Group Mission Trips Resources

Surround yourself with a great team! We have learned over the years that a mission trip is best accomplished through teamwork. Between you, your leadership team, and our support–you can lead your students on an incredible, and incredibly organized, mission experience!

Believe it or not, there are adults right in your own church, and probably in your youth ministry, who would be thrilled to help. They may even excel in areas where you struggle, so get them on your team now!

Tips on recruiting your leadership team:

• Personally invite specific people to join your team. People best respond to a personal invitation compared to an announcement in the bulletin or a mass email. Give them a call, or better yet, treat someone to a coffee to share your excitement. Tell them why you think they’d be a great addition to the leadership team.
• Give your leadership team responsibility and authority. Once you have asked for help, let them know they can take the reins on specific tasks to make it happen. Also, allow them the freedom to lead in their own way. Give leaders plenty of time so they can do their best and feel empowered by you.
• Recruit students to help. No one knows your student’s natural gifts and abilities better than you, so trust them with responsibilities of their own.
• Meet often. Whether it’s a 20-minute touch base before a youth group meeting or a separate meeting time altogether, keep your mission trip team in the loop. Regular time spent together will help your team bond and automatically improves communication.
• Snacks and refreshments are always a bonus for any team meeting!

We have put together 7 sample roles for your leadership team to fill on the next page. We named them: Work Director, Break Maker, Devotion Leader, Organizer, Progress Reporter, Quartermaster, and Fundraiser Fanatic. We also listed what qualities to look for in each position and possible tasks for each one to take on.