I get excited about kids doing missions. With the exception of the moment a young person says “yes” to Jesus, a short term mission trip is probably the most memorable experience they will have in their youth ministry years. More than a lock-in, or a retreat, and certainly more than a thousand sermons or devotions (sorry, youth leaders, but it’s true).…
For the past few months, I have been making presentations to adult volunteers who will be going on summer mission trips with LeaderTreks. I do this every year, but this year I wanted to focus on helping adult volunteers really understand the purpose for student missions.…
Encouraging our young people, and sending out Timothies to serve in God’s work…..should be a natural part of any church. What pride we have when we are able to nurture and support in our home congregations, those who desire to become preachers, teachers, missionaries, and other workers for the Lord.…
This four-part series will provide ideas to impact your summer planning and provide unforgettable events your teens will remember forever! These ideas are centered around summer special events and holidays. For your first Summer Special: MOTHER’S DAY! Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 11th this year.…
Here is a quick and easy way to raise money for your youth ministry for missions or any other time you need to raise money. To begin you will need 100 plain envelopes. Take these envelopes and beginning with the first one you write $1 on the front.…
After years in youth ministry, the one event that impacts our students the most are mission trips. But here’s another secret—the trip itself is the icing but the preparation is the cake! Don’t miss out on the cake because it makes the event so much more powerful!…
When students are exposed to realities of this world – injustice, poverty, AIDS, slavery, and lack of clean water – they have a greater desire to serve and take risks for God. When the reality of this world collides with the fake financial security of their lives, they stand at a crossroads and ask themselves: “What is God doing in this world and what part do I play in it?”…
A longtime youth leader questions the real impact of short-term service that’s divorced from an everyday commitment to mission in kids’ lives, and offers a four-pronged strategy for hooking them into a servant lifestyle Just when you’re all geared up for another summer mission trip, I’m about to throw a rock in your pond.…
Do our young people return from a mission trip feeling as though they’ve “done” missions? In other words, do they mentally check off missions from their list of “good works” and move on? Is the trip akin to a pill that fills their recommended daily mission allowance?…
I don’t know how I thought I’d drive everyone to our events, or be everywhere at once, or find the time in my already crammed schedule. But then it happened–I needed adults for the mission trip. I couldn’t drive all the vans and do all the chaperone details, so I put out the word to the congregation: HELP!!…
