and they make us who we are. We cannot be separate from our identity,” declared Henry
Mugabe, president of the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zimbabwe. A problem arises, he said, when people
assume the United States and Europe reflect the “Christian culture,” and other societies do not. “There is no
such thing as a Christian culture,” he said, “but there are Christians who live in different cultures.” Culture itself
is neither right nor wrong. Cultures simply do things differently. Just as Jesus challenged and critiqued his own
Jewish culture, Christians should study and critique their cultures, Mugabe proposed.

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