Within the next couple weeks, we’ll mail in a deposit to book a small group mission trip with AIM to Haiti. It’s something that the pastoral staff, other youth leaders, and I have been praying and planning for over the last few months. Two of us even went in May to scope things out (although at the time taking a group of teens was far from our minds). We’re going because God is doing amazing things in Haiti. As the world comes to their aid, the Haitian people are reaching the nations with a faith that is vibrant, hope that is inspiring, and the message that the Gospel is alive...

Given the recent surge of interest and involvement in short-term missions, you’d think that it was a new phenomenon. Actually, it is a tradition as old as Christendom. In the sixth chapter of Mark we see that Jesus sent not a select few, but all of his disciples out as missionaries for a short period. This gave the disciples a taste of what life would be like once they eventually became full-time missionaries. The experience was a foundational one in their growth as they traveled from village to village with only God’s power to guide them. Wouldn’t it be great if the process...

At AIM, we believe that short-term mission trips are one of the best discipling tools the church has today. They’re kinda like the Slap Chop of raising up world-changers, you know? Many churches and youth groups (maybe even yours) across the country have experienced the power of short-term missions firsthand. And yet, there’s also an attitude that short-term missions just another fad. They’re something a group does once a year, sandwiched around summer vacations or the annual spaghetti dinner. Instead of viewing a trip as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and something that...

Here’s a really good question: How can you equip your students with practical tools so they can spiritually nourish themselves, grow and reproduce? After all, those are the basic functions of any living thing. And your kids can’t be dependent on you forever. With that, how do you expose them to God so their faith can be tested and grow, so they develop a hunger, so Jesus can take over their life? How in the world do you turn a teen away from him/herself? Not by talking. Your youth nights once or twice a week may be complete with super snacks, wonderful worship music, great games,...

When I was serving as a full time youth pastor, I did the thing we all do – plan our summer mission trip. As many of my colleagues had, I inherited a summer mission program when I got to the church. It was the program that they did every year for I-don’t-know-how-many years and the last thing that I was to do was to rock the boat and change what we did. Long story short, after two years of that program, I noticed a need to rock the boat, to change what we did. You see, I’m of the opinion that missions isn’t just about serving outwardly – to the least of these, but also...

How can mission trips leave a long-term imprint in the lives of our students? How can we prevent the trip becoming just another spiritual high.   Making the most of the experience begins before the trip starts and goes long after after the trip concludes. This is what we try to do in my youth ministry Before: Prior to each trip we try to focus on the culture of the place that we are going. So for example, in our youth group, when we are doing a trip to Kenya we spend a lot of time before the trip focusing on the culture. We also try to invite someone from Kenya come and speak to our...