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Vol. 1, No. 6 — November 2007
Challening our assumptions
Learning to serve in anti-racist ways
by Regina Shands Stoltzfus
Each winter and spring, youth pastors, sponsors, parents of youth, and youth themselves begin making plans for the next summer's activities. For many Mennonite youth these plans include a service opportunity that typically involves travel away from home and encounters with people from different races, cultures and classes. Service trips offer youth who serve a number of positives: time to learn more about their gifts, the opportunity to show God's love through action, space for group bonding, the opportunity to travel and meet other people, a chance to get away from home, and an impressive paragraph to write for college essays. All in all, it is not difficult to understand why many service participants often say they gained much more than they gave. This is a good thing because, in addition to the benefits named above, these experiences can also plant the seed that shapes the trajectory of a young person's life. Many people who choose service-oriented careers can point to an early service opportunity opening the door.
That said, host communities often experience an unfortunate side of service. For example, groups can bring biased attitudes and stereotypes to the communities in which the serve. Service participants with little urban exposure may be shocked at some of the conditions within inner-city settings. Without proper orientation and preparation, they can make judgments about the morality, intelligence and capabilities of people who live in the city based solely upon the physical surroundings. Media and other portrayals of people of color and poor people can nurture and feed racist attitudes—even among those with the best intentions.
Although some people have suggested that there be a moratorium on all service trips until every group is sufficiently sensitized, the reality is that groups will continue taking part in service opportunities with the belief that the good outweighs any potential negative effects, or because the negative effects are not even on the radar screen. Since stopping service trips is not a viable option, other educational measures should be taken instead.
Groups planning short-term mission opportunities can add several steps to the orientation process to help each member understand the historical and social context of the host communities they seek to serve. Orientation for mission trips must include more than a cursory overview of cultural mores; before serving impoverished, marginalized people, participants must have some understanding of how people became poor and marginalized in the first place. Youth and adults should be able to articulate, for instance, why most major cities in North America remain racially segregated years after enforced segregation became illegal. They should understand racism and classism from a systemic, structural perspective rather than seeing them only as matters of individual bad behavior. Here are some steps to get started:
Study the law and the prophets: In order to gain a biblical perspective on a faithful response to "the least of these," focus on the Old Testament. The law instructs God's people to care for the poor: The resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). Spokespersons for God delivered a consistent, sustained message against oppression of the most vulnerable members of society. God's people are not only to care for the poor, but they are also charged with delivering justice. In the book of Amos, the prophet reminds the people that God desires justice over empty worship (Amos 5:21-24).
Discuss the teachings and ministry of Jesus: Jesus displays an unmistakable concern for those that society considers outsiders. In particular, study the healing ministry of Jesus. Note that whenever Jesus heals a person's body, something else happens—the formerly outcast person is brought back into the community. The healing touch of Jesus goes beyond bringing wholeness to an individual body. Jesus and those who follow him seek to bring God's shalom to all of life. (See Luke 4:18-19 and Mark 5:21-43.)
Research the area in which you propose to do service: What are the demographics of the community? What is the history of the people there—why did they move there? Who are the indigenous leaders of the community—do they welcome outside groups and individuals coming to "help?" What do people living in the community say the issues and problems are? Ideally, the service activity should result from lots of conversation and cooperation between the group coming in and representatives of the people who actually live there.
Let part of your “work” be creating and nurturing relationships: Service should never be divorced from relationship. Build in time to get to know people. Often, short-term opportunities don’t allow much time for this. It may seem more efficient to swoop in and spend all your time fixing, building and cleaning, and there is plenty of satisfaction to be found in having left behind physical evidence of your hard work. But consider the Jesus model of ministry. Jesus spent time walking, talking and eating with people. And yet, the one-to-one relationships that Jesus modeled were always connected to the larger, systemic conditions that shaped people’s lives.
Regina Shands Stoltzfus served as Associate Pastor at Lee Heights Community Church in Cleveland, Associate Campus Pastor at Goshen College and Minister of Urban Ministries at Mennonite Mission Network. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics and teaching half-time at Goshen College. Contact her at
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