One of the highlights of my year is always the Summer Youth On Missions Trip. For the past Four years we have traveled to a metro city by bus and worked with a Pastor there to do ministry in the city. I love the trips because it always opens students eyes to the fact that America is a mission field. It allows them to see that there are places right here in America that are untouched with the gospel of Jesus.
First of all before I give some advice about how to have a successful Metro YOM trip, I want to say that we would NEVER be able to go on a mission trip if it was not for our awesome Pastor and church that supports us. We do not live for the mission trip. We live for Madisonville, KY. It is the place where God has called us to minister all year. The mission trip is just an opportunity to be a help in another field. We have an awesome church and Pastor that supports our young people!
Here are just some things that I have learned from the last Four years of Youth On Missions trips. This is in NO WAY exhaustive. We still have so much more to learn. I an just sharing some of the things that I have learned....so for what it's worth
1. A Great Pastor/Church to Partner With - A metro mission trip rises and falls on the Pastor that you partner with. All the the Pastors that we have worked with have been absolutely amazing. They have had an intense burden for the city where they are. Also they have been so excited and eager for students to be there helping! I communicate with the Pastor extensively so that we can establish ministry plans, and the itinerary. Working together we establish a working itinerary for the days that we will be with him. My goal is not to dictate the itinerary, but to help mobilize our students to help accomplish his vision for the city. This is a great place to start looking for a Pastor to partner with.
2. A Good Fundraiser - We do not do a bunch of fundraisers for our mission trip. We have found One good fundraiser that brings in all the finances for the trip. I realize that this may not be possible for you, but for us it has worked great. Our cost is about $250 per student for our past trips. This fundraiser been great for us! We are able to raise all the funds within a month.
3. Get Parents on Board - The greatest chaperone for a mission trip is spelled PARENT. One of the things that have allowed us to take upwards of 70 people into metro cities like New York City has been by the careful oversight of parents. We always take enough chaperones so that each room can have at least one. Parents make great chaperones because they simply are parents. If a student acts up, I don't have to call a parent on the phone, I just simple walk over to them and tell them. (Usually when I have parents with us, they just take care of the problem themselves.) Plus there is no greater thing than a parent watching their child be touched and changed by God. Powerful things always happen on these trips! It really builds a bond between parents and students. I have been blessed with some wonderful parents and chaperones for our mission trips.
4. An Unbalanced Itinerary - I have done the itinerary different for different years, but I have found the most successful itinerary to be unbalanced. By that I mean that you do not spend equal amounts of time on ministry and fun/sightseeing. I have found the best itinerary to be leaning more toward ministry than fun. Not that you don't have fun, but schedule your touring/fun times to be amazing. Then spend the bulk of your time about the mission. I have found that the mission is what changes students. Students are changed when they are serving soup to a homeless person, or witnessing to someone on the street, or praying a child through to the Holy Spirit, or passing out flyers in a neighborhood. The sightseeing is fun and necessary, but I have found an unbalanced itinerary toward ministry always makes for a more successful mission trip.
5. Make it HUGE! - One thing that I have never regretted that we have done for our mission trips is that we have made them a big deal. It is our focus at our weekly youth services for nearly 2-3 months. We show videos, we show pictures, anything that will keep the mission trip in the forefront of their minds. Last year when we went to Washington D.C. we even did an entire preaching series about our nation being founded on the principles of scripture. Each week I would take a different D.C. landmark and use that as a illustration for the message. The week before we usually have a time of fasting ending in a prayer meeting the Saturday before we leave for all students, parents, and chaperones.
Prayer is foundational for a successful mission trip. We have to be walking in step with the Holy Spirit when we are about these mission trips. Prayer must Cover Everything that is done.
If you have been reading this you may be wondering..."What is a successful mission trip?" To us a successful mission trip is defined as a trip in which we partner with the vision of the local Pastor in sowing seeds for the church whether it be by prayer, singing, door to door evangelism, or working with the homeless. If we are allowed to see some reaping that is awesome, but to me a successful Metro Mission trip is defined by sowing.
If you are planning a youth mission trip I hope this post helps. Have a great day!
Comments