Options to Think Through Before Your Next Mission Trip

Do you want to go on a mission trip, but feel overwhelmed by all the options out there? Let's cover a quick overview of the things to think about when choosing a mission trip!

Places

• Domestic – America is in desperate need for genuine Christians to step up and love their neighbors. You don’t have to go overseas to be used by God. There are many people in our own backyards and in the States around us that need to hear about the Good News of Jesus! PPM currently offers trips to Appalachia, Boston, Providence, Miami and many many more locations!

• International – The options for international mission trips are endless. The people, the countries, the nations, the languages, and the cultures that need Jesus are vast. What country pulls at your heartstrings? What language sparks your interest? Run with those feelings. 

If you aren’t sure what country God is calling you to, look at Operation World’s website to see the facts about each country, needs the people have, and ways you can be praying for the nation. It’s an amazing website! Once you decide which country you feel God is calling you to go to, contact us. We’d love to assist you in getting there and serving the people of the world!

People

Who should go on mission trips? Anyone with a call to serve. God does not show favoritism towards the young or the old. He longs to use us all. Some really awesome people groups that could become potential teams are:

• Youth – Every student should be challenged to participate on a short term Christian mission trip, domestic or international. Taking youth on a mission trip creates an environment, like no other can, for students to bond on a level with Christ as the center, to learn how to support and serve others, and to encourage them to bring their mission mind-set back to their home community. Consideration can be considered for grade levels – middle school and high school can take separate trips if need be. PPM and the pastors we connect with want to make the team's abilities, spiritual level, and experience fit with ministry needs and plans

• College – College can be an exciting time in life! New ideas, new places, and new independence being thrown into the faces of college-aged individuals all over our nation. If you take a look at our nation’s churches, it seems to be the ages of 18-25 is when people truly make up their mind to either follow Christ wholeheartedly or to opt out of weekly church services altogether. What better way to encourage this easily-swayed and influenced age group to stay grounded in the Church than to get them on a mission trip? This age group is determined, able, and wanting to find truth - the global church is an awesome teacher. 

• Inter-generational – This is the most beautiful group possible to bring on a mission trip – a mixture of young and old, male and female, contemporary and traditional. This is the Church. The older generations modeling service to the younger, and the younger inspiring the older to press on and continue bearing fruit. It is the most beautiful thing to see adults and youth teaching VBS together, ministering to the elderly side-by-side and men and women – young and old – doing construction work together. Invite your church, ALL of it, to embark on a mission trip together. The outcome will be incredible.

• Work – What better way to witness at work than to invited your co-workers on a mission trip? Although it sounds crazy, it’s possible. One of our favorite verses is from 2 Corinthians 5:13, it says, “If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.”  So, why not? If God calls you to do it, you can guarantee that PPM will be with you 100%.

• Family – Do you want your family to be grounded on Christ and treasure the things Christ treasures? Why not go on a family mission trip?  Throughout the pages of the New Testament, we are encouraged and commanded to go and tell. Imagine how awesome it would be for a dad to work alongside his family and model what a true servant-leader looks like. Think about the implications of children watching their parents share the Gospel with people around the country and world. Wow! What an amazing family “vacation” that would be!

• Groups – It’s okay to think outside the church-box when thinking about going on a team mission trip. What about inviting members of your sorority/fraternity to partner with you in going and serving? What about bringing it up at the next tailgate with your closest friends? Why not suggest it in your local women/men’s club? How awesome would it be to do a neighborhood mission trip, impacting a whole community locally and abroad? God is not limited and He definitely doesn’t think “in-the-box.”

Planning

The next area to cover planning. Once you find your place and your people, you still get to plan the amazing adventures you’ll take part in while on the trip!

• Ministries - What’s your purpose in going? Who do you want to reach? Do you want to minister to the homeless in Chicago? The diverse cultures saturating Miami? The unreached villages in Costa Rica or Guatemala? Do you want to minister to orphans in Belize or Haiti? Is your heart for the elderly? Do you want to bring clean water to the people in South Africa? Is your heart to help restore the broken women of Romania? The world is full of options and opportunities. God will guide, you just have to be willing to listen to who He has purposed for you to meet and love.

• Prayer - Prayer is key! It should be intertwined in every facet of preparing for your mission trip – from picking the place to packing your clothes. Our God is a God of details and He absolutely delights in us when we step out in obedience. If He called you to go, He will supply the funding, the people, the ministries, and the way! Don’t doubt the power of our awesome God. He goes before us to prepare the hearts of the people we will meet and to prepare our own hearts to be a part of His Kingdom work. Make every decision by completely immersing yourself in prayer first.