Summer 2021 Mission Trips are Here!

Reasons to Register Today

You’ll have more choices for what community you want to serve. Spots are filling fast and each community has limited capacity.
You’ll have more options for choosing the dates that work best for your group. As trip dates fill up every single day, your group will have less dates to choose from.

Download Our Digital Brochure!

Locations

Your group could serve in one of over 45 communities across the country.

Communities are our partners, friends and the places we serve. Throughout our partnership with a community, we listen closely, speak carefully and serve humbly.

By listening closely, we can learn and understand the real needs that a community has. When youth serve on a mission trip, they get to be a part of real change by participating in the work that God is already doing in that particular community. We call this Respectful Service.

What to Expect From a YouthWorks Mission Trip

Lodging & 14 Meals

24+ Service Hours

Evening Activities/Programming

Full-Time Onsite Staff

Pre and Post-Trip Tools & Resources

COVID Proofing Site Safety

Youth Testimonies

"My faith became stronger from my mission trip. I stepped out of my comfort zone and now I'm willing and able to share my faith with others a lot more. I am more proud of who I am in Christ."

"After my mission trip, I see hardships of others more intense. I look at things differently and notice people around me that are going through a tough time"

"Our youth group became so much closer on our mission trip. When we came back home, some of us started a group where we go out in the community and help in nursing homes, or do little projects locally to help people."

"The trip had a big impact on my faith and how I view God. I understand His grace and feel more grateful for what I have. I look at the world and the people around me with a different set of eyes"

“I felt a whole new experience of helping different people and putting myself into their shoes and showing them God’s love."

Why YouthWorks?

When students and communities connect they join in the bigger story of what God is doing in the world around them. We provide meaningful Christ-centered mission trips for middle and high school students that broaden perspectives, ignite passions, expose possibilities, and inspire pursuits.

With over 25 years of investing in healthy community relationships, YouthWorks handles all the logistics so that you can focus on building relationships with your youth and adults along the way.

Heading into summer 2021, you and other individuals from your group may be asking, “With many unknowns about COVID-19, how is YouthWorks working to ensure safety on my mission trip?”

Below are some of the safety plans YouthWorks intends to implement for summer 2021 mission trips. Know that at this time these plans are based on the current climate of COVID-19 requirements and additional standards may be added or removed pending guidance from the CDC and American Camp Association. Any changes will be communicated to you prior to your YouthWorks mission trip.

Arrive Healthy

Participants will not be allowed to participate if they are currently sick with COVID-19 symptoms, if they have had COVID-19 symptoms in the last 14 days or if they have recently been around someone with COVID-19. We also recommend that anyone with an underlying health condition that makes them vulnerable to COVID-19 stay at home for their safety.

Service

YouthWorks Mission Trip Associates are working with and listening closely to our Service Partners when determining the safest and most respectful ways to serve. This may mean that in some communities, we will be unable to serve with more vulnerable individuals directly. Before your trip, engage with your group about what respectful service could look like and how you can enter into the community with an open mind to that service. Your Mission Trip Associate will provide more direction and information as we get closer to summer 2021.

Large Group Meal and Gathering Times

During meals and large group gathering times (such as The Gathering and devotion introductions), crews will sit together while maintaining social distancing requirements. Crews must be separate from other crews by at least six feet. Because of this, a large well- ventilated area is required – for example, a 1,200 square foot room is required for 32 people to maintain social distancing. Outdoor areas are preferred for these large group times. YouthWorks is planning and budgeting for the need to have at least 2,500 square feet of space for dining.

Housing Capacity for Sleeping

The Mission Trip Associates organizing housing locations are planning and budgeting for the possibility of needing to host groups at 50% of sleeping room capacity. This means that alternative primary lodging facilities or secondary facilities are being sought out to ensure there is plenty of room to spread out in sleeping spaces.

Shower Exclusivity

The Mission Trip Associates organizing shower locations are planning and budgeting for the need to keep shower access to only YouthWorks participants. This means that we would be the only groups who would have access to the shower facilities during our designated shower time. Showers may be provided on-site at the housing facility, at a local school or church that allows only YouthWorks to shower there or at a public facility (such as a YMCA) with a dedicated time and space to exclusively use the showers and clean them prior to and following shower use.

Download the Trip Leader’s Guide to COVID-Proofing Trips:

FAQ

How much does a YouthWorks trip cost?

YouthWorks trips are affordable. Most trips start at $319 per person. Cost varies by location and can be found on each trip’s page. For a complete list of trips, see the Trip Finder and browse via list or map view. Cost per participant includes:

If cost of the trip is an obstacle for your group or for a specific student in your group please call us to find out more about scholarship opportunities.

Are the sites safe?

Safety is of the utmost importance to our organization, especially in light of COVID-19. We have an aggressive plan in place to COVID-proofing our sites for 2021 trips. We want participants to feel safe throughout the entire week, and we want parents and church leadership to know that we take every precaution in order to ensure their safety. Our staff are thoroughly trained on a variety of safety practices and procedures. With that said, we do rely on Adult Leaders and youth to help the YouthWorks staff in maintaining the safety policies and procedures for their mission week.

When can we go?

Our traditional mission trips run in the Summer (June & July) – Sunday evening through Friday morning. Please note that some of the trips during the July 4th week are shortened.

If Summer doesn’t work for your group, we also offer Fall, Winter & Spring mission trips.

Who can come?

Registrations for a YouthWorks mission trip must be made through a church or organization. Because of YouthWorks’ program and policies, agreements with ministry partners and to be respectful of other groups, we do not allow individuals who are not in the appropriate grades to attend the mission trip. The minimum group size is five.

Each YouthWorks trip is categorized as middle school (junior high), mixed (middle school/high school), high school, or high school & up trip.
2020 Middle School trips are open to those students who have completed 6th grade in spring 2021 through students who completed 8th grade in spring 2021.
2021 High School trips are open to those students who have completed 8th grade in spring 2021 through seniors who have graduated in the spring of 2021.
2021 Mixed trips are open to those students who have completed 6th grade in spring 2021 through seniors who have graduated in the spring of 2021.
We don’t have specific college age trips; YouthWorks hires college students to facilitate all summer mission trips, click here for more information.

Can our adults go?

Yes! In fact, Adult Leaders play a key leadership role on your youth trips. A leader needs to be at least 20 years of age and be willing to take a role of leadership with your teenagers.

What is the adult to youth ratio requirements on youth trips?

High School Trips: 1 Adult Leader for every 7 students
Middle School Trips: 1 Adult Leader for every 5 students
Mixed Trips: 1 Adult Leader for every 5 students

Do you require background checks on your leaders? What about students?

Yes. Each church group will need to conduct a national (multi-site) criminal background check and sex offender registry check on any participant (adults or students) that is 18 years and older. Church groups will then provide YouthWorks with written confirmation that every participant 18 and older has been approved to work with youth and children.

For more on this check out the Background Check FAQs on your MyTrip dashboard.

What if I don’t know how many people to plan for?

We can help you through this process. Adding spaces can happen at any time as long as we have availability. There are some deadlines for decreasing spaces, please check out the Registration Process for more specifics.

Where do we stay?

Groups are housed in a local church, school or community building. Participants need to bring their own sleeping bags, pillows and sleeping pads or air mattresses that are twin-size or smaller (Puerto Rico has a slightly different requirement). All females and males sleep in separate rooms, including married Adult Leaders. Showers are available either on site or at a nearby location. Off-Site showers may be at local community center, YMCA or public high school which may include open shower rooms or private stalls. Specific details will be available in the spring as they are confirmed in each community.

What type of ministry will we do?

Each YouthWorks site is unique. We encourage you to take a look at the specific community pages to learn more.

Will we be serving in one place all week or various places?

It depends on the YouthWorks site. We seek to meet the needs of our community partners and their ministries. Some of our organizations prefer the same volunteers to come back each day, all week long so there is consistency in the relational aspects but also logistically as well. In other situations you might serve with multiple partners during the week.

Will there be other groups on site with mine and how many participants should we expect?

A typical YouthWorks site has capacity for 65 to 80 participants depending on the site and week. Our goal is that as many teenagers as possible would experience mission trips so there may be multiple other groups on site during your week. The only way this would not happen is if your group were to register for the whole week (all of the spaces on site).

Will our group be serving together or will we be split up?

If your group is larger than seven people and has more than two Adult Leaders, you will most likely be split into different ministry/work crews for the week. Each crew will have anywhere from 7 – 15 people with 1 – 3 Adult Leaders depending on the needs of our service partners, the size of the group on site, and the number and size of vehicles available. Ideally, each crew will be comprised of youth from different churches along with an adult leader from each church.

How do we get there?

Each group is responsible for transportation (vehicles, gas and mileage) to and from the YouthWorks site and throughout the week of your trip.

What is a bus accessible site?

Bus accessible communities are designated as locations that can accommodate groups traveling on buses. Buses are defined as any vehicle that is larger than a standard 15-passenger van. We do not allow buses at all of our sites because of safety, the needs of the community and the problem of parking. Even if a site is designated as bus accessible, we still require that you provide additional transportation for participants during the week.

Can you accommodate participants with special needs or disabilities?

YouthWorks welcomes youth and adult participants with disabilities and works collaboratively with Trip Leaders to provide accommodations to need and circumstance. Due to the diverse nature of our 45+ mission sites and on-going changes at service locations, creating a coordinated plan with a Trip Leader is important to help us discern if and how the special need can be accommodated. While we are working toward greater accessibility in each of the communities we serve, there are some mission locations that are more easily equipped to handle special requests than others and some communities that cannot fully accommodate all needs. For more information, please talk with a Trip Consultant, if not yet registered for a trip, or a Mission Trip Associate, if you are registered already.

What do we need to cross the border?

For ease of travel we recommend that each person obtain a passport. U.S. groups also have the option of obtaining a U.S. Passport Card. Visit our Travel page for more information.

Find Your Trip

Registration is now open for 2021 trips!