Heart Prep for the Mission Trip

I know different youth groups have different approaches to who they will take on a mission trip.  We have several expectations for students to go on our annual foreign mission trip.  One is they need to be a Christ follower.  It's hard to represent someone you don't know.

Part of our preparation is monthly meetings.  Each month for several months we get together as a mission team and pray, focus and plan.  Before our last meeting I gave our team a month's notice to come prepared to share something from their quiet time.  My thinking is this, if I'm going to share Jesus with people it would really be helpful if I am actively growing in my faith.

At the meeting we opened in prayer and then I gave the team, students and adults alike, some time to share.  Only a few of the 16 of us had something to share.  So I know either:
A.  Some are afraid to share out loud in front of  a group
B.  Some just aren't spending time with God in a daily quiet time
I did this to confirm what I already suspected.

So I acted, even before the meeting, I went online to my "go to" resource center, LeaderTreks.  I found a 4 week daily devotional journal, "I am a Servant".  The whole focus on this devotional book is about servanthood which is perfect, in my mind, to do before a mission trip where we are going to serve.  All it can do is enhance our trip experience and help us prepare our hearts. 

I'll let you know after the trip if I think doing this together as a team for 4 weeks leading up to the trip was effective or not.  My guess is it will be.  Anytime you can put a resource in the students' hands you increase your odds of them actually doing it.  Granted some won't but some will and those students will be the difference makers on the trip and in their own youth group.

My goal is that each team member, even the adults, will be spiritually ready to go and serve and ready to share the love of Jesus Christ.

I handed out the books on Sunday and we start this coming Sunday, the 14th.  Rather than send a long email that some wouldn't read I created a video "email" and sent the youtube link to them in a text.