Ministry Journey Blog

Published at Youthworker Online (A part of Youthworker Journal)

Moving Beyond the Destination Driven, Vacation Approach to Youth Missions

Rev. Marcus J Carlson (marcusjcarlson.com), Associate Pastor, Bethel Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, CO.

There is a great temptation in youth ministry to have to attract and entertain youth. Whether this pressure comes from church leaders, the congregation or one’s own personality, the pressure to attract, keep, and energize youth is real in many youth ministry settings. This reality is of course a blessing in some ways and a curse in others. There is no question that the vast majority of youth ministry today could be seen as too shallow, not having the depth that Christ has called us to as disciples. When I think about these two realities, I cannot help but notice their possible connection. These challenges have a wide variety of causes and implications in many of our youth ministry settings. One area of youth ministry that I see the temptation to attract and entertain youth growing in pressure is in the area of youth missions.

At some point during my youth ministry career, I realized that more and more mission trips were happening in exotic locations that were commonly associated with vacations. It seemed that God’s call to youth ministries was growing dramatically in Jamaica, Hawaii, Alaska, and other desirable locations. This is not to say of course that there is not need in these areas, because clearly there is need in impoverished places like Jamaica. I do think it is critical however to check our motivation and to consider the image we are portraying as well as the message we are sending when we select our mission trip locations.

In some of the ministry contexts in which I have served, there has been an expectation we select a new and different location for our mission trips. The youth and perhaps others may feel as though each mission trip should be new or fresh. While this sounds good in theory, it can create an attitude that might cause youth and others to value mission trips based on location. It is not long before this destination driven philosophy can lead to viewing mission trips as a glorified vacation of sorts. In many cases the recreation portion of our mission trips become more important than the work or ministry performed. While it is wonderful to see and experience new things, have a time to unwind together and experience a different culture, the greatest power in mission trips is in the service (and processing of the service) that occurs on a mission trip. If we create or embrace a mindset that says that it is the location that matters the most, youth mission trips become about something other than their intended purpose. I am not suggesting that we never serve in Jamaica, because there is plenty of need in Jamaica, but we might want to consider where we serve as well as why and how we select our locations for our mission trips. We must avoid selecting mission trips based on a consumer mentality that focuses on attraction and hype instead of need and service.

The reality is that we can serve anywhere. It is possible in most youth ministry settings to have a mission trip in your own community. Perhaps instead of choosing our locations for our mission trips based on the desirability or newness of a location, we can look at other factors such as areas of greatest need (communities recently hit by disasters), communities in which we can build long-term partnerships or relationships, or even communities that will give our youth the greatest opportunity to serve and experience a new and different culture that will lead to even greater transformation. It is much easier for youth and parents to get excited about going to Jamaica (and I am not trying to pick on ministries or leaders that go to Jamaica) than it is to get excited about going to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. We as leaders need to think carefully and theologically about the motivation, message and experience that we will give our youth when we choose our mission trip locations. The location is not the most important part of the mission trip, yet the locations we choose for our mission trips speak volumes to those we lead and serve.

My simple rule: if I would go there on vacation with my kids, for my anniversary or even my honeymoon, I should think twice about making it a destination for a mission trip.