Taking students around the world to see God’s global mission is one of the great joys of Youth Ministry. Watching the eyes of students opened to God’s heart for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized is priceless. A well planned and organized mission trip can be an Ebenezer in a students life. What follows are 20 Mission Trip Musts that have helped make mission trips successful. A Mission Trip Guide per se:

1. Talk with church staff about global, national, local mission relationships
2. Use a Mission Trip Middle Man (Makarios, The Global Orphans Project, Praying Pelican) who has a long-term commitment to a church/location/people group.
3. Recruit Leaders for the trip. Assign logistical duties to each leader.
4. Open Trip Registration and interview potential team members. Pick a team.
5. Schedule 5 pre-trip meetings.
6. 1^st Meeting: Cover trip logistics (passports, immunizations, etc), fundraising, and assign mandatory reading (When Helping Hurts, The Hole in Our Gospel).
7. 2^nd Meeting: Cover the purpose of the trip. Is the trip focused on service, discipleship & evangelism, partnership development, or vision casting?
8. 3^rd Meeting: Focus on Spiritual Development. What are you learning from the readings? Assign team members a prayer partner and travel buddy who will keep them accountable and cover the other in prayer.
9. 4^th Meeting: Do something fun together. Have a cook-out, invite families, and conclude the night with families praying over the mission team.
10. 5^th Meeting: Have a packing party where all bags are weighed and supplies are checked and double-checked. (Best done the day or two days before.)
11. Begin each day of the mission trip with personal quite times. Encourage journaling.
12. During the trip drink lots of water, work your bottom off, and watch God move.
13. Regardless of the purpose of the trip, emphasize to team members that relationships are most important. Encourage them to actively engage with locals.
14. Each night of the trip have a team debrief. Ask: Where did you see God at work today? Who did you see God using? What did God teach you about himself?
15. After debrief, let different members lead a team devotional each night.
16. Bringing someone who can lead the team in worship through song is always a plus and helps set the tone for evening meetings.
17. Each morning, have the team draw names out of a hat. Each team member will write an encouraging note to that person.
18. The last night, turn the corner during your evening debrief. Emphasize how our mission field happens to be the location and people God has placed before us. Our jobs, families, schools, and communities are our mission field.
19. Also, have you team prepare to share their experience. They should be able to answer:
    1. What did God do on your trip?
    2. What did God do in your heart?
    3. What are you going to do now?
20. Have a team meeting a week or two after you return. Ask what joys and frustrations they have experienced upon re-entry to everyday life. Pray that all would embrace a missional mindset and fulfill the promptings God has given each of them.

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David Hanson: Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at The Fellowship in Round Rock, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.

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