“Questions to ask before an international mission trip”
Jeremy Colliver is the Minister to Families with Youth at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, GA. He is a native of Lexington, KY and received his B.S. in Accounting from Georgetown College and his Master of Divinty from the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky. Jeremy has a passion for helping students to experience God daily, discover their spiritual gifts, and empower students to use those gifts. Jeremy and Laura have two great kids, Blaine and Molly Frances. They love to be outside exploring the world that is around them.
The majority of my mail in my mailbox at church is flyers and packets that I get from various ministry groups promoting their event or space. The emails that I most quickly unsubscribe from are the ones that are trying to sell me on an event. There are so many places to go and things that could be done for youth, that no time would be left for worship and discipleship.
So I started to create a list of places and events that I feel confident and comfortable with, but I soon found that list was growing way beyond what this blog was supposed to be about. Instead, I thought I could share the filter that I use when trying to decide where to go and what to do. So here we go:
1. Does the event fit the larger goal of your ministry?
2. Does the event align with you theologically or will you have to un-teach what was expressed at the event?
3. Does the event, including travel, fit within the youth budget and the budget of the families that are part of your ministry?
4. How many other events have I done like this in the past year, three years, and five years?
5. Who do I know, that I trust, that has been to this event before?
Hopefully these questions will help you wade through the different events and trips that you have on your radar for the next year. I would also encourage you to create your own list of questions that you and your ministry can use.
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