How to Make Your Upcoming Mission Trip More Than Just Another Announcement

This is not a dynamic way to start a blog post:

“The deadline for signing up for this year’s mission trip is in three weeks.”

…and it’s also not a dynamic way to announce an experience that has the potential to change a student’s life. Yet week after week, it’s how we recruit students to join these really great mission trip experiences.

But as youth leaders, we are creative people, right?! So lets be creative and holistic about the way we remind students that they can be part of an incredible story or service and learning and growth. Here are just a few simple things you can do to make your upcoming mission trip more than just another announcement.

Incorporate. Don’t save the idea or practice of service for the mission trip. Include it in what you are teaching students. Give them the “why” behind service, and make the mission trip one tangible outpouring of your lesson material.

Remember. Share stories of what’s happened because of past similar experiences. Better yet, have students who have been on trips share the impact of their previous experience. Present your best evidence of why mission trips are meaningful.

Cast vision. Don’t just look back. Look ahead to what serving together can look like on your trip and what God could do in and through your group. Convey the purpose and significance of what you’re inviting students into. Paint a picture worth following.

Promote. Do a good job of advertising the trip from upfront. Use visuals with your announcements, like pictures from last year or some of YouthWorks’ great promotional material for students available online, including posters, fliers and videos.

Invite individuals. There’ s no better invitation than through face-to-face conversation. Let each student know in-person that you would love for him or her to come.

Pray. Make the mission trip and the people you’ll serve a frequent prayer focus. Ask students to lead these prayers.