Q: Should I go on a short-term missions trip just to try it out?

answer this question

A: Yes. Select your short-term carefully.

Answer from Jim Hogrefe, USA South Regional Director for OMS Int'l. Previously he served in Russia for two years.
It may be a good idea to go on a short-term missions trip because you sense that the Holy Spirit is moving you in that direction. Determine what information you really need and look for a short-term that helps you in those ways. What are your spiritual gifts and how can they be used in a particular field? What language skills are necessary? Talk with several agencies to seek a fit between your skills and sense of calling and the agency's short-term opportunities. Determine whether or not the short-term trip will stimulate career missionary work or if it is mostly just a one-time project. Make sure there is a debriefing opportunity by someone in the agency to help you with decisions about your next step.

A: Yes, but go for several months.

Answer from Mike in West Africa, who is translating the Bible with WEC Int'l.
I know that some people say that a short-term trip is not necessary to "try out" your call for missions. However, I would say they are very profitable. If possible, it would be better to go on a short-term of several months' duration, six months to a year if possible. Although I had a calling to go into missions since my mid-teens, short-term trips changed my ideas concerning what tasks or role I should be doing on the mission field. I have actually changed my career direction completely. I did medical training but am now doing surveys for future Bible translations.

A: Maybe. Perhaps go for the long-term track from the start.

Answer from Merle Dye, who served for 21 yrs in Ethiopia and Sudan, and is now southeast regional director for SIM.
If you are reasonably sure God wants you in missions long term, go for the long term track right from the start. It will save you in the long run and get you on track right away. If you are not sure, but are open to be shown with a heart to follow fully, then a short term experience in an area of the world in which you have an interest, or to a ministry for which you have a heart is a good approach. Most agencies have short term tracks.