Lessons Learned on a Medical Missions Trip

and why everyone should consider going!

Serving in the Amazon Basin, South America

By Mark Mariner

My family and I have enjoyed serving as missionaries since 2019. During the last five years, we have been privileged to experience missions work in six countries throughout the Amazon Basin on various trips as well as live and work in the countries of Guyana and Suriname. In each country we have witnessed the effectiveness of medicine as an evangelistic tool. I believe that a medical clinic is a powerful tool that should be in the tool belt of every missionary and supporting church missions program.

In this article, the focus will be specifically on the model of medical missions developed by Amazon for Christ, a BIMI ministry that organizes medical missions trips throughout the nine countries that make up the Amazon Basin. The ministry, founded as a tool for church planters, has been highly effective because it is uniquely local church and Gospel centric in its approach. A local church on the field hosts each clinic. The clinics aim to strengthen and stimulate the local work. An Amazon for Christ medical missions trip is not medicine-focused with evangelism tagged on, but rather evangelism-focused planned in concert with a local church. It utilizes medicine as a tool to bring people in contact with the Gospel and the church.

1)Medical missions trips expedite the church planting process.
I experienced my first medical missions outreach as a missionary with three weeks of experience living on a foreign field. Thankfully, I was not the host missionary but had the privilege to join in on the ground floor as our friends and colleagues the Woodard family “birthed” New Life Baptist Church. The Woodards’ partnership with Amazon for Christ gave them a boost right at the outset. The church gained instant rapport within the community. As I helped visit and win souls in the neighborhood, I often heard people’s recognition, “Oh, you are the church that had the medical clinic! I (or a family member) went to that.” From this positive starting point, we could invite them to our regular services.

More than two years later on a recent visit to New Life Baptist Church, I was encouraged to see that much of the initial nucleus of people reached through the medical clinic and accompanying revival meeting were still faithful. This group has been added to and has grown into a healthy, thriving young church. I believe the medical clinic model contributed to the advanced development of this church plant and has the potential to do the same with many more church plants!

2)Medical missions trips encourage missionaries and local pastors.
The relative isolation of the foreign field and the unique role of the missionary can open the door for discouragement to creep in. Witnessing the spark in an individual’s eyes as he encounters cross-cultural mission work for the first time can allow the missionary to gain a fresh vision for his ministry. We were recently blessed to participate in the 2024 BIMI CONNECT Trip in Guyana. It was a joy to witness team members undertake several ministry “firsts.” Some team members testified to sharing the Gospel, teaching a children’s class, and leading congregational singing. And they got to do it on the mission field! It was encouraging to see their excitement. I eagerly await what God will do with these team members!

A medical missions trip outreach can also greatly inspire the local believers and church members in the host church. They are emboldened by being presented with a unique opportunity to share the Gospel with family, friends, and neighbors who may have rebuffed previous efforts to share Christ. A medical missions outreach offers an exciting chance to demonstrate and share the love of Christ.

3) Medical missions trips enable effective Gospel proclamation.
Hosting a mobile medical clinic offers a unique opportunity for a church to proclaim the Gospel. Few other events offer such an effective way to gather and hold a crowd while simultaneously facilitating effective one-on-one witnessing. Patients are motivated to stay at the clinic until they see the doctor and collect medications. This lifts some of the time constraints associated with door-to-door witnessing or even dealing with someone at the church altar. Ample time is allowed for each patient to hear the Gospel clearly presented multiple times without interruption or distraction.

While certain team members are designated as soul winners, each team member, including the medical professionals, has the opportunity to share Christ. On my most recent medical trip my coworker in the eye care station witnessed to virtually every patient who sat down in the exam chair!

4) Medical mission trips allow the church to exemplify as well as preach the love of Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save lost souls. His focus was squarely on the spiritual. However, despite the significance of His mission, He did not ignore the physical suffering of those around Him. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, and comforted the hurting. His actions were in perfect keeping with His message. Medical missions are a tremendous opportunity for believers to exemplify the tangible aspects of the love of Christ as discussed in James 2:15–16.

5) Medical missions trips allow mission-minded believers to experience missions work.
Medical missions trips are not just for medical professionals! A tremendous amount of work goes into an effective medical clinic that requires many support roles in addition to the medical care providers. Many of these roles do not require the team member to speak the local language. These tasks include setting up and tearing down, filling pharmacy orders, helping guide patients from station to station, helping distribute reading glasses or other free supplies, and many other tasks.

These opportunities are in addition to the main objective of sharing the Gospel message. A well-conducted medical clinic allows a team member to experience many of the best aspects of missions’ work. They can personally interact with the people, have an opportunity to share the Gospel (perhaps through a translator), invite people to church, and serve people hands-on. They can do so knowing that their efforts are strengthening the ministry of a local church that will carry on the work.

6)Medical missions trips establish new levels of partnerships between missionaries, their local congregations, and supporting churches.
Adopt a medical missions trip as a church project. Missionaries cannot minister without the prayer and financial support of partner churches. Adopting a medical missions trip provides a unique way for supporting churches to partner more closely with a missionary and national church.

Sponsor a med-evangelism CONNECT Trip. Sponsoring a medical clinic can be a strategic way to boost a missionary’s ministry efforts. Supplies such as medicine, medical equipment, and hygiene items like toothbrushes, soap, and razors are needed. While a medical clinic outreach is generally very efficient in cost, time, and effort, it is nonetheless a significant expense.

Supporting churches can sponsor a medical clinic. To do so, contact your missionary or BIMI CONNECT to inquire about the need and the best way to give. Giving is always a blessing, but it can be especially edifying when one can directly point to a result of one’s giving. Sponsoring a specific med-evangelism BIMI CONNECT Trip can illustrate to a church the powerful results of missions giving.

Send team members. A church can become more directly involved by sending team members on a CONNECT Trip. Encourage medical professionals in your church to consider an Amazon for Christ medical missions trip. Church members are more likely to participate in a missions trip if others from their church are going. You can present the team members as missionaries sent from your church. Thinking of the team members in this light will help the church to cheerfully contribute and instill the proper sense of importance in the minds of those going.

Pray for a trip. If your church sponsors a medical trip or sends team members, pray especially for that trip! Giving and even going are not effective steps without prayer. Even if your church cannot participate by giving or sending, your church can become a prayer sponsor for a specific trip. Find out the trip’s details like dates, location, goals, number of team members, etc., and set aside specific time as a church to pray for that trip. Then, make sure to share the report with your church! Your efforts in prayer contributed to the success; encourage your people by sharing what God did!

Engage in a specific opportunity. If you are convinced that a medical missions trip is worthy of your participation, consider the upcoming Suriname BIMI CONNECT Trip planned for August 19–28, 2025. This trip is planned as the catalyst for the first church plant by a BIMI missionary in Suriname. This trip is a tremendous opportunity to personally engage in church-planting missions at a pivotal point in the process by using your unique talents for the glory of God. Take the next step by reading about the trip at www.bimi.org/connect and submitting a trip application. If you cannot come personally, please refer any friends who may be interested in this opportunity.



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