All questions can be answered from the standpoint of a domestic trip or a foreign trip.

I think the most important aspect of a missions trip is about being a servant. Doing something to benefit others that you have never meet or may never see again is an incredible opportunity. Spreading God’s love through serving Him and His people. I think you also realize how distracted you are in your faith when you see some of the people you serve having strong relationships with the Lord. You realize that God is all they have so He is the most important thing in their lives. We are so spoiled we sometimes don’t have that passion.

I think there should be a good balance. It should definitely be heavy on the service aspects such as working or building but I would hate for someone to go to another culture and not be able to experience that. You can learn so much from other people. Let’s face it, some of these trips are once in a lifetime so you want to make the most of every opportunity to serve and learn.

I’ve never really had to worry about the physical part. The trips I have been on were with youth and young adults so they were able to handle anything that came up. I think it’s important to be informative ahead of time and make sure you have people going that can accomplish the task you will be doing on the trip. For instance, if you are building, it would help to have people who have experience not only with doing the work themselves, but with training others to do certain tasks. I think spiritually, you have to have the mind of Christ. To be willing to serve out of love. I think if you have that mindset, you can accomplish any of the hard things you are asked to do. You are also equipped to share when the opportunities arise.

4)  What is your thought process when picking your missions team?
The people on your team have to be mentally prepared to sacrifice and work. Mission trips are not vacations. Each member has to be willing to push through fatigue and heat or whatever and show a joyful face through it all so that ministry can still be done. You want to have people who aren’t afraid to work and who are also willing to go with the flow. Sometimes plans change. You have to be flexible enough to make the best of every situation.

I love for participants to share at church. Usually a lot of support is provided by the congregation so it’s nice sharing the experience with them. It’s also a great idea to implement things learned into your own community. If you learned a new skill like building, find ways to use that in your own communities.