Easter Worship Experience

on March 25th, 2011

We used this experience during our 2006 mission trips.  God used it in some pretty incredible ways that summer.  It’s called the “Bread Body” and it’s a powerful visual of Christ’s sacrifice.  It should work well during the Easter season and as an experience that flows into Communion or the Eucharist (depending on your church).  I wanted to pass it along in case your looking for a good experiential time of worship this Easter season.

Bread Body

He is Risen!

Discuss

Still in love…

on March 23rd, 2011

I was having lunch with a member of our team this past week.  We were celebrating another year of her serving on the team.  While we were trying to remember how many years we’ve been doing this, it dawned on us that this is our 9th season serving on the team.  It just doesn’t seem possible that I’ve been at this for 9 summers.  And that got me thinking about the rest of our team – we have folks who have served for well over 10 years and even one member of our staff who has served our ministry for over 20 years.  The best thing about those “facts” – we still absolutely love what we do.  We love creating experiences that God uses to change people’s lives.  We’re honored that God allows us to be a part of what He is doing.

What about your ministry?  How long have some of the members of your team been serving?  Do all of you still love what you are doing?

I pray you can answer yes.  I pray that God blesses all the ministries that He has called us to.

Discuss

Teenagers Are Wired for Significance

on March 22nd, 2011

A great article posted last week on youthministry.com relates to yesterday’s post.  Great thoughts from Katie Brazelton.

Teenagers Are Wired for Significance and Life Purpose.

Do you agree?

Discuss

Getting Students Involved in Service

on March 21st, 2011

There are 2 conflicting thoughts in my mind as I write this…  One – this current generation of students seems hard-wired to make a difference, to be a part of something bigger than themselves & Two – youth leaders sharing they can’t get the students in their ministry to commit to attend the mission trip this summer.

Huh?  Those two things don’t seem to make sense…

But… maybe they do…

Is it possible that we haven’t done a good job connecting a mission trip with their desire to change the world?  If that is true, how do we correct that mistake?

Every service experience or mission trip inherently has at it’s core the opportunity to change someone’s life.  Whether it’s “just” helping to transform a neighborhood for a day or traveling to Peru to help a partner church ministry build new church buildings, there is the chance that any student participating in that event will be part of God working in someone’s life.  I believe it’s imperative that we as leaders communicate those opportunities, the true needs, very clearly.  If our students know those needs and know that they can be a part of God working to bring change, they will want to be a part of that!

S0… how do we get that info?

We need to ask.  Ask your mission partner, whoever that is.  Your church ministry partner.  The missionaries your church supports.  Your friend from seminary who is ministering at a church in need.  Your mission provider or organizer.  Those folks should know the answers to “what will we be doing?”

Fully informed students will want to be a part of the life-changing work God does on a mission trip.  They are hard-wired that way.  It’s our job to help them see how they will…

Discuss

A Dream…

on March 17th, 2011

I am the guest blogger over at Simply Insider today.  I share our hopes and dreams for 1 By Youth.

Check it out here.

Discuss

Biggest regrets… Parents

on March 14th, 2011

During Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2011 two weekends ago, I was part of a peer panal called “Epic Fail”  – our biggest mistakes in youth ministry (I had my share of stories…).  It was a good, funny, encouraging time of helping all of us that attended focus on what’s important in ministry.  But there was one interaction that will stick with me for a while.

I shared that my biggest regret from my time in full-time church ministry was my attitude towards the parents of the students in my ministry.  If I’m honest, I considered them a necessary evil.  I basically was just glad they dropped their kids off so I could do “real” ministry with them.  I was young and over-confident and dumb.  I regret not involving parent more.  Not engaging them more as part of the ministry.

After the panel, a young couple just into their first ministry found me and wanted to chat.  They had the some concerns about parents.  They’re young.  They’re not parents themselves.  They’re intimidated.  All the things I remember feeling.  I hope they felt like we had a good chat about how to work with parents.  To bring them into the ministry.  Communicate with them often.  To engage them and support them.  I pray that they listen to their own concerns and work with parents now and not have the same regrets I do…

The same ideas are true for parents of kids attending your mission trip.  You need to engage them in conversations.  Give them more than just what they are asking for when it comes to information about the trip.  If the parents of the students going on your trip are excited and informed, your trip will be that much better than if you fail to keep them in the loop.

Discuss

Choosing who goes…

on January 24th, 2011

Deciding who goes on the mission trip can be just as difficult as deciding where you’re going.  Sometimes it hard to get enough kids to fill all the spots you reserved (that’s another issue we’ll deal with in another post).  But choosing the students that actually travel can be very key to the success of your mission trip.

Here’s a little secret — there isn’t a right answer…

There are a couple things to consider to consider.  So you’re not completely off the hook.

  1. What  is the nature of the service you will be providing?  This can make a lot of difference concerning who you choose to attend.  Are you leading a VBS for a sister urban ministry hoping to expand their evangelistic outreach into their community?  Probably shouldn’t bring kids that don’t have a relationship with Jesus.  Is your group working on homes in Appalachia?  Then it might be perfectly fine to bring teenagers regardless of where they are in their faith journey.
  2. How do you define “mission trip”?  Is it an experience designed for your group to develop relationships and build community -or- do you think of it as faith-stretching experience for those already committed to following Jesus.  Whatever your definition, only bring students that match your ideal.  Or else, you’ll set yourself of up for a lot of frustration.

How do you choose?  Do you use criteria or come one come all?  I would love to know what your process is like…

Discuss

What does service mean to a teenager?

on November 11th, 2010

Every summer we partner with Group Magazine to survey our youth participants.  It’s been fascinating to discover different nuggets of info each and every year.  This year one of questions focused specifically on what going on a mission trip means to them.  They could check as many answers as they felt applied to them and the answers were very interesting.

Service to Others survey question

I was really interested in how much the students thought about their answers.   I think it’s pretty cool that such a high percentage said they grew closer to God and increased their compassion for others as a result of serving.  And at the same time it is consistent with every survey we do with youth workers.

Youth Workers consistently say they take their group on a mission trip for two basic reasons.  One – to give their students the chanced to serve those in need & two – because the mission experience allows people to grow closer to God.  And apparently… that is exactly what is happening.

Discuss

Fall Fundraising Poll

on November 9th, 2010

Here’s a link to a good, basic, easy fall fundraiser for your group.

Fall Fundraising Idea

It got me thinking about fundraising.  I wonder when you begin your group raising money for their summer mission trip.


Discuss

The Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Youth Mission Trips

on October 26th, 2010

The Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Youth Mission Trips is a great new resource for any adult leader who is going on a youth mission trip.  It is specifically written for the volunteer adult going with your ministry on your next trip.  Toby Rowe, a member of the Group Mission Trips staff and a contributor to this blog, wrote the book with the nervous and unsure adult volunteer in mind (because he used to be one…).

You can pre-order now and it’s at a great price.  What about getting one for each and every adult serving on your mission trip this summer?  A simple, easy investment in them and in your group.  Click the image below for all the details…

Unlock the secrets to a successful mission experience with The Volunteer’s Back Pocket Guide to Youth Mission Trips. This useful, practical book will guide you through the sometimes rough but always rewarding waters of a short-term mission trip. You’ll discover how to connect with your students, how to prepare for the unexpected, and how to savor those priceless moments you only find on a mission trip.

Discuss

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