How to: Recruiting Your Missions Team

Goal #1: Get the word out about the trip and the FIRST informational meeting!

Step 1: Organize/create all promotional materials for the trip:

• Posters: Hang up posters around your church and/or campus. Include where and when the trip will be, dates for an informational meeting, and your contact information.
  
• Online: Be sure to promote via social media platforms. Ask your church if they will push out this information on their church social media platforms as well!
• Word of Mouth: Organize a team of 3-4 leaders who will help you recruit! These can be parents, students, other pastors or adult leaders interested in helping prepare the team for the trip or to go on the trip as well.  
• At Church: Make an announcement during a church service (at least 1-2 weeks in advance) Include a slide in the opening slideshow at church if possible as well.

Step 2: Advertise for the meeting:

•  Include details about where the meeting will happen, when it will happen and the general amount of time it will take.
  
•  Advertise towards appropriate age. Is this a family trip? Youth trip? For all ages?
•  Include information regarding who can join - church members, community members, other churches in the area? 
•  Advertise for specific roles needed: 
• Your pastor/Other spiritual leaders at the church
• Medical professionals
• Anyone who has been on a missions trip before
• New church members
• Missions Board (if applicable)
• Worship team and/or leader

Post information in your church bulletin or website about the informational meeting. If it's a Praying Pelican team, include our website (ppm.org) to direct them to other great tools and testimonies to look into if needed.

Goal #2: Hold an Informational Meeting

Step 1: Prep for the meeting 

• Ensure there is appropriate seating arranged
• Ensure that seats are close enough to hear whomever is speaking clearly
• Print out all materials you might desire to hand out
• Such as: a sign up sheet (detailed below), a print out a summary on the location where you are going, how much the trip will cost, items to think through before going (passports, immunizations, taking vacation at work)
• Print out a sign up sheet for those who attend the meeting to sign (you will keep this information)

Step 2: Hold the meeting

• Start the meeting on time
• Prayer to start
• Introduce yourself, in case there are new people in the room
• Welcome
• Who is Praying Pelican Missions?*
• Point them to our website for more info*
• A brief understanding of partnership - your team partners with a local church, PPM handles all the logistics and helps bridge the culture gap*
• Where are we going?!
• Show a video from the media page at our website
• Hand out print-outs if you have them
• Collect questions, and let us know if you need help answering them
• Pass out an official sign up sheet and include: 
• First and Last Name
• Email address
• Phone Number

End the meeting explaining that there will be a follow up meeting in a few weeks, you will use the email address provided to inform the team of that meeting. At that meeting, they will have the chance to submit a Mission Trip Application or Commitment Letter

Set a due date for individual deposits and Commitment Letter. This ensures timeliness of payments and commitment for trip from each person. Take a look at the sample Commitment Letter and adjust based on your needs!

Check out our additional resource “Hosting Team Meetings” for tips on how to host following meetings!