Month: January 2026

Trip Tricks: Post Trip Follow-Up

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It’s the end of your trip. You’re preparing your group to head home. You and your team are saying your goodbyes to camp staff, missionaries, and new friends. You’re taking group pictures, thinking about the ride or flight home. And when you finally get back, you can’t wait for those first few minutes of silence and stillness before heading home to see your family, take a nice long shower, and sleep in your own bed.

Sound familiar? I know I tend to feel all of those things during the end of our trips. But what about intentional follow-up with your students?

Students usually encounter Jesus in new and refreshing ways during trips and come away with a renewed desire to follow Him and grow deeper in their faith. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: are we intentionally leveraging and engaging in these moments to best steward and grow our students’ relationship with Jesus?

In my early years of student ministry I didn’t always focus on this. And it became painfully obvious that my students rode the “camp high” and then began to fizzle out as they simply went back to their old habits. But that doesn’t have to be the case.

We can avoid the “camp high” by helping our students to intentionally continue engaging in their relationship with Jesus and continuing in community with believers. We can help them see that there is more than simply settling for the mundane and typical life this world offers, and instead show them how amazing and grand it can be with Jesus.

One of the ways we can do this is by offering intentional steps our students can take to engage their faith and help them with follow up. Here’s what it looks like for us.

We sit our group down all together for ten to fifteen minutes at the end of the trip before we load up to go home and we take time to talk through intentional steps they can take.

We talk about continuing to be in biblical community, engaging with spiritual rhythms, next steps in their faith journey like baptism, joining a summer mission trip, serving in the church and their community, and sharing their story with others. Each of these steps are designed to eliminate the myth of the “camp high” and to help students continue to grow and flourish in their faith.

We also tried a new approach this year where we gave postcards to our small group leaders that were designed to give students a means of responding to their experience on the retreat. We realize that as our ministry has grown, the large group gatherings at the end are great, but with a discipleship format, having small group leaders engage in a different setting allows us to help our students grow and take steps of faith. The postcards can be fairly simple and should included space for contact information, and then some tangible check boxes. The check boxes could include things like, I followed Jesus, I want to get baptized, I want to serve, and I have questions.

We also try to be intentional in providing pathways for students to take after the trip that will help them grow in their faith. After our winter retreat we launch our summer trip sign-ups a week after returning home. We challenge students to serve by promoting opportunities during youth group in the weeks following our trips. We also try to provide thoughtful and intentional ways for students to share their stories throughout the year.

Providing intentional opportunities for follow-up with your students allows for continued growth and development of their faith. It also helps students to understand that their faith doesn’t simply ride the rollercoaster of jumping from event to event but is an ongoing journey they get to be a part of with Jesus. It also helps to ensure that upcoming generations don’t walk away from their faith after high school, but instead are committed to an ongoing transformative relationship with their Savior.

Trip Tricks: How to Determine Rooming Assignments

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It is inevitable. Whenever we have a student trip, the emails, phone calls, text messages, and conversations when you interact with parents or students will always focus on who is rooming with whom.

There are the requests that siblings are and are not put in the same room. Students will ask to be with their friends but not someone with whom they don’t get along. Parents will want to make sure their kids are only with certain other students, or they’ll ask that their student get their own room.

Rooming assignments had always been a piece of trip planning I did not look forward to. As someone who is a people pleaser and loves to be liked by others, I always felt like I was letting someone down when I put together assignments. Someone always seemed disappointed or unhappy. And if I’m being honest, that weighed on me fairly heavily and it compounded my dislike of building out rooming situations.

So it seemed I had two options available: give up on the perfect rooming assignments and simply deal with people being frustrated, or try to get it right every single time. But I actually learned there is a third option: handle rooming assignments with intentionality, care, insight, and a desire to foster community and discipleship. With that approach I believe that rooming assignments can be a tool and opportunity to help our students grow and flourish.

But how do we do that well? What are some keys to handling this intentionally with a desire to help cultivate our students’ hearts toward Jesus?

Plan ahead.

I understand that we cannot always do this as a lot depends on when you receive your housing assignments from wherever you’re staying. If possible though, begin preparing where you’ll be placing your students early as this will provide ample time to make changes as you approach your departure date.

Preparing ahead of time affords you the most flexibility to adapt and change things and gives you a better opportunity to be thoughtful and intentional with where you place your students.

Assign rooms by small group.

One of the easiest ways to figure out rooming assignments is to set them up via small group. Most youth groups have small groups that are assigned by grade and gender, which allows you to place groups accordingly. This helps to remove the puzzle of trying to figure out where to place students if you determine this to be your approach.

Work with small group leaders.

Another thing to remember is that depending on the size of your youth group, your leaders will know who should and should not be rooming together. Seeking their counsel allows you to hopefully circumvent any known issues between students and work toward a better trip experience for everyone who is going.

What I would suggest before asking your leaders’ input is to put together the housing assignments and ask them to look it over for their small group and provide any insight. Doing this process in the reverse will add a lot more stress as you’ll have too many opinions and cooks in the kitchen.

Don’t allow for changes.

When it comes to room assignments there are a million different reasons that people seek to have their rooms changed. I used to try and accommodate the requests but it became overwhelming and impossible.

Instead, what we have moved toward is assigning rooms with the best intentions and insight, without allowing changes. This ensures our responses are consistent across the board and everyone is on an equal playing field.

Now, that does not mean we will never make changes. But making changes is the exception, not the norm. We will allow changes when necessary, but they are always done after much thought and understanding.

Do not communicate rooming assignments until check-in.

Students love to know their rooming assignments before a trip as they make plans and want to create a special group within the room. But this can lead to more requests for changes and it can also lead to students feeling left out or dismissed by their peers if they don’t “make the cut.”

Instead, telling students their rooms at check-in circumvents many of those issues and ensures no one gets alienated or forgotten.

Be thoughtful about how you blend groups.

Inevitably you’ll need to blend groups when it comes to housing and this is where it can get tricky. Do you house middle school students with high school students? What about siblings? What about small groups that don’t get along? What if small groups or friend groups need to be split up to make housing assignments work?

Whenever you need to blend groups, be intentional and thoughtful. You know your students and their friendships, so seek to lean into those aspects.

Also, seek to empower students who are leaders when blending groups. Encourage them to help foster community and explain why they have their specific rooming assignment. Being thoughtful when blending groups helps to alleviate problems or issues before they develop.

Trip Tricks: Be Proactive about Your Health

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Our winter trip is quickly approaching and we know this time of year illness is always a factor. Different illnesses are quickly spreading and placing people in the hospital. We just had the holidays where people were in large gatherings and sharing germs. And of course we know that weekly youth group gatherings are hot zones for sickness.

Our youth group always goes to our winter retreat in January and our host site typically has 350 people on site for their retreats. All of this to say, sickness abounds before, during, and after trips, especially in the winter time.

As the leaders of our ministries we must be proactive in our approach to staying healthy as we prepare for trips. We know that there are a hundred different things we have to prepare and execute for the trip on top of normal programming and obligations.

So how do we stay healthy leading up to the trip? Today, I want to share some tips that I utilize in an attempt to be proactive before we leave.

Get a good amount of rest each night.

I don’t know about you but I really like sleep. However, I usually don’t sleep well (or that much) on trips. So I know that leading up to a trip I need to get a good amount of rest to prepare for the trip. Sleep also helps your body recharge and heal from all the germs that try to attack your body.

Take vitamins and build up your immune system.

When I was younger I was never really into taking vitamins. But here’s the harsh reality: it’ll only take one trip where you get sick to change your mind. Being proactive with your health instead of reactive is huge because you will potentially be avoiding the effects of illnesses that develop on trips.

So start by taking vitamins that are just good for your health like probiotics, multivitamins, vitamin C, and others that help boost your own health.

Wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer.

Before and during trips it is easy to rush and touch anything and everything. I mean just think about how many things you touch within the first hour of showing up at church. It’s a lot.

And now pause and watch your students as they touch all the same things. They don’t wash their hands all the time, they are passing germs along, and some of them are probably sick while doing so. That means we need to wash our hands often and at the very least use hand sanitizer.

Wash your hands before eating or touching any part of your face. Use hand sanitizer after touching things that are touched by others (think door handles, push bars, pens, etc.). Taking this steps helps to keep your body free of illnesses and germs.

Eat well.

Okay, I get it. We work in a ministry that runs off of candy, soda, and pizza (and the occasional walking taco). But this stuff doesn’t actually fuel us; it depletes us.

I used to eat this all the time and it messed up my body pretty bad. My doctor put me on an incredibly strict fitness and eating regimen to get my body back on track. I can tell you it wasn’t easy but it is possible and I feel so much better.

It does take extra work and effort but eating well will help you stay healthy and have more energy especially as you’re leading trips.

Exercise.

I don’t know about you, but whenever we take students on a trip I feel like I’m more active than normal. My step count jumps. I’m hustling from one place or issue to the next. I’m engaging in more activities.

Typically, I come home exhausted after these trips and my immune system takes a hit because of how active I have been. My body isn’t used to the activity and as it seeks to adjust, illness creeps in.

So instead of letting that be the case, start exercising before you go. Get in the habit of walking or jogging. Start engaging in more active activities. It isn’t a fix-all but instead is helping you build up your body’s strength and natural immunity.

Practice good hygiene.

This seems like something that is a “duh” statement. Of course we need to practice good hygiene. We know that. But how often at a weekend camp do we make an excuse, for whatever reason, to not shower or wash our hands? I mean it’s only a weekend and I’ll shower when I get home.

But think about all the illnesses and germs you are around and how depleted your body is. Practicing good hygiene not only cleans your body, it refreshes it. It makes you feel better and recharges your body. So don’t sacrifice it for convenience, make it a priority.

I am not saying that by following this list you will never get sick on a trip. What I am saying is that we must be intentional and proactive in our health and wellbeing to be able to fully engage and care for our students on trips. How do you stay healthy on trips?

Trip Tricks: A Quick Dinner Option

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Last week we shared an idea for an easy breakfast you can serve during a trip. Preparing meals is often a part of trips and a part that can add significant stress and work to those in charge.

I have been on many trips where I’ve been in charge of meals and that usually means waking up early, which also means sleeping less. It means added work in an already busy and stressful environment. And it often results to mental and physical exhaustion sooner in those settings.

But, I realize that sometimes this is the reality we face as we don’t have another option and we need to make sure meals are prepared for our team. So if that is the case, we need to consider if there are easy, viable options that can be prepared quickly and are still filling and tasty for our group.

One of those options is a dinner or lunch dish that I happened upon out of necessity. We were running a mission trip that focused on hosting a VBS at an inner city elementary school. Our host site originally told us we’d have a working kitchen in which to prepare meals. Just days before our trip we were informed that there was in fact not a working kitchen so all our meal ideas had to be revisited.

We now had to prepare meals via crockpots, microwaves, and a grill. After spending time online and looking for options, I found this recipe for pulled pork that turned out to be a huge winner.

It’s super simple to prepare and it cooks throughout the day while you and your crew are out and about. Don’t let the reality that it only requires root beer and pork tenderloin cause any doubt. The pork comes out super tender and really tasty. I was hesitant at first with this recipe, but I was a quick convert after tasting it. You can choose to add some basic seasoning to the pork if you’d like, but you honestly don’t need to.

You can then choose how you serve it. It can be traditional pulled pork with barbecue sauce, slaw, and pickles on a hamburger bun. You could switch it up and do pulled pork tacos. It could be the main dish with beans, a baked potato, and/or salad as sides. Or you could layer the pulled pork on salad for a different spin.

Pulled pork also keeps well for leftovers the next day so this is a huge win as it could also be used for lunch later in the week. This is one of the easiest meals I have ever prepared and cannot recommend it enough.