Trips – Pre-Trip
The most successful experiences are those that are well planned. You can’t walk into a debate, sports competition, or music contest and expect to do your best without adequate preparation. The same is true with a youth group trip. There are specific details that require planning, and we want to help walk you through the process.
Trip Planning Calendar
Use these calendars to plan and prepare for your mission trip.
Urban Adventure Serve
or Mission Ready
2027 Locations:
Chicago, Dayton, Florence, Georgetown, Kansas City,
Knott County, Knoxville, Memphis, Milwaukee, Pawleys Island, San Marcos
Assembling Your Team
Deciding who to bring on your team will be one of the most difficult decisions that you will make. It will also be one of the most important. Since the LeaderTreks program is focused on leadership development, it is not for every student or adult staff. Our program is designed for the student that is serious about their faith and looking to take it to the next level. When the adults surrounding these students allow them to take risks, learn through failure, and experience real leadership, students will begin reaching their true potential. As you begin to think about assembling your team, read through what LeaderTreks expects from each team member. This should help you determine the characteristics of the students and adults you will include on your team.
LeaderTreks' Expectations
- We expect that participants are growing Christians. Implicit in this is:
- Participants have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and desire to obey and serve Him as Lord.
- Participants have learned that spiritual growth doesn’t come without personal effort or sacrifice and will be willing to do 45 minutes of devotions every morning.
- Participants realize that the Lord might be planning to teach them some valuable lessons on patience, endurance, love, self-control, loneliness, conflict management or any number of other issues in their lives.
- We expect that participants are learners. Implicit in this is:
- Participants will have opportunities to learn, but they will have to assume the responsibility for learning.
- Participants have a teachable spirit and respect the teaching of others out of humility.
- We expect that participants are willing to serve. Implicit in this is:
- Participants have developed a servant’s heart and understand that service is not a once-a-year event.
- Participants serve their teammates with the same joy they derive while serving others.
- We expect that participants are willing to suffer. Implicit in this is:
- Participants will maintain a positive attitude as they may experience inconveniences.
- The Lord may use difficulties during this short-term trip to form important life values in participants.
- We expect that participants are open to the Lord’s guidance. Implicit in this is:
- The Lord wants participants to be part of an ongoing ministry through their church when they return home.
- The Lord may want participants to reprioritize values and activities in their lives.
- The Lord may want participants to serve in ministry as a volunteer or vocationally throughout their life.
- We expect that participants have people praying for them. Implicit in this is:
- Participants have developed a prayer team and have informed them of their needs.
- Participants will follow up with their prayer team on how God worked in their lives.
- We assume that each team member understands what is to be expected of them. Implicit in this is:
- Each participant has read the LeaderTreks Standard of Conduct and agrees to follow it.
- Each participant understands the Level of Required Fitness for their trip and the physical challenges they will face. (To find the Level of Required Fitness for your trip, refer to the Risk and Liability Waiver.)
- Each team member accepts responsibility for their contribution to the team and agrees to fully participate in all team activities.
Selecting Your Students
Many youth workers mistakenly think that this trip would be great for the student struggling in their faith. Our trips are very challenging and we demand a great deal from students. We do this because we know when much is demanded of students they rise to the challenge and much is gained in their growth. The student who is still forming his/her identity in Christ has a much harder time rising to that same level of challenge. Understand that our goal is to challenge your top end students. This allows for growth on all levels.
As a youth worker, you need to assemble a team of students that are striving toward the same ends. Think carefully about each participant’s level of spiritual development. Try to create a team where all the students are near the same level in their spiritual lives. This will help us to craft an experience that will be the most beneficial for your students. It will also help you to identify the leaders in your group and be intentional about developing them.
We understand that every church is different and that you may be able to take your whole group, or you might have hundreds of students and be forced to choose certain ones. Whatever the case, we suggest that you create an application process as a way of communicating expectations and significance.
The Application Process
Now that you know what type of students are needed for your team, the next step is creating a process to find and incorporate those students. Here are some things to consider as you plan your application process:
- Create an application. We have included a sample trip application; feel free to adjust this to your needs. An application should represent the bare minimum requirement for your students. This form will allow you to discover the reason a student wants to attend the trip. It will also give you a reference point for students you don’t know well.
- Use reference forms. Reference forms allow you to see what other people think about this student. You will then be able to contact that person directly if you have any reservations about the student. This represents a higher level of screening for your trip and might be most appropriate for an overseas mission trip. Take a look at the sample above.
- Have face-to-face interviews. By talking to students individually you will have a chance to determine their ability to be a successful member of the team. Asking your volunteer staff to conduct some of these interviews will lighten your load and increase their ownership.
- Require a deposit and set a deadline. Students who are ready for leadership development are able to accomplish what is important to them. By requiring a significant deposit you will cut down on the number of non-committal students. Stick to your deadline. This will help you as you start to plan travel arrangements too.
- Make decisions by committee. At this point, you may still have too many students or have students whom you think shouldn’t go. Assemble a committee of volunteers, preferably the ones going with you on the trip, to review the applicants and make decisions. These people will also support you when parents question your methods. These decisions are tough, but you are doing what is best for your students and your group.
- Use pre-trip training meetings effectively. The assembled team should have 4 to 6 training meetings before your trip. These provide invaluable preparation for their experience. It will also give you an opportunity to examine each student. If you notice problems on your team at these training meetings, address them before the trip and remove any student from the team who is a problem. It is much easier to remove a student before the trip than during the trip.
Sample Trip Application
Sample Reference Form
Making these tough decisions about your team will be one of the most important aspects of your pre-trip planning. Don’t be afraid to bring ten great students instead of twenty who might not be ready. A mark of strong leadership is making difficult decisions.
When you turn students away from the team, be sure to give them solid reasons. Draw out a plan for them so they can be ready to participate next year. Follow up with them on a regular basis and challenge them to change what needs to change.
Being committed to this process will not only make your trip better, it will make your youth ministry stronger.
Use these promotional resources to help promote your trip and introduce LeaderTreks to your students and parents.
Promotional Posters
Customizable Posters you can use to promote your trip and encourage students to sign up.
LeaderTreks Logos
You have permission to use these logos to promote your mission trip with LeaderTreks. Click the logos below to open in a new window, then drag to your desktop OR right-click the logos below to save a copy.
LeaderTreks Logo (Red)
LeaderTreks Logo (White)
Promotional Videos
Florence Site Promotional
Kentucky Site Promotional
Kansas City Site Promotional
Memphis Site Promotional
Milwaukee Site Promotional
Pawleys Island Site Promotional
LeaderTreks Trips Video (long)
LeaderTreks Trips Video (short)
Ministry Planning
Your team has signed up for a Leadership Development trip with LeaderTreks which includes your students planning their own ministry. This trip will challenge your students and push you to hand over real leadership to them. The primary difference between this trip and other level trips is that students will be given full charge of one aspect of the trip. With these trips, we normally give your students the opportunity to run a one-week ministry.
The following resources and the “Preparing a One-Week Ministry” document is designed to help you prepare your students as they plan for this opportunity. They will serve as a guide for you and your students as you prepare your one-week ministry. Feel free to make as many copies of these resources as your team needs.
The first thing we encourage you to do is prayerfully consider which two students (usually one boy and one girl) will serve as the ministry leaders. These two students will be in charge of motivating and guiding their team through the planning, preparation, and execution phases of their ministry. Please don’t take this selection lightly as it will heavily impact the effectiveness of your team.
Resources:
Ministry Planning Guide
Domestic Edition
Ministry Planning Guide
Overseas Edition
Fundraising
Fundraising is always a challenge, now more than ever. It takes dedication, prayer, and hard work. We want to be a resource for you in this process. For that reason, we have put together a few of the best ideas we have heard on fundraising over the years in the download available above. We think these ideas might work for you, too. If you have any creative, killer ideas on fundraising, please share them with us, and we would be happy to send them along.
Parent Meeting
Holding an effective parent meeting is vital to the success of your trip. Parents have lots of questions about safety, logistics, costs, and emergency procedures. Be sure to be proactive in your interaction with your parents. The resource at the top of the page should get you started. If you have more questions, give us a call, and we can help you be prepared to educate parents about your trip.
Pre-Trip Training
Choose one of the 4 study tracks or mix and match sessions from each. For groups new to LeaderTreks, we highly recommend using Passport to train your team.
Passport: Spiritual Preparation for Mission Trips
Passport: Pre-Trip Training encourages you to go beyond the logistics of the mission trip and the cultural experience by preparing your students for the spiritual, team, and leadership aspects of the trip.
Session 1:
Mission Includes Me
Session 2:
Mission Is about the Kingdom
Session 3:
Mission Is about the Team
Session 4:
Mission Never Ends
Session 5:
Mission Planning Day
Imprint: Prepare Your Mission Teams for Positive Impact
Imprint: Pre-Trip Training is designed to help your students understand the impact their mission trip will have on the mission site, their own lives, and the Kingdom.
Session 1:
No Trace Mission Trip
Session 2:
Critical Others
Session 3:
The Tipping Point
Session 4:
Finishing Strong
Sent to Serve: Preparing Your Team for Something Bigger than Themselves
Sent to Serve is a 4-session pre-trip training designed to help students understand their place and role on a mission trip—to serve.
Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Session 4:
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The Least of These: Understanding God's Heart for the Least
The Least of These is a 4-session pre-trip training designed to help students understand God’s heart for the least.
Session 1:
Jesus Treats the Least as Family
Session 2:
The Least Lead with Compelling Love
Session 3:
Defenders of the Least Exchange Fear for Hope
Session 4:
God’s Glory
