Category: Trips and Retreats

Trip Tricks: No Phones

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When it comes to trips, we have a strict no phone policy for students. In our culture this can be fairly divisive because of our love for technology and the fear of missing out due to our comfortability with having everything in the palm our hands.

But here’s the thing: phones, social media, and technology, while amazing resources, actually cause us to be more disconnected, distracted, and anxious. That doesn’t mean that phones and technology are bad things, but it does mean we need to be intentional in helping our communities use and respond to them properly.

While social media and phones may seem to help us stay connected, they actually aren’t helping our students build authentic interpersonal relationships with their peers. They are actually engaging in relationships from a distance that don’t supplement the real relationships we were crafted for. Their online relationships may not be a bad thing, but they are no substitute for the real relationships God has designed us to be a part of.

All that to say, phones and technology can ultimately be distracting and hinder growth and maturity on trips. Instead, we desire for our trips to be places that help students grow in their relationships with Jesus and their peers. We want to eliminate distractions in our desire to foster authentic, Christ-centered relationships.

Now in some ways, this is easier said than done. I have heard all the pushback from parents, students, and even volunteers. But the statistics coupled with the results we have seen (deeper spiritual growth, intergenerational connections, ongoing transformation, and greater desire for transformation in their communities) outweigh all of the pushback. We also implement additional means of alleviating some of the pushback.

Prior to the trip, we communicate with students and families multiple times through a variety of methods (emails, social media, phone calls, meetings, etc.) the expectations and rationale for why we don’t allow students to have phones. We also share the ways parents have to reach out to our team.

We share our staff numbers as well as the camp or retreat’s contact information, and highlight that all of our leaders will have phones if contact needs to be made. Our team also posts intentional photos throughout our trips on social media to showcase our students and help families be a part of what is happening.

It should be noted that while we allow leaders to have phones on our trips, we put expectations in place for them as well. We ask them to primarily use their phones for photos and not to simply be on social media, playing games, or anything else that pulls them away from our students.

Over our career in student ministry we have witnessed the benefits of not allowing phones on trips. Typically students are not excited the first or second time they have to give up their phones. We’ve even had some students sneak burner phones into a camp. But as the trip goes on, students start to relax and become less anxious. They engage more with their peers, they begin having more intentional conversations, and they spend more time growing in their faith.

One of the best metrics for us is hearing from the majority of our students how they look forward to not having their phones on trips. They understand the need for healthy boundaries with their phones and for building into their relationships with Jesus and their communities.

At the end of the day this is a choice each student ministry must make for themselves. I’d strongly encourage a no phone policy on trips, but make sure you communicate why you have chosen to do so, be gracious in your conversations, understand where others are coming from, and make sure you and your leaders are fully engaged as you have your phones.

Trip Tricks: Carabiners

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Trips are an amazing part of student ministry because they allow our students to connect with God and one another in intentional and transformative ways. If you’ve been serving in student ministry for any length of time, you are well aware of how important trips are and how much our students love them.

The thing with trips though is that we need to be intentional with them to afford our students the best possible experience that ultimately helps them grow in their relationship with Jesus.

The purpose of this new series, “Trip Tricks,” is to share specific ways we have learned to do this over the years. These are not a one-size-fits-all approach, but instead suggestions that can be molded and shaped to fit your program and student demographic.

When I started working at my current church I inherited a variety of things. Some I kept and others I didn’t. One of the things I kept, and am forever grateful for, are carabiners.

Now you may be wondering, “why on earth do you need carabiners for student ministry?” And no, I am not taking my students rock climbing, although that does sound like fun.

Carabiners are our way of engaging in intentional community and encouragement on trips. They provide students and leaders alike an opportunity to get to know new people and build authentic, biblical community as they grow together.

Allow me to explain. Carabiners are simply the tool we use, and you can utilize any other item for this. We take a bunch of small carabiners and a special memento that we clip to it that has one of the individual trip member’s names on it.

We purchased wooden keychains that have our student ministry logo on it and on the backside we created a sticker via Canva with each person’s name, trip, and year on it. We printed that off on sticker sheets and all of a sudden we have a keepsake for each person.

We then connect each keychain to the carabiner and attach all the carabiners to a holder. The next step is setting the stage.

On the first day or night of the trip we explain very simply what the carabiners are by saying something like this: “Each of you has a carabiner with your name on it that you will be able to take home at the end of the trip. During the trip, you will be getting someone else’s carabiner and your job is to get to know them because we will take time each day (or however often you want to do it) to encourage one another in our group.”

This is a little stretching for some people because it may mean meeting new people or getting stretched outside of their comfort zone. But affording your team an opportunity to build intentional and authentic relationships by encouraging and caring for one another will help your team flourish.

Here is how you can start your share time: have everyone sit in a circle and simply ask for a volunteer, pick someone, or lead by example. Each person will say who they have and then speak words of encouragement and affirmation into their life. Then they hook their carabiner onto the holder and pass it to the person they just encouraged. This continues until everyone has gone.

Now if it doesn’t go in a perfect circle and someone gets called on who already went, we allow them to choose who goes next. Once everyone has shared, you can hand out the carabiners again but make sure everyone gets a new name that isn’t their own.

Typically on a weeklong trip we try to do carabiner sharing at least five times. But that is how our group does it and it is subjective to the group and trip dynamic.

I’ll be honest, the first few times your group does this may feel a little awkward or indifferent. But the more you embrace it and lead by example, the more impactful this time will become. You will begin to see a culture and relational shift among your team as they begin to engage in Christ-centered ways.

The whole point of carabiners is to draw your team closer as they embrace the authentic type of relationships that God desires for us. As they begin to understand what true, authentic, biblical community is about, your team will draw closer together and crave more of what God desires for us.

7 Reasons to Conduct Mission Trip Interviews

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It’s been a very busy couple of weeks for my team and me. We recently launched applications for our summer mission trips and now we are conducting interviews. That means a lot more hours added into our weekly schedules to be able to intentionally meet with each applicant before we confirm they are on the team.

I know some of you may read this and go, “You do applications and interviews for a mission trip?! That’s intense and a lot of extra work!” Believe me I hear you on that. It does add a little more weightiness to applying for the trip and it does add more to our schedules. But there very clear wins and benefits to requiring an application and interview.

1. It helps us know our team better.

This is a big one for me because of the size of our youth group. I don’t know all of my students as well as I wish I could, so these moments help me to get to know them on a deeper level.

Regardless of the size of youth group, interview and application questions help you understand more about your students, their faith journeys, their strengths and weaknesses, and their reasons for joining the team.

2. It provides insight into how we structure our training.

When you get to know your team better it allows you to shape how your training looks. If you know your team needs to be equipped in better interpersonal skills, you can incorporate team building moments that focus on communicating and relationship building. If your team needs to understand more about sharing their faith or ministering in a different environment, you can focus in on equipping them.

These interviews allow you to better understand your team and shape the training to make this trip the most beneficial for them.

3. It generates buy-in.

Having an application and/or interview process generates buy-in because it requires effort and intentionality on the part of the applicant. The process doesn’t need to be crazy long but it should require thoughtful and intentional responses and highlight the importance of the trip. These moments help to ensure your team has the right reasons for going and that they understand what is expected of them.

4. It humanizes the process.

Sometimes just going through a sign-up process or application can feel clinical. But when you add in a face-to-face interview it allows you to put the process on a more personal level and gives you the opportunity to be intentional with your students.

I have found that on applications and in interviews students are incredibly honest about themselves. That affords us the opportunity to truly care for and walking alongside our students in highly relational and intentional ways throughout the trip and beyond.

5. It allows us to see strengths and pressure points.

Part of my rationale in conducting interviews is it allows me to get to know my team better and it highlights pressure points and strengths that each member brings to the table. In understanding that, I am able to see potential opportunities and flare ups that may come up during the training and/or the trip itself. This helps me to both prepare and engage with those responses in proactive ways rather than having to be reactive in the moment.

6. It helps us prepare for interpersonal relationships and conflicts.

This is similar to the previous point, but it takes it a step further and looks specifically at the relational moments that will occur. If you’ve ever gone on a trip with students or witnessed them interact at youth group, you know that there are moments where there is tension, differing personalities, and conflicts.

Now put those components into the context of a mission trip. Emotions are heightened, spiritual growth is happening in rapid succession, students are confronted with their own humanity and necessity for God, lack of sleep, new environments, and all the feels and it can seem like a powder keg is about to blow up. But when you conduct interviews it enables you to see where those potential flare ups may be and therefore allows you to prepare and/or circumvent them beforehand.

7. It helps us as leaders prepare for the trip.

Mission trip interviews take a long time and add a lot more to my schedule. But hear me out on this: while it makes a few weeks busier for me, it actually makes the trips easier. Why? Because I am better prepared.

I know my team. I know more about what needs to be done to equip the team. I have a better understanding of what the dynamics will be during the trip. I have insight into each person and how to care well for them. All of these things empower me to be a better leader and to be more equipped to lead my team well.

Have you done trip interviews before? What’s your go-to question?

Quick Tip: 8 Ways to Rest Before a Trip

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Next week is our winter retreat which is typically the biggest trip of the year for our student ministry. There’s been a ton of prep work going into organizing, planning, and behind the scenes aspects that have been happening for months. In fact, this past week has been incredibly busy and stressful with final preparations and feeling the crunch of normal programming coupled with trip preparations.

I’ll be honest, this past week has been exhausting. I’ve gotten home every night, felt wiped out, and just want to veg out. As the weekend approached I knew I had to make a conscious decision to not do work and simply relax, spend time with Elise, and stay healthy.

The truth is just a few short years ago, that wouldn’t be the case. I would have been frantically checking emails, responding to calls and texts on my days off, I wouldn’t be sleeping well, and the stress would be overwhelming. After a much needed and forced period of rest, I’ve begun approaching ministry with a different perspective that is focused on maintaining my health so I can be a healthy leader.

With that in mind, I’ve approached trips and retreats differently. While yes, the weeks leading up to a student ministry trip is busy and stressful, that does not necessitate us compromising our health, time off, and time with family. So let me encourage you to actually find time to rest, relax, refuel, and prepare leading up to your trip.

But how can we do that well? Here some ways I have found beneficial:

1. Make sure to get plenty of sleep. We all know this doesn’t happen on trips, so start to give your body extra rest in preparation.

2. Hydrate and make sure your body has plenty of fluids. This is essential both before and during your trip.

3. Eat foods that are good for you and boost your immunity and overall health. Camp food is fun (said no adult ever), so preparing your body by eating well ahead of time is essential.

4. Take preventative supplements and vitamins. Gotta keep up your strength and stay healthy!

5. Spend time doing things that fill you and bring you joy. Your upcoming trip will be very demanding in multiple ways. Take time to do something for yourself to charge up ahead of time.

6. Make sure to be wholly present with your family. You’ll be spending significant time apart, make sure to do some things together before that happens.

7. Don’t do work. Yes, you’ll get frantic last minute texts, emails or calls. But someone else’s lack of planning or preparation does not necessitate an emergency on your part. A simple text response saying you’ll respond when you’re in the office will suffice. That may sound a little harsh or dismissive, but your time off and well-being is important and necessary.

8. Pray and spend time nourishing your soul. You’re going to pour out a lot on this trip, so make sure your pitcher (i.e., your soul) is filled so you can pour out.

Quick Tip: Preparing Yourself for a Trip

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Let’s just pause for a moment and consider how all-encompassing student ministry trips are. If you’re the primary leader you’re in charge of everything. Organizing transportation, collecting and distributing medications, handling first aid, making sure students are following the rules, pouring into leaders, making sure curfew is followed, engaging in discipleship and relational community, tackling tough questions and circumstances, handling administrative tasks, and so much more! These trips can truly take a lot of planning and organization, but they also can take a lot out of you physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.

Trips require our holistic presence and as a result, they can deplete us rapidly. While I don’t yet have a miracle booster to rebound from trips, I can tell you that proper personal planning leading into the trip can do you a world of good that will help you lead and live well, and prayerfully bounce back soon.

1. Rest well before you leave.

This is so important because leading up to a trip it can be all go, go, go. But that can lead to a lack of sleep, more stress, and more anxiousness. If you take the time to rest and sleep well, it will help you lead well on the trip and be able to give everything you need to while you’re serving your students and teams.

2. Be preventative when it comes to illness.

Trips are notorious for sickness. Every youth pastor has a story about their students getting rocked by illness on a trip (ask me about the time norovirus hit our winter retreat), but there are steps we can take to stay healthy. Rest and sleep, hydrate, eat good meals, take preventative medicines like Airborne or EmergenC, and drink things like herbal teas and kombucha to help your body gain natural boosts. Also make sure to wash your hands regularly, especially before eating anything.

3. Have a plan and stick to it.

When it comes to preparing for a trip, it’s important to plan things out so you can reduce any anxiousness in the prep period and ensure that you’re not forgetting anything. Plan when you’ll communicate to your team, plan how and when you’ll communicate with families, plan what to pack, and plan down time for yourself.

While some of this may seem a little excessive, when you create structure and stick to it you are allowing yourself space to breathe and acknowledge you have completed all you need to. This helps to relieve stress and anxiety.

4. Pack your essentials and everything you need to lead well.

There are two types of packing we do as leaders of the trip: packing for the team and packing for ourselves. When it comes to packing for yourself, pack all the things you will need. Think about things like personal snacks, power strips, phone chargers, a camera, medications, ear plugs, clothing, and whatever else you may need.

When it comes to your team, think about not only what your team will need on the trip, but also ways to encourage them and lead well. Things like prayer journals, candy, fidgets, extra Bibles, coffee and tea for leaders, snacks for leaders, Bible studies, sharing the Gospel tips, and whatever else will help you lead, shepherd, and care well for your team.

5. Stay organized and communicative.

This ties into point 3 well, but the more organized and communicative you are, the better the trip will function overall. This isn’t a foolproof way to ensure a perfect trip but it is a way to ensure everyone is up to date and informed. That helps to make sure that plans are followed and understood which helps the trip to function well and for everyone to know what is happening.

Quick Tip: Trip Communication for Parents

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We just wrapped up our first out of two summer trips for our student ministry. It was a great time with our students but it also contained multiple calls and communications with families due to the intense heat we were experiencing during camp and the subsequent heat-related illnesses.

That got me thinking about how we communicate with parents before and during trips in order to provide the most effective and clear communication when needed. Here are five tips to help you do this well and keep parents up to date on what is happening.

1. Before the trip, provide information about how to get in contact with you and/or your team. One of the best things you can do is host a parent meeting, send emails, and have a print out of contact info for parents on departure day. These intentional steps will help parents know how to contact you and your team and also get all the pertinent information that they need.

2. Prior to departing, make sure to indicate how and where updates and communication will happen. Letting families know how you will post updates and where they can find them is important as it will help alleviate confusion or questions. Whether it’s via a texting group, social media, emails, or whatever works for your group, make sure that it is clear how and where you will share updates and communications.

3. Provide timely updates and prayer requests. One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that families love to see photos and know what is going on while their students are away on trips. The more photos you share the more engagement you will get from parents, but it will also help to amplify any information you are sharing. Therefore, you can utilize the photos to share prayer requests and updates for parents and there is a greater possibility of them seeing and retaining the information you’re sharing.

4. Share arrival and departure information clearly and multiple times. The more you share clear and concise information about timing for your the trips, the more likely it is people will be on time and know what is happening. When sharing information be sure to make it abundantly clear and simplified which will allow for better understanding.

5. Utilize students and leaders to help with communication when appropriate. When you’re traveling with students and leaders you may have more opportunities to get information out to parents and families. The key to leveraging this aspect effectively is clearly stating what needs to be disseminated outward. That means information is clear, constant, and consistent across all mediums. This resource when utilized correctly can be a big win in helping to share information.

Why Have Mission Trip Training?

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I remember going on my first mission trip in high school. I was a junior and we went to Mexico to serve in one of the cities there. I knew some of the group I went with and had a little bit of an idea of what we would be doing. I knew we would be performing some dramas portrayed to music because we were separated into groups and told to find time to practice and prepare.

We were given a music video and told to try and replicate that for our trip. We got together and practiced, and we ended up being pretty good (minus my lack of musical skill and being able to keep time). We had a couple of team meetings where we’d talk about knowing some Spanish and were given a brief overview of what to expect. Other than that we were told to have our passports ready and were given a tiny packing list. I had no idea what we were walking into, I didn’t really know what to expect or what we’d be doing, and I wasn’t prepared for the culture shock.

In other churches where I’ve served, mission training and prep work were not in-depth nor did they actually prepare us for what we would do. It was very basic and broad, and probably not overly helpful for our teams. Now, I have completely tried to shift how this is done with our students in order to better prepare them, help them grow and mature, and to set them up for success on the trip. I am not saying that what we do for our training is perfect or a one-size-fits-all approach, but I do believe what we offer is helpful and beneficial for everyone who goes on the trip. Below are the aspects we incorporate to make training important, necessary, meaningful, and developmental.

Team building.

Thoughtful and practical team building is a must for your group because it helps them prepare for the changes that will happen and the flexibility that is of vital importance on a mission trip. This can look different depending on your team and can include different games (Minefield, 4 Person Skis, Relay Races, Obstacle Courses, etc.) with thoughtful engagement and questions after it’s done. It could involve practicing building things or using different tools, it may involve different assessments, or it could even be assigning the group a task and removing aspects that we take for granted (i.e. speaking, seeing, lighting, directions, etc.).

In order for these to be successful you must make sure to debrief, engage, and help students process. Students will get frustrated by these exercises, but helping them to understand why they did and how these moments will develop in trips is key because then they can begin to thoughtfully engage better on the trip.

Self-awareness training.

This often goes hand-in-hand with team building because effective team building should have thoughtful reflections and questions afterward to help your team think deeper about how they engage with one another. But that shouldn’t be the only self-awareness training you do. Consider bringing in a spiritual gifts assessment, a small personality assessment like DISC, having students do an assessment like Strength Finders, or even having students think through what will be difficult for them on the trip. Create space for them to share those things in a smaller group and think creatively about how to respond.

Relationship training.

Now hold on for a moment because I know how some of you read that. I am not thinking about couples or “purpling.” What I am talking about is helping our teams understand how to have authentic, interpersonal relationships with one another in the midst of a mission trip.

Prayerfully, you are taking a group of students and leaders who are all very different people. That means their stressors will be different, how they respond to certain tasks or leaders will differ, and how they engage when overtired, stressed, hungry, or frustrated may cause them to butt heads with other members of your group. Training your team on how to understand those moments will come, how to work to prevent them, how to respond during them, and how to love one another well before, during, and after them is of vital importance.

Understanding where you are going.

Currently, we have been taking teams of high school students to rural Kentucky in the Appalachian Mountains. It’s an amazing community that we have the privilege of helping recover from devastating flooding that occurred in 2022. While we are only 8-9 hours away from there, it is a completely different setting. Culturally it’s different, their vocabulary is different, how they do things is different, and even what they eat is different (remind me to share what soup beans are sometime).

In order to help your team prepare, it may good for you to do a site trip or a vision trip so you can bring back firsthand knowledge to share with them. Regardless of whether you can go to the site first or not, you should work to help your team to understand the setting and culture you are entering into. Set expectations, help them know what to say and not say, talk about what they will see and hear, walk through how to engage with the community, and help them prepare their hearts.

Providing updates.

Mission trip training sessions allow you to provide your team with all the updates they need. Whether it’s updates on the trips, updates on support raising, or updates on packing lists, training allows you to communicate what needs to be shared and help your team be as prepared as possible. Updates help your team to know what they need to know in order to be successful and capable in their service to others.

Engage in thoughtful conversations.

One of the parts our training includes is thinking differently about poverty, how we see people, and how we can help. We want our students to not judge people or fall prey to the typical societal responses toward those individuals who are living in poverty. In order to accomplish this well we incorporate videos from Helping Without Hurting from Life.Church. There are six videos in total and crafting questions for before and after the video will help your team think critically about how and why they are serving.

Mission trip training is vitally important to helping your team gel together, serve well, and be equipped for what they will be doing. Trip training doesn’t guarantee success but it does provide your team with the resources and training that they need in order to thrive on their trip as they seek to serve others.

Tips and Tricks: Staying Healthy on Trips

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We just got back yesterday from our winter retreat and it was amazing! God worked in amazing ways and we are so excited for the commitments that were made and to continue walking with our students in the coming months and years. But do you know what inevitably happens to some of our leaders, and even us sometimes? We get sick!

But over the course of going on trips every year for the better part of almost twenty years, we have learned a few tips and tricks to help us stay healthy. These aren’t foolproof and you may still get sick here and there, but these tips have helped us stay above the curve and relatively healthy throughout the years.

Get some sleep.

You probably laughed at this one, maybe you even laughed out loud. Trust me I get it: leaders don’t sleep a ton on trips, especially if you’re the primary leader. But what I am saying is to make sure you get good rest leading up to the trip. Make sure you’re listening to your body and not running it down.

While you’re on the trip, be intentional with trying to get as much sleep as you can and consider taking a sleep aid if needed. When you get home from your trip get some rest and relaxation in. Take a day off and allow your body to recoup whether by sleeping in, taking a midday nap, getting a massage, or just pausing. Sleep and rest is key to staying healthy.

Boost your vitamin intake.

Before going on your trip make sure to increase the vitamins that help your body stay healthy. Take vitamin c, start to take Emergen-C or Airborne, and take allergy meds if you’re going somewhere further away from home. Boosting your vitamin intake will help your body adjust and prepare for the coming trip and help to keep you healthy while away and when you return.

Stay hydrated.

This is huge! Make sure you are taking in plenty of water and electrolytes to help your body stay hydrated and healthy. Hydration helps your body not only to function well but will also help you sleep better and feel better overall. When you don’t drink the right amount of water you’ll get headaches and short tempered, so staying hydrated isn’t just good for you from a health standard but it also helps you be a better leader as you care for your team.

Use hand sanitizer and wash hands often.

This should be a no-brainer but sometimes it’s easy to pop a snack or some type of food without thinking about if you’ve washed your hands. Doing this can lead to all types of germs and illnesses so it is imperative to make sure you’re washing your hands or at least sanitizing before and after meals, after touching door handles, and after touching high-use objects like games and even things in your bunk house.

Take cough drops and cold medicine to camp.

I find that at camps I tend to lose my voice if I don’t hydrate and have throat drops on hand. But even more than having those items, cough drops and cold medicine are a must. If you begin to feel under the weather, treating your symptoms sooner than later will hopefully help you avoid any long term ailments and hopefully feel better sooner.

Make sure to eat and keep up your energy.

I will admit that I’m not always the best at taking care of myself, especially when I’m trying to care for others. That means there have been times I’ve sacrificed eating to care for students or to have conversations with different people. But in order for us to take care of ourselves we need to make sure we are consuming food that will not only give us energy but food that is good for us. Eating healthy food may not always be possible at camp, but seeking to not just ingest sugars and carbs will be beneficial. Look for proteins and healthier options like vegetables and fruits if possible.

Have disposable masks to give out to people who get sick.

We had a student catch the flu this year at camp and we had masks just in case something like that happens. It hopefully will keep the potential spread to a minimum, and they also serve to help anyone who may be immunocompromised to keep themselves safe from the sick individual.

Try to not touch door handles or commonly used areas.

I know, I know…how is that possible? We have to use doors. But door handles have tons of germs on them so using winter gloves, a napkin, a shirt sleeve or allowing someone else to open the door for you will help you eliminate some of the opportunities for germs to affect you.

Don’t share drinks or food.

This is huge at camps and retreats. So often we may share a bottle of water, eat someone’s leftover food, share a bag of candy or chips, or take a bite of someone’s soft pretzel. But doing that opens yourself up to so many opportunities to get sick. We don’t always see symptoms nor do students share if they’re feeling unwell all the time. That means we are highly susceptible to getting some type of germs or illness.

At the end of the day we can only do so much to keep ourselves healthy. You may still get sick and your body may still be rundown after the trip. There’s no catchall to keep you completely free of sickness but following these steps will hopefully help you to stay healthy.

Preparing Leaders for Trips

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Our winter retreat is coming up in a few short weeks and we are taking our biggest group yet to camp. Of course that means we need plenty of leaders to go with us to care for our students as they shepherd them in the disciple-making process.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that it took me a substantial amount of time to actually host meetings and training sessions for leaders going on trips. I used to simply ask leaders to show up 15-30 minutes before students on the day of departure and would try to cover all the bases in that short time span. Over time I came to realize that those types of meetings didn’t cover all the details, weren’t intentional, and lacked clarity and relationship.

In the past few years we have begun hosting meetings and training for all of our trips even weekend ones to help prepare, guide, equip, and love on our leaders. Today, I’m sharing what we incorporate into our meetings for our weekend trips and how we empower our leaders to lead and shepherd well. I would suggest everything you talk through be put into a folder for each leader and also put into digital form where applicable.

Talk through expectations.

Expectations should incorporate what you are asking of your leaders. This should include expectations for when you’re traveling, stopping at places along the way, and at the camp. Think bigger than just what you want of your leaders on a normal youth group night, and think through what you’re asking of them throughout the entirety of the trip. You will need them to help with respecting drivers and their vehicles, honoring the places you stop at like gas stations or restaurants, and respecting the rules and guidance of the camp.

Talk through logistics.

Have you ever gone to a camp that you’ve never been to before? Did you feel overwhelmed? Were you trying to figure out where everything was? Did you know the schedule or were you trying to figure that out on the fly? If that’s how you felt, imagine how your leaders felt.

Preparing our leaders for what to expect is key. Take time to talk through what the camp is like, hand out a map if applicable, talk through what the camp offers, the structure of the weekend, departure and arrival times, cabin assignments, small group expectations, lights out, free time requirements of leaders, first aid, meal times, packing lists for leaders, and cleanup. Anything that will help your leaders feel comfortable and acclimated to your space is key and necessary to go over.

Go over the schedule.

I extremely dislike showing up to a meeting, trip, speaking engagement, or really anywhere that I have a role in, without knowing what is happening. The same can be said for our leaders and by not setting them up for success we are setting them up to fail. So take time to walk through the schedule. Highlight key things that are required. Talk through free time options. Walk through lights out and meal times. All of these aspects will help set your leaders up for success and allow them to communicate well with their students. I would also suggest having a printed schedule and a digital one for your leaders to utilize.

Talk about the location.

This is huge especially if you’re at a location that is a bit more spread out. Our winter camp is fairly spread out for free time activities and when we arrive at the camp in the evening the outdoor lighting isn’t great. So being able to show your leaders a map of the camp and explain where everything is will help them feel more comfortable and prepared for the trip.

Provide guidance for small groups.

Our winter camp doesn’t provide small group questions until we arrive on-site. For our leaders that doesn’t work because they have been trained to expect questions and guidance for groups at least 24-48 hours ahead of time. Because we know we won’t get the questions ahead of time, we build out generic small group questions and guidance for the groups to work through. This at least provides our leaders with some tools and resources to move through the small group time.

We make sure each small group knows where they are meeting and how to get there from the worship hall. We also provide guidance for how long to meet and make sure they are aware that it’s okay to go longer than the predetermined time. Another thing we tell our leaders is that there are additional Bibles, pens, notebooks, devotional guides, and new Christian resources for them as needed for their groups.

Bless your leaders.

We have talked before about blessing leaders when we go on trips, and I cannot stress enough how important this is. It is a way to value and care for them as you recognize their sacrifice of leading their students. We typically do gift bags with essentials for the trip (Advil, Advil PM, hand warmers, lip balm, and earplugs) coupled with various treats and snacks. But it doesn’t have to incorporate all of these things. Sometimes the best way to bless leaders could be a handwritten note, a gift certificate to the camp snack bar, a Starbucks gift card or bringing them their favorite drink, or even having lunch for them. The purpose of blessing your leaders is to show love, care, and intentionality, so however you choose to do this, it will be well received.

Spend time praying together.

This is a key part to helping prepare our leaders for trips. We take time to pray for our students who are going, the camp, the speaker and worship team, for our leaders, needed conversations, and for God to work powerfully during our trip. Typically we pray as small groups at round tables and then come back together for someone from our team to pray over all of our leaders who are going on the trip.

How do you help to prepare your leaders for your trips?