I was recently on a trip with students in Memphis. At the beginning of the trip, one of the girls on the team didn’t really seem to connect with any of her team members. She was shy, quiet, set apart from everyone else, would never smile or laugh, and pretty much stayed completely to herself. After two days of this behavior, I was worried she would stay like that. So on the third day we put her in a leadership position and she seemed to do pretty well at it. She gave direction when needed and even started to open up in conversation. But it wasn’t until that night in our team time when three or four different students gave her specific words of encouragement that we saw real change take place. Immediately after our time of encouragement, she turned to a adult staff member next to her and through a small smile whispered the words, “I’m not invisible anymore.”

And she wasn’t. The rest of the week she couldn’t stop smiling and laughing and building relationships with all the other students around her. It was truly God at work and amazing to see. And I was yet again reminded of how all the work and all the sacrifice was totally worth it.

Step 1: Be Preemptive
Every problem with staff on a trip comes from unmet expectations. Unless you are clear in your communication with them, your staff will create their own expectations of the trip. Most youth workers are so focused on students and logistics they forget to communicate their expectations to their staff.

Step 2: Be Consistent
After communicating your expectations, it is important to consistently uphold them. Be sure staff understand the reasons for what you are doing. Hold yourself and them to a high standard.

Step 3: Be Decisive
When the time comes to take action, don’t hesitate. The longer you wait, the worse things will get. Decide on your course of action and follow through. Your staff member will appreciate your honesty, and your consistency will convey care to the rest of your staff.

Often the best thing you can do for someone is fire them. We learn the most important lessons in life from difficult situations. Being a leader requires commitment to your staff. Commit yourself to always doing what is best for them and this in turn will be what is best for your team.

Just a quick note: I wanted to focus on this because for the past few years I have noticed that one group of people who don’t seem to get what students can do are the adult volunteers. The truth is we seldom have any problems on mission trips with students, but we often butt heads with adult volunteers. While there are different reasons why, I’ve found most fall into two categories: 1) Adults want logistical roles and not relationships with students (they are afraid of students), and 2) Adults want to rescue students and not challenge them. It is very difficult to train adults on the actual trip, so I focused the pre-trip training on helping volunteers have more impact with students through the experience.
The 10 keys are:

1. Going is not enough.
We must be intentional with a student’s mission experience in order to see transformational change happen. Often we think that it’s great the kids are doing a service project. This is shortsighted; we don’t just want them to go, we want them to grow. By being intentional with the mission trip, we could see students return with a desire for a daily quiet time, or we could see them want to spend their whole lives in service to the needy. God can do so much through our students; let’s not sell Him short.

2. Be a trip mentor.
A trip is a great place to develop a long-term, life-changing relationship with a student. We must be more than chaperones. Most adults go on trips with students to keep them out of trouble and drive the van. If adults used the trip to develop deep relationships that led to mentoring, then the trip could be more than a mountain top experience for students. Challenge and train adults to look for opportunities to become a mentor while on the trip.

3. Have a purpose for the trip.
What do you want your students to look like when they return? How do you want them to be different? Once you have answered this question, work backwards from that goal to where you are now. What kind of experiences do your students need to have to look and think like your goal? Share your plan with the other adults going on the trip. Cast the vision for your plan to parents and get them on board. Inspire the students with how their world will be different because they have changed. All of these activities will be positive reinforcement of the purpose of the trip.

4. Inspire spiritual growth.
A mission trip is a great place for a student to encounter God. Students will feel a need for God while on the trip, and this is a great opportunity for you to introduce them to spiritual disciplines. Set aside time on the trip for devotions and prayer. Provide a tool like a Bible study guide or prayer journal that students can use. Encourage students to continue with spending time with God even as they return home. Don’t miss this golden opportunity to inspire spiritual growth.

5. Find teachable moments.
Teachable moments happen when you mix a student’s experience with the truth of God’s Word. On mission trips, students will encounter many different experiences, and they will be challenged to think in new ways. Look for the moments to help them make applications for changing their lives back home. We have the opportunity to help them connect the dots between real life and God’s Word.

6. Challenge students.
Challenging students starts with challenging the top performing students. Usually we want to challenge the students who don’t “get it.” But challenging the student who do is much more productive since it gives those who are struggling a model to follow. Challenge can be as simple as asking students: Is there a better way? How can we improve tomorrow? These questions will require students to think about their performance and how they can grow.

7. Get sleep.
Trips become increasingly ineffective as team members become tired. I am amazed by how many teams come on trips with the idea they are going to stay up all night. Years of experience have proven this to be true: Students can’t be challenged or learn if they haven’t had enough sleep.

8. Add value to your adult volunteers.
I have led over 200 student mission trips, and the number one problem I see over and over again is adult volunteers who have no idea what they are doing on the trip. They come because youth trips need adults, but beyond that they are not sure why they are there. We can change this by offering pre-trip training, by providing clear roles, and by having a clear purpose for the adults being on the trip (As mentioned above, my purpose would be mentoring relationships that lead to life change.). Another way to add value to adult volunteers is to write a note to their spouse thanking them for their sacrifice.

9. Remember Boundaries = Love.
Don’t give students what they want; give them what they need. If you raise the level of expectation, your students will rise to meet it. If we have low expectations for our students, they will meet that as well. Start now before the trip and ask more of students than you think possible. Challenge their potential and see what happens.

10. Stay connected to God.
You can’t impart what you do not have. If your spiritual tank is empty, you can’t expect students to fill theirs. We must work first and foremost to have intimacy with Christ. Acts 20:28 says, “So guard yourself and God’s people.” Giving to others starts with having something to give; it starts with you having a deep, personal relationship with God.

Focusing on these keys will lead to great mission trips this summer.

Three common mistakes I see most often by youth workers.

1.       Prepare for logistics not spiritual outcomes
When were preparing to lead a group of students on a mission trip we can feel like all the details are overwhelming and so we focus on logistics. Do we have the forms, housing, work project and ministry set up? This focus is important but it’s not priority. We aren’t just taking students on a trip; we are preparing an opportunity for them to live out their faith in Christ. They need to understand what God’s word says about living a missional lifestyle and living out the power of Christ by serving the least in this world. If we fail to prepare them for this then the trip loses its potential and becomes an outing, nothing more.

2.       Focus on trip site not heart
I know the pressure of making sure enough students sign-up for a trip and I know the pressure of having to get parents to believe where you’re going is safe. But are your students more excited about going to ________ (your site location of your trip) or serving the God who made them and has redeemed them? Honestly, have you talked more about the site and what they will see or about the heart they will need to serve those that have less than them?

3.       No plan to debrief
I can’t tell you how many times youth workers have told me that when they return from their mission trip they are going on vacation. It seems odd to me that when your students are most ready to make applications and life changing commitments that we are out of town. When I was a youth pastor, on returning from a two week mission trip the first thing I would do was sit down and write a note to every student on the trip about how I saw God work in their lives. I would then take it to the post office so it could be delivered by the time they woke up the first morning home. That first morning back home students will decide, are they living the same or will they live out the changes they committed to on the trip? If you want help debriefing your mission trip check out Mission Life in the LeaderTreks store. It’s a great curriculum resource.

I want to challenge you to ask yourself WHY. Why are we doing this and what difference will it make? These questions could lead you to make some changes in your missions program that will help your students mature and grow in new ways.

Just a quick note: I wanted to focus on this because for the past few years I have noticed that one group of people who don’t seem to get what students can do are the adult volunteers. The truth is we seldom have any problems on mission trips with students, but we often butt heads with adult volunteers. While there are different reasons why, I’ve found most fall into two categories: 1) Adults want logistical roles and not relationships with students (they are afraid of students), and 2) Adults want to rescue students and not challenge them. It is very difficult to train adults on the actual trip, so I focused the pre-trip training on helping volunteers have more impact with students through the experience.

The 10 keys are:
1.    Going is not enough.
We must be intentional with a student’s mission experience in order to see transformational change happen. Often we think that it’s great the kids are doing a service project. This is shortsighted; we don’t just want them to go, we want them to grow. By being intentional with the mission trip, we could see students return with a desire for a daily quiet time, or we could see them want to spend their whole lives in service to the needy. God can do so much through our students; let’s not sell Him short.

2.    Be a trip mentor.
A trip is a great place to develop a long-term, life-changing relationship with a student. We must be more than chaperones. Most adults go on trips with students to keep them out of trouble and drive the van. If adults used the trip to develop deep relationships that led to mentoring, then the trip could be more than a mountain top experience for students. Challenge and train adults to look for opportunities to become a mentor while on the trip.

3.    Have a purpose for the trip.
What do you want your students to look like when they return? How do you want them to be different? Once you have answered this question, work backwards from that goal to where you are now. What kind of experiences do your students need to have to look and think like your goal? Share your plan with the other adults going on the trip. Cast the vision for your plan to parents and get them on board. Inspire the students with how their world will be different because they have changed. All of these activities will be positive reinforcement of the purpose of the trip.

4.    Inspire spiritual growth.
A mission trip is a great place for a student to encounter God. Students will feel a need for God while on the trip, and this is a great opportunity for you to introduce them to spiritual disciplines. Set aside time on the trip for devotions and prayer. Provide a tool like a Bible study guide or prayer journal that students can use. Encourage students to continue with spending time with God even as they return home. Don’t miss this golden opportunity to inspire spiritual growth.

5.    Find teachable moments.
Teachable moments happen when you mix a student’s experience with the truth of God’s Word. On mission trips, students will encounter many different experiences, and they will be challenged to think in new ways. Look for the moments to help them make applications for changing their lives back home. We have the opportunity to help them connect the dots between real life and God’s Word.

6.    Challenge students.
Challenging students starts with challenging the top performing students. Usually we want to challenge the students who don’t “get it.” But challenging the student who do is much more productive since it gives those who are struggling a model to follow. Challenge can be as simple as asking students: Is there a better way? How can we improve tomorrow? These questions will require students to think about their performance and how they can grow.

7.    Get sleep.
Trips become increasingly ineffective as team members become tired. I am amazed by how many teams come on trips with the idea they are going to stay up all night. Years of experience have proven this to be true: Students can’t be challenged or learn if they haven’t had enough sleep.

8.    Add value to your adult volunteers.
I have led over 200 student mission trips, and the number one problem I see over and over again is adult volunteers who have no idea what they are doing on the trip. They come because youth trips need adults, but beyond that they are not sure why they are there. We can change this by offering pre-trip training, by providing clear roles, and by having a clear purpose for the adults being on the trip (As mentioned above, my purpose would be mentoring relationships that lead to life change.). Another way to add value to adult volunteers is to write a note to their spouse thanking them for their sacrifice.

9.    Remember Boundaries = Love.
Don’t give students what they want; give them what they need. If you raise the level of expectation, your students will rise to meet it. If we have low expectations for our students, they will meet that as well. Start now before the trip and ask more of students than you think possible. Challenge their potential and see what happens.

10.    Stay connected to God.
You can’t impart what you do not have. If your spiritual tank is empty, you can’t expect students to fill theirs. We must work first and foremost to have intimacy with Christ. Acts 20:28 says, “So guard yourself and God’s people.” Giving to others starts with having something to give; it starts with you having a deep, personal relationship with God.

Focusing on these keys will lead to great mission trips this summer. If you would like the PowerPoint that goes with this material, check out the Freebie section on this blog – you should see it there.

I think things are changing – Many students today have a heart for people in poverty and slavery. Students want to bring an end to AIDS and the lack of clean water. They no longer think Christ, first compassion second. They are burdened by injustice, not the fact that people don’t know Jesus. It’s not that they don’t care about Christ but their hearts want an end to the fixable. Clean water, poverty, hunger, lack of medicine; fix these things first and then share Christ.

This thinking must be engaged – what if we were to allow seekers to go on mission trips and then invited them to small group? What if we mirror students’ thinking with our programing?

3.    What is your return rate?
Every organization knows their return rate — the percentage of youth groups that return each year. This number will give you an idea of the satisfaction of previous teams.

4.    What is your intentional plan to grow my students through your program?
Many youth mission programs are focused on just going. If you take your students on a mission trip, that may be enough in and of itself, but if you’re honest, you want more and your parents want more.  Look for an organization that has a plan to see your students grow spiritually. Every organization offers the speaker and a band at night, but you know that is more hype than growth. Again move past location and price and move to impact.

5.    What is your pre-trip and post-trip training?
I am not talking about logistic training with this question; I am talking about spiritual training that will lead to growth and application of the experience.  I find that most organizations focus on getting you there with the proper forms. I think it’s more important your students understand the Biblical mandate for missions and they can live the mission life style months after they return.  This pre and post trip material is worth its weight in gold if it helps your students understand the life God has for them.

Again there are many good organizations out there. You need to ask questions to find the best one for you and your church. Ask hard questions and don’t settle for good enough.