Getting Started
Before you plan any missions or wilderness trip you need to determine a number of key things:
What is your Mission?
Before you start planning for any missions trip, it's important you have a purpose for the trip. What do you want to accomplish through this trip? How does it fit with your church's strategy for youth ministry? At LeaderTreks, we know the difference between a good mission trip and a great one - purpose. Teams that come on trips with a clear purpose accomplish more and see a greater impact on their students. Areas of purpose could be leadership, improved communication, growing deeper in Christ, evangelism, expanded Christian worldview or cultural awareness.
Communicating the Mission
When students and parents hear about a missions trip, the first thing they think about is where they are going. They make judgments about the trip based solely on the sites location. We have been doing missions trip for a long time and have never seen a site change a student's life. What changes a student's life is the team members, challenges they overcome and spiritual commitments they make. The site plays a role in the students experience but it's a small one. Make sure when you are telling students about the upcoming missions trip you communicate the mission and how you want this experience to change their lives. Remember: students hear what they want to hear, so go to great length to communicate your goals for the trip.
What Trip Level Is Right For Your Team?
Matching teams to the right trip level is very important to the success of an LeaderTreks trip. We use the level system because each group is different and has different needs. The level system was developed so each group would get the most of their LeaderTreks experience. When considering which level is right of your group, don't just think about how much experience your students have but think in terms how much leadership of the trip they can handle.
The purpose of this form is to identify opportunities for improvement. Use the following 6 categories to help you determine where your students are. Be honest and have high expectations for your students. Rate your students based on the following: 1-2 Never True; 3-4 Seldom True; 5-6 Sometimes True; 7-8 Often True; 9-10 Always True.
Communication
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| 1. When one person talks every one listens |
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| 2. Students listen attentively |
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| 3. Many of our male group members are strong communicators |
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| 4. We have a weekly sharing time that is very strong |
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| 5. Words of encouragement flow naturally |
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Experience
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| 1. Our students love to serve |
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| 2. We do "at home" service projects on a regular basis |
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| 3. Students put a large amount of time into the yearly missions trip |
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| 4. Students consider missions part of their future |
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| 5. Our mission is clear and our students live it out |
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Discipleship
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| 1. Our students have a daily quiet time |
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| 2. Our students independently study the Bible |
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| 3. Our students use a prayer journal |
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| 4. Our students meet weekly in small groups |
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| 5. We focus on having adults in mentoring relationships with students |
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Teamwork
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| 1. Every student feels welcome in our group |
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| 2. Our strong communication leads to great teamwork |
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| 3. Our students serve utilizing their spiritual gifts |
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| 4. We make developing teamwork a high priority |
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| 5. We do team building games throughout the year |
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Evangelism
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| 1. Our students focus on sharing their faith |
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| 2. Evangelism is a central focus of our youth ministry |
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| 3. Our students use a specfic technique for sharing their faith |
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| 4. We have many new believers in our group |
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| 5. Our students serve on ministry teams |
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Leadership
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| 1. The juniors and seniors are seen as the leaders of the group |
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| 2. Our student leaders shoulder a lot of youth group responsibilities |
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| 3. Younger students look up to older students |
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| 4. Leadership development is a major focus of our ministry |
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| 5. We strive for excellence in everything we do |
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What is your assessment of your group? Where do you need work? Communicate those needs to LeaderTreks and we will help you develop a trip that will cause your group to face their weaknesses and begin to make the turn around that will benefit your students for years to come. What were your groups strengths? Communicate those strengths to LeaderTreks and we will develop a plan to challenge your students to increase growth and produce momentum for the coming year.
Get Students and Staff Involved Early
Look for students who are fully devoted followers of Christ, good communicators and teachable. Get them involved in site and team selection. Give them responsibilities in communicating the mission to other students.
Look for support staff that already have a relationship with students and are involved in the ministry. Communicate with them the purpose of the trip and their roles and responsibilities. Make sure relationship building is their main focus. Students don't need chaperones; they need mentors that will build into their lives.
Set a schedule of weekly meetings and detail job expectations for the whole team. Ask for a commitment from students in terms of participation, standards of behavior and servanthood. Hold students to their commitments. If a student is not willing to keep his or her commitments, remove them from the team. The truth is students that are not willing to keep commitments in the training time will not magically become committed when the trip starts. A big mistake leaders make is thinking that a missions trip will change bad behavior, it seldom does.
LeaderTreks Wants To Help You Have The Best Experience Possible
At LeaderTreks, we have many programs, assessments and strategies that will help your group get the most out of your missions experience. We would love to help you. Let us know where your group is and how we can bring our experience to serve you. We desire to use the missions experience to change your student's life.
