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The End of the Youth Mission Trip as We Know It

When did youth mission trips become such a fad? Walk into the exhibit hall at any major youth ministry convention and you'll find at least a half dozen mission organizations soliciting your business. Open the pages of the leading youth ministry or Christian youth magazine and you'll see their advertisements. Mission trips are certainly popular these days, but is that necessarily a great thing?

If we're honest with ourselves, there's something satisfying in being able to say that you took your youth group on a summer mission trip. We feel that our youth group has made it to the big league.

It's hard not to be tempted by the youth mission organizations' promotional materials. These full-scale media blitzes with videos, media kits, and print advertisements, are so enticing because they make mission trips seem easy. Just raise your money and bring your kids. They'll provide everything else from training to T-shirts, and there—you have your two-week summer experience. It's another item to check off on our youth ministry resumes, and another summer trip to add to our church calendars. It's a no-brainer for the youth worker, right?

And why shouldn't it be? We've got lots to do. If we can take our teens on a summer mission experience without having to put much effort into it, why shouldn't we? That's one less thing to worry about, right?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not against youth mission organizations. But can our students get everything possible out of a summer mission trip if all they have to do is raise the money and show up? Have we made going on a mission trip so simple that we've trivialized the impact of these experiences? Do our teens view these mission trips as just another summer trip, like going to camps, music festivals, or amusement parks?

All the Wrong Reasons
If youth workers want their teens to glean the most out of a mission trip, they've got to plan the trip for the right reasons. In conversations with various youth leaders, I've heard lots of mission trip horror stories. I always ask the same question, "What were your reasons for going on the mission trip in the first place?" I've received many different answers, and I've come to the conclusion that a lot of people go on mission trips for the wrong reasons. Here are some of the most common:

1. Many of the other youth groups in the area were doing missions trips, and I thought it would be a good idea for our group to do one. It's been said before, but it bears repeating; just because everyone else is doing something doesn't mean you should do it. Maybe the other youth groups have spent years perfecting their summer missions program. Or maybe they haven't and they're going for the wrong reasons, too. The bottom line is if your youth group isn't spiritually ready for a mission trip, you shouldn't go just to be like other youth groups.

2. The church leadership said it would be a great idea to give the teens a mission experience. There are countless motives behind why the church leadership might pressure their youth workers to plan a mission trip. But a lot of the time it's just because they, too, have heard of other churches whose youth groups have had great mission experiences. This falls awfully close to "everyone else is doing it."

3. The youth group at my previous church always did mission trips and I think we should do the same. Equating the ministry capability of one youth group to another is dangerous. It takes a long time to get to know a new group. In a new ministry position, be careful not to assume that the new group is as capable as the last without first taking time to realistically evaluate their spiritual depth. Sometimes one bad mission endeavor is all it takes to prevent you from being able to try another.

4. I talked it over with my youth group and we all thought it would be a really neat thing to do during their summer vacation. Be especially wary of this one. Mission trips aren't supposed to be exotic vacation experiences designed to make your youth group's summer more interesting. Mission trips are meant to be about ministering. It's fine if your mission trip is exciting, and I fully believe that there must be elements of fun to it. However, if fun and excitement are the primary reasons behind the trip, then why not go lay out on the beach instead? Your group's heart must be in the right place to minister on a mission trip.

5. We've always taken our group on a summer mission trip. Don't you hate it when the parents of your teens give you this reason for why you should do something? "How can you think of changing anything. We've always sold candy bars as a fund-raiser. What do you mean you want to do something different?" But you may be tempted to do a mission trip for the same reason. It's tempting to maintain the status quo. On the other hand, a history of successful trips can mean you've established a flourishing, vibrant missions program. Just make sure you are constantly reviewing and updating your efforts and ministry plan.

What's the Real Purpose?
Those are some of the wrong reasons that groups take mission trips, but what are some right reasons? "We go so our youth group can experience life outside of their comfortable bubble." Youth need those experiences to develop a proper world-view and to expand their ministry potential. "We want our teens to gain a perspective on cross-cultural and multicultural ministry." In this polarized world, our teens must understand the problems and issues that segregate us. That's the only way that the Church is ever going to unite across social, economic, and racial boundaries. "We take the missions plunge as a teaching event, further cultivating compassion in young lives."

All of these are fine, noble reasons, but the reason at the heart of each mission trip should be because Christ commanded his disciples to be servants, both to each other and to the world. He commanded the church to make disciples of all nations, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. When we participate in short-term mission trips, we're doing our part to fulfill those commands.

If that isn't at the heart of our mission encounters and if those commands don't shape our planning, then we've missed the point. And if we miss the point, it's a safe bet that our kids will, too. We don't do short-term missions for the fun and excitement, or because everyone else is doing it, or because we're told we have to go. We go to serve and share.

Jesus' ministry was a living example of what the Church should do. When he healed people in the streets, he served. When he went from town to town, he served. When he fed the multitudes with a handful of fish and bread, he served. When he sent out his disciples two-by-two, he sent them to serve. At the Last Supper, he became a servant to his disciples by washing their feet.

Then there's the Great Commission. In Acts 1, before he ascended into heaven, Jesus ordered his disciples to go out into the world and be his witnesses. When we take our youth group on a mission trip, we're taking Jesus to the world. Our mission trips should not only be about serving but they must also be about sharing Jesus with those to whom we minister. The world is capable of bringing charity to those in need, but the world can't offer Jesus.

When You're Ready to Go
Even though many groups may have service and sharing God at the heart of their trips, I'm not convinced that all of them should go. There are certain milestones every youth group should reach before attempting a mission trip. Otherwise they won't live up to their potential.

In the Great Commission, Jesus said "…Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth." Jesus gives us a clue as to the order in which to build ministry. He didn't tell the disciples to go minister wherever they wanted. Jesus told them to start in Jerusalem, then go to the surrounding area of Judea. After that they were to move into Samaria, and following Samaria, they were to take on the world. Start locally and gradually work outward to the rest of the world.

So when are teens going to be ready for a mission trip? Only the individual youth leader can answer that question. But our students are more likely to be ready when these ministry steps have been established:

1. The youth group has a good sense of what compassion is all about. In this country many of us don't like to think of ourselves as rich. But if you've done much traveling to other parts of the world, you know that even our poorest people have much more than those in the truly impoverished parts of the world. The sad thing is American young people often don't realize how blessed they are. They've been indoctrinated into a lifestyle of consumerism, as have many adults. It's so much a part of us that often we don't even see it.

Our youth group represents our "Jerusalem" in the Great Commission. It starts locally. If we want our teens to develop a lifestyle for missions, we must awaken in them the desire to exhibit compassion and charity at home. We need to teach compassion and charity in our youth group meetings.

One way of teaching this principle is to use simulations. Host a "poverty" meal with varying levels of food and service. Some will be fed steak and others will go hungry. Or you could plan a "homeless for the night" experience. Another option is to participate in events such as the "30 Hour Famine" which draws attention to the plight of the hungry.

2. An active local service ministry has been established. Our youth groups need to be able to minister at home before we send them to minister abroad. Some believe that taking our teens on a mission trip will wake them up to the needs around them, but I think this isn't usually the case. Without an active local service ministry already in place, it's too easy for our kids to come back home and fall back into their old patterns. They had a nice trip with lots of memories but no real long-term changes. Ministering locally is our "Judea." There's no shortage of needs when we look around our communities. It's every bit as important to meet the needs in our community as it is to meet the needs in Mexico, the Caribbean, or Africa.

There are many local service organizations with which to partner. There are many books that offer lots of great service ideas for your youth groups. Take the time to establish a rhythm of local service, and you'll further enhance the service aspect of future mission trips. And our teens will be more in tune to ministering locally when they get back home.

3. The youth group has gone on cross-cultural ministry experiences within a short drive from home. Before immersing youth in a completely different country and culture, let them minister to those in their own country who come from significantly different cultural backgrounds. Our teens need to grasp the huge differences in culture and lifestyle within this country. Cross-cultural ministry experience in this country is our "Samaria." Samaria, though adjacent to Judea, was a foreign culture to the Jews. And like many misunderstood cultures and people within North America, Jews considered Samaria, and everything within it, offensive. When traveling, the Jews did all they could to avoid stepping foot in Samaria. But Christ commanded his disciples to go there and share the Gospel before they went on to the rest of the world.

Most church denominations have ministry projects set up that serve in cross-cultural settings. There are also parachurch organizations doing the same thing. Most of these ministries are ready and willing to partner with youth groups. Do a little research and make a few phone calls and you can be established in this sort of ongoing outreach ministry.

Ready for the Big Time
Of course, the individual youth worker will know best whether his or her teens are ready for a short-term mission trip. We may find our kids ready for a big trip even before we've accomplished Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria ministry experiences. Or we may be doing all of these and find our teens still aren't ready. It's an individual call.

Once we make the decision, we must allow ample time to prepare everyone for the trip. It's important to meet often, ideally starting about six months ahead of time, focusing everyone on the experience ahead and spending time in the word and prayer. A great idea is to do a team-building activity such as a ropes course.

And remember, just because a person can raise the money to pay for the trip doesn't necessarily mean that he or she should go on the trip. This is ministry. The purpose is to serve and to share Christ. It's a tough decision to make, but those who aren't spiritually ready should be excluded from the trip. Consider setting stringent criteria for potential participants. Use written testimonies and interviews by the leaders to help guide your decisions. Mission trips are reflections on our congregations, so it's important to send our best.

The time has come for youth workers to get serious about local missions before we move out into the rest of the world. Until we're willing to do that, our efforts and passions may bring about fun memories like so many other summer youth trips but little real change. How wonderful it would be if this fad of youth mission trips turned into a real youth missions movement. Just think of all that could be accomplished at home and throughout the world.

Former youth pastor, Jeff Edmondson, is now the program editor for Nazarene Youth International Ministries. A 12-year youth minstry veteran, he's co-written two books for youth with Breakaway editor Michael Ross: Radically Plugged In and The Construction Zone.