Category Archives: Mission Trip Tips
Thoughts From The Past Thursday: Mission Trip Top Ten
This post will wrap up my theme week of short term missions (I kept my interest for that long…Yay!) This was originally posted on December 29th, 2011.
As I have already been pretty deep into mission trip planning for our 2012 trip, I realized this will be my 11th trip I have planned at 
this church. After going on nearly 20 short term trips as a participant or the lead I have picked up several tips and tricks along the way. I have put them in order based on when you would do it in the planning process, not in order of importance. Here are my top ten:
10. Know your purpose
This may seem obvious, but not all trips will fulfill the same purpose. If your main goal/purpose for your trip is to serve and accomplish a task (like a building project) then make sure everyone knows that. If your primary goal/purpose is fellowship and team building people who just want to get the job done will get really frustrated. It does vary between organizations, so know what you are looking for before you get started.
9. Research the organization or decide to do it all yourself
I have done it myself and gone with organizations. As you probably already know, there are plusses and minuses to both. Doing it all yourself is a lot more work but it will likely be cheaper. I prefer going with an organization. They have local contacts and knowledge of what’s needed that I can never get, and it allows me to go and serve with our group and let them manage our schedule. Most of the ones I have used have been great experiences.
8. Get your dates out in January
Once you have nailed down enough details to get a date, publish it as soon as possible. My goal is to have the dates out by new years. Some years this is easy to do, others have been a struggle. Families need to know your dates early so they can plan their own vacations or family commitments. Parents have told me they have literally had fights over going on the mission trip instead of the family reunion, help families out by publishing your dates early.
7. Require a non-refundable deposit to sign up
Everyone has good intentions, and a ton of students will show interest in your trip when you first announce it. If you make them write a check it forces them to think through everything before they sign up, not after. The words “non-refundable” are very powerful, use it to your advantage. Make it enough money that it will force a discussion within their family. Some parents will throw out $5 without thinking, but $50 definitely makes them ask questions. Apply this deposit to the total cost of the trip so the only way it will be wasted is if they drop out.
6. Do individual fundraising
I do not like “group fundraising”. I charge every student the actual cost of their trip, and it is their responsibility to raise the money. We do fundraising events as a group, but divide it among those that actually do the work and put it into their individual accounts. If the group has a large goal, 20% of the team will raise most of the money. That fact really bugs me. By making the fundraising optional and tracking individual accounts only the ones that work benefit from it. Ones that don’t want to participate don’t have to, and they pay for their trip however they decide to.
5. The worship/devotions are just as important as the projects
One advantage of going with an organization is they typically do the evening devotion. If they don’t provide one or you are doing it yourself make sure you put some time into planning these. Everyone will experience many things on your trip, and the evening devotions pull it all together and connect their service to their Spirituality. It all works together, so don’t focus too much on the projects and neglect the devotion times.
4. Plan every second possible
Literally schedule as much as possible. You don’t have to be busy the entire time, in fact rest time is a must, but schedule it in on purpose. Type up meal times, devotion times, project time, down time, travel time, lights out times, and anything else you can think of. Print it, pass it out, remind people of the schedule constantly and then actually stick to it as much as you can. If you don’t have a schedule you will be fighting the slow pokes the entire time and likely will not do devotions after the first few days…(re-read #5 if you need to).
3. Do pre-trip meetings
I have had many people comment to me how great our groups are to host, and pre-trip meetings have a lot to do with it. By doing some team building activities, talking through the details, and Spiritually preparing for the trip will jump start the effectiveness of the week. If you take advantage of this pre-trip time, your team will “come together” several days earlier once you are actually on the trip, which makes their effectiveness go up exponentially.
2. Confirm all reservations and details right before you leave
If you have done your work well this step seems a bit redundant, but there is nothing worse than standing in an airport with 35 people and no confirmation numbers. Go over directions with all your drivers so many times they roll their eyes when you mention “drivers meeting.” Make sure the rental company inputted the right code for 12 passenger van, you don’t want to end up with three compact cars. All of these have either happened to me (when I didn’t do this) or were avoided because of this step.
1. Pray through the entire process
This should be number ten and number one. Pray about your purpose and need for a trip before you start this process. Pray through the entire thing, and pray as much as possible during the trip. If God is not a major part of your trip, then you are just a recreational tour guide. The whole point is for God to work through your group wherever you go and whatever you do and to change the heart of every team member. God can’t do any of this if you don’t invite him along.
As I write these ten, I just keep thinking of more that I should have put on here…I might need to add to this list. What would you add to my list?
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Mission Trip Meeting Activity
When leading a short term missions trip, by the time you are actually on the trip most of your work is done. This summer I am leading a trip to Guatemala, and right now – months before we leave, is when I am doing the most work of the entire process.
If you do your job well now, the actual trip will be easy, and it frees you to serve and enjoy along with the rest of the team.
One major ingredient to this whole recipe is team dynamics. If your team is not on the same page you will not be able to accomplish your full potential. If they don’t know one another, the team dynamic you need will happen on the last day of the trip.
Pre-trip meetings are essential for the success of your trip.
We did this team building activity with our Guatemala team last weekend, and it went great!
Materials Needed:
A kids puzzle (# of piece needed depends on size of group)
Butcher paper
Crayons and/or markers
scissors
1. Split your team into groups, purposefully split up friends and mix personality types. We had 4 to 5 people per group.
2. Give each group 1 or 2 pieces of the puzzle. We gave each team two pieces, from different parts of the puzzle.
3. Assign each group two tasks:
Task #1: Meet everyone in your group, answer this question: Why are you going to [trip destination]?
Task #2: Re-make your two puzzle pieces out of paper, 10xs their original size.
4. Distribute paper, scissors, and crayons/markers to each group making sure they all have the same “equipment” and send them to a work area. It is best if they cannot see what the other groups are doing.
5. Give them a set amount of time to complete both tasks ( I gave them 15 minutes, plus some bonus time)
6. When time expires call them all into the main room and have them assemble both puzzles on the floor. Then form a circle with the whole team around the puzzles.
7. Discussion Questions:
1. Why do the two puzzles look different? They should be the same, just 10xs larger.
2. How is this a parable for our trip to Guatemala?
3. What does the “big picture” look like for our trip? What are we all trying to accomplish together?
This activity was AWESOME for our group, I hope it works just as good for you.
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Thoughts From The Past Thursday: Mission Trip Information Meeting Checklist
This next week is going to be a mission trip themed week. We will kick this theme of posts off with the info meeting checklist that I originally posted on January 28th, 2012.
As I prepare for our first mission trip informational meeting this weekend for our summer trip I thought I would pass on to you everything I present at this meeting. If you have done all your work up to this point you should have most of this down already, but now it is going public, so gather it all together and make it as clear as possible. When you do your initial meeting make sure you include these things in your presentation:
1. When and Where
This is number one because it is the first question everyone has. Make it big and bold and right at the top of your handout.
2. Price
This is number two because, well, it is the second question everyone has. Make sure you include everything in this price; on the ground cost, transportation (include hotel stays if need be), food, activities, project money, team shirt, and some misc. extra dollars. If in doubt about this figure round up, people react a lot better to paying less than being asked for more later. My goal is that everyone could come on the trip without a dime in their pocket and be taken care of the entire trip. I don’t include souvenirs or “blow money” in this amount.
3. Why you chose what you did
Don’t be afraid to play the emotional card or the spiritual card here. Hopefully you prayed a lot about where to go and be honest that this is what you feel God wants for your group this year.
4. Main projects
People want to know that making the sacrifices needed to go are worth it and that they will make a difference. If possible have at least a few different projects, some people are not good at physical labor so having a different option helps get people excited. If you are going with an organization you might not know your specific projects yet, so give their website for further info.
5. Trip Schedule
This is more for the parents than for the students. Parents like details, so give as many as you can and show how your time will be best spent. Everyone involved wants to know what they are committing to, and seeing that this isn’t going to just be a vacation is important for everyone to know.
6. Pre-trip schedule
This should include your non-refundable deposit to sign up, your trip payment dates, late fees, fundraisers, and pre-trip meetings. Again, the more details the better. Make your late fees are enough to motivate people to pay on time. If they pay late it creates a huge headache for you, so make them pay for your Tylenol.
7. Fundraising options
These don’t have to be set in stone, but at least have a few tentative ideas and possible dates down. If you can, try and coincide fundraisers with your payment schedule as much as possible.
8. Fun day
It is ok to be a tourist for part of the time you are gone. This obviously shouldn’t be the point or the reason someone goes, but including an amusement park or a day at the beach is a huge relationship building opportunity. Plus we serve a God that likes us to have fun, so don’t feel bad about including some fun.
9. Q and A time
If you present everything above chance are there won’t be many questions, but this is a good way for you to know if you clearly communicated everything. Don’t be afraid to answer “I am not sure, let me find out and get back to you.”
10. Pictures or Promo Video
Get some pictures if possible, or an organization promo video, or whatever you can show to get people excited. The more excited they are now the better chance they will make their payments and other requirements on time.
If you don’t have all of this information ready to present, then you aren’t ready to have your first meeting. If you don’t have it all together it is not too late…yet, but get to work soon. Have a great meeting!
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The dreaded “selling” fundraiser
I have written before about fundraising, if you haven’t read those posts I recommend you do.
Fundraising – A Necessary Evil
I realize I have a unique view about fundraising, and because of that I say no to a lot of fundraising options. I typically say no to EVERY fundraiser that involves selling something through an outside company. There are three main reasons why:
1. Profit margin is typically too small
2. Had bad experiences dealing with outside companies
3. Everyone else, from sports teams to elementary schools, do them
This year I received an offer in the mail from a company called Save Around to sell coupon books. What caught my attention at first was the profit margin, 40% minimum, more depending on how much you sell. Next was the quality of coupons, both the deals and the businesses included. What pushed me over the top on giving in was the face there was zero upfront cost.
I just closed out our account with Save Around this morning, and we had a great experience. Their customer service was great, they went above and beyond what they promised to do, and we made a good amount of money for our trip.
I am still not a huge fan of “selling” fundraisers, but this was by far the best experience I have had doing one.
Click Here to check out their website.
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Mission Trip Information Meeting Checklist
As I prepare for our first mission trip informational meeting this weekend for our summer trip I thought I would pass on to you everything I present at this meeting. If you have done all your work up to this point you should have most of this down already, but now it is going public, so gather it all together and make it as clear as possible. When you do your initial meeting make sure you include these things in your presentation:
1. When and Where
This is number one because it is the first question everyone has. Make it big and bold and right at the top of your handout.
2. Price
This is number two because, well, it is the second question everyone has. Make sure you include everything in this price; on the ground cost, transportation (include hotel stays if need be), food, activities, project money, team shirt, and some misc. extra dollars. If in doubt about this figure round up, people react a lot better to paying less than being asked for more later. My goal is that everyone could come on the trip without a dime in their pocket and be taken care of the entire trip. I don’t include souvenirs or “blow money” in this amount.
3. Why you chose what you did
Don’t be afraid to play the emotional card or the spiritual card here. Hopefully you prayed a lot about where to go and be honest that this is what you feel God wants for your group this year.
4. Main projects
People want to know that making the sacrifices needed to go are worth it and that they will make a difference. If possible have at least a few different projects, some people are not good at physical labor so having a different option helps get people excited. If you are going with an organization you might not know your specific projects yet, so give their website for further info.
5. Trip Schedule
This is more for the parents than for the students. Parents like details, so give as many as you can and show how your time will be best spent. Everyone involved wants to know what they are committing to, and seeing that this isn’t going to just be a vacation is important for everyone to know.
6. Pre-trip schedule
This should include your non-refundable deposit to sign up, your trip payment dates, late fees, fundraisers, and pre-trip meetings. Again, the more details the better. Make your late fees are enough to motivate people to pay on time. If they pay late it creates a huge headache for you, so make them pay for your Tylenol.
7. Fundraising options
These don’t have to be set in stone, but at least have a few tentative ideas and possible dates down. If you can, try and coincide fundraisers with your payment schedule as much as possible.
8. Fun day
It is ok to be a tourist for part of the time you are gone. This obviously shouldn’t be the point or the reason someone goes, but including an amusement park or a day at the beach is a huge relationship building opportunity. Plus we serve a God that likes us to have fun, so don’t feel bad about including some fun.
9. Q and A time
If you present everything above chance are there won’t be many questions, but this is a good way for you to know if you clearly communicated everything. Don’t be afraid to answer “I am not sure, let me find out and get back to you.”
10. Pictures or Promo Video
Get some pictures if possible, or an organization promo video, or whatever you can show to get people excited. The more excited they are now the better chance they will make their payments and other requirements on time.
If you don’t have all of this information ready to present, then you aren’t ready to have your first meeting. If you don’t have it all together it is not too late…yet, but get to work soon. Have a great meeting!
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Re: Youth Mission Trips, Do You Know Why You’re Going?
Last week I posted twice about short term mission trips:
Summer Trip Planning…in December
Yesterday I had two conversations with other youth workers about planning their first trips. I love that more people are looking into taking mission trips with their ministries, and I am honored to be able to help these trips be as successful as possible. I ran across this post by Brian Ford this morning and felt I needed to share it with you.
Youth Mission Trips, Do You Know Why You’re Going?
In my top 10 post the first thing I say to do is know your purpose. Brian’s post speaks to the right questions to ask that will get you to the right purpose. He gives five very good answers to “why?”. I encourage you to evaluate which of these five (or a different one you come up with) are the most important to you and most needed for your group this summer. No organization will fulfill all five of these extremely well. Most will probably do one or two of them well. One of the first questions you should ask an organization you are researching is “what is your biggest strength?” or “how is the typical student most effected by your trip?”.
As he says, there are a lot of options out there, and if you haven’t answered “why” you will have no standard to narrow down the possibilities. Obviously price and dates are going to have some influence on your final decision, but they should not be the first or the only basis of your choice.
Please do NOT do a trip just because it is what everyone else is doing. Ask the right questions, pray a lot, and make an educated decision.
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Mission Trip Top Ten
As I have already been pretty deep into mission trip planning for our 2012 trip, I realized this will be my 11th trip I have planned at this church. After going on nearly 20 short term trips as a participant or the lead I have picked up several tips and tricks along the way. I have put them in order based on when you would do it in the planning process, not in order of importance. Here are my top ten:
10. Know your purpose
This may seem obvious, but not all trips will fulfill the same purpose. If your main goal/purpose for your trip is to serve and accomplish a task (like a building project) then make sure everyone knows that. If your primary goal/purpose is fellowship and team building people who just want to get the job done will get really frustrated. It does vary between organizations, so know what you are looking for before you get started.
9. Research the organization or decide to do it all yourself
I have done it myself and gone with organizations. As you probably already know, there are plusses and minuses to both. Doing it all yourself is a lot more work but it will likely be cheaper. I prefer going with an organization. They have local contacts and knowledge of what’s needed that I can never get, and it allows me to go and serve with our group and let them manage our schedule. Most of the ones I have used have been great experiences.
8. Get your dates out in January
Once you have nailed down enough details to get a date, publish it as soon as possible. My goal is to have the dates out by new years. Some years this is easy to do, others have been a struggle. Families need to know your dates early so they can plan their own vacations or family commitments. Parents have told me they have literally had fights over going on the mission trip instead of the family reunion, help families out by publishing your dates early.
7. Require a non-refundable deposit to sign up
Everyone has good intentions, and a ton of students will show interest in your trip when you first announce it. If you make them write a check it forces them to think through everything before they sign up, not after. The words “non-refundable” are very powerful, use it to your advantage. Make it enough money that it will force a discussion within their family. Some parents will throw out $5 without thinking, but $50 definitely makes them ask questions. Apply this deposit to the total cost of the trip so the only way it will be wasted is if they drop out.
6. Do individual fundraising
I do not like “group fundraising”. I charge every student the actual cost of their trip, and it is their responsibility to raise the money. We do fundraising events as a group, but divide it among those that actually do the work and put it into their individual accounts. If the group has a large goal, 20% of the team will raise most of the money. That fact really bugs me. By making the fundraising optional and tracking individual accounts only the ones that work benefit from it. Ones that don’t want to participate don’t have to, and they pay for their trip however they decide to.
5. The worship/devotions are just as important as the projects
One advantage of going with an organization is they typically do the evening devotion. If they don’t provide one or you are doing it yourself make sure you put some time into planning these. Everyone will experience many things on your trip, and the evening devotions pull it all together and connect their service to their Spirituality. It all works together, so don’t focus too much on the projects and neglect the devotion times.
4. Plan every second possible
Literally schedule as much as possible. You don’t have to be busy the entire time, in fact rest time is a must, but schedule it in on purpose. Type up meal times, devotion times, project time, down time, travel time, lights out times, and anything else you can think of. Print it, pass it out, remind people of the schedule constantly and then actually stick to it as much as you can. If you don’t have a schedule you will be fighting the slow pokes the entire time and likely will not do devotions after the first few days…(re-read #5 if you need to).
3. Do pre-trip meetings
I have had many people comment to me how great our groups are to host, and pre-trip meetings have a lot to do with it. By doing some team building activities, talking through the details, and Spiritually preparing for the trip will jump start the effectiveness of the week. If you take advantage of this pre-trip time, your team will “come together” several days earlier once you are actually on the trip, which makes their effectiveness go up exponentially.
2. Confirm all reservations and details right before you leave
If you have done your work well this step seems a bit redundant, but there is nothing worse than standing in an airport with 35 people and no confirmation numbers. Go over directions with all your drivers so many times they roll their eyes when you mention “drivers meeting.” Make sure the rental company inputted the right code for 12 passenger van, you don’t want to end up with three compact cars. All of these have either happened to me (when I didn’t do this) or were avoided because of this step.
1. Pray through the entire process
This should be number ten and number one. Pray about your purpose and need for a trip before you start this process. Pray through the entire thing, and pray as much as possible during the trip. If God is not a major part of your trip, then you are just a recreational tour guide. The whole point is for God to work through your group wherever you go and whatever you do and to change the heart of every team member. God can’t do any of this if you don’t invite him along.
As I write these ten, I just keep thinking of more that I should have put on here…I might need to add to this list. What would you add to my list?
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Summer Trip Planning…in December
I read a post on Youth Worker Movement with a few good ideas and advice about planning a short term missions trip. You can read the post here if you want. Here is my comment I posted on their page:
We do a different trip every summer, everything from foreign trips to ones within a days drive. My goal is to have the dates and place finalized before Christmas. I finalized next summers dates and place last week, and we are doing a multi-generational trip this year.
A few things I would add:
1. Do your first informational meeting for everyone interested in the trip (and their parents) as early as possible, we do ours in January. This leaves everyone plenty of time for fundraising and gets your trip on family calendars before they are planning their family vacation.
2. Have people pay a non-refundable deposit to sign up for the trip. I just build this into the payment schedule (that you will give at your info meeting), mine is $50. By doing this you won’t have near as many people drop out, and the number you give your organization will be much more accurate.
just a few things I have learned in leading more than 10 trips.
Since posting that, I have been thinking about more tips and tricks I could give you on planning a great short term mission trip. I am working on those and will post them when I get them polished.
That original post stated how December is an important month for summer trip planning. I will say December and January are likely two of the most crucial months when it comes to planning a summer trip. As I have consistently done a trip every year, people are asking me about next years trip on the way home from the mission trip the year before. It is an integral part of my ministry culture, and it should be a part of yours too. These trips are a lot of work, and a major budget strain, but it is worth everything.
Have you started planning your trip yet?
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