Top Tips for Planning and Launching an Intergenerational Mission Trip

Learn about a new way of planning mission trips.

Mission Trips Are Changing

In days gone by, the summer mission trip was the highlight of the year for many church youth programs, and for good reason! Kids love them because it is a fun adventure with their friends. Parents love them because it is a week of church provided childcare while their kids learn important lessons. Church leaders love them because we get more relationship building time with kids during a week-long mission trip than we do in an entire year of church school, youth group, or confirmation classes. So for decades we have dutifully packed up vans and buses full of kids and headed off to learn, live and serve together for a memorable week, and it was a win for everybody.

But as Mainline Protestant churches face declining youth enrollment, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic, many churches are struggling to provide the staffing capacity and critical mass to run successful Youth Mission Trips. It is easy to get frustrated, especially when parents tell you they are interested, but they can not commit until after they know about the summer sports camp schedule. It is enough to make a youth minister’s head explode.

In light of these changes, many churches are turning to Intergenerational Mission Trips as an alternative. After all - why should the youth have all the fun? If you are considering offering a mission trip this summer - youth or intergenerational, here are a few things to think about, especially if it is the first trip in a while.

The Basics

A Mission Trip (sometimes called a Service Learning Trip, Pilgrimage, etc…) is a time of practicing intentional Christian community - being together in an intentional group of people who share resources, worship, and serve to aid in human need. Your template for a mission trip might look like a weekend to a nearby city to serve in soup kitchens, or three weeks in a foreign country providing medical services, or something in between. All of those can be great faith-forming and life-changing experiences. In the end, where you go and what you do are shaped by your available resources and participant interest. More importantly, the “Where” and the “What” are supplemental details of the greater experience - practicing Christian faith intentionally together. Intentional Christian community is a powerful and life-shaping thing, which is why the movement of Jesus-following people is still alive and kicking 2000 years after Jesus died. So if you want to put together a meaningful trip for this summer, why not think about an intergenerational experience?

Why Consider Going Intergenerational?

For some it’s a numbers game. If you do not have enough youth to have a mission trip, why not include some adults and families that will get something meaningful out of the trip as well? More than just making the numbers work, having youth, young adults, parents, church elders, and even little children come along, can make for a richer experience for all.

Adults are no less transformed by intentional Christian communities than youth. In many cases, the life experience that adults and elders bring to a mission trip makes the experience even more transformational for them. When the end goal of the trip is to teach people how to create and live in intentional Christian community all the time, adults tend to have greater resources to do so, meaning the impact is magnified far beyond the trip. Bringing small children along is a great way to start to teach kids early about intentional Christian community. It can also provide tremendous levity and joy.

Intergenerational Mission Trips also help build connections across generations. Western society tends to be segregated by age. The church is one of the few intergenerational institutions we have. The power that comes from connecting children and teens to a church’s adults and elders can have a deep impact. For decades our model of church has sent the children off to church school during worship and sequestered our teens away at youth group. Those programs certainly have their place, but without feeling a sense of connection to the adults of the church, teens easily feel “cut loose” once they graduate from high school. Having relationships outside of their parents and peers in the church gives them a sense of connectedness to the congregation.

Mission Trips are also a great way for new members (or long time members) of any age to form and deepen relationships in the congregation. Let's be honest, there are probably people in your congregation for whom organ music, group singing, and uncomfortable chairs at 10 am on Sunday mornings just don’t feed their spirituality. Spread the word of your trip far and wide, and you will be surprised to see who comes out of the woodwork looking to deepen their faith through service and action.

All of this can seem like a lot of work, but in reality, going intergenerational should make things easier for a trip organizer (often the minister). Drawing in other adults allows a trip organizer to rely on other people’s gifts and skills instead of doing everything themself. Recruit deacons to attend and let them plan the group worship. It’s a low stakes environment where they can try new things or build their confidence. Recruiting people with experience and expertise in the work your team is doing means the minister doesn’t have to become an expert on literacy, or construction, or food service prior to the trip. Chances are, there are people within the congregation with these skills already, and more often than not, they are honored to be recognized and celebrated for sharing those gifts. And bringing a parent on the trip just might help curb the worst behaviors of that challenging youth that you are having second thoughts about bringing along.

Intergenerational Trips Come with Unique Challenges

At this point you might be thinking that this is the perfect opportunity to offer an intergenerational program with your congregation… but then some questions start to arise. Undoubtedly an intergenerational mission trip requires thinking about some things that might not come up on a youth trip.

First, set expectations from the beginning. While children and youth are used to being told what to do most of the time, adults can bristle at the idea of sacrificing some of their autonomy during the week. Whatever policies you set to govern your intentional community for the week - limited phone use, no alcohol, only group activities during free time, etc… make sure they are communicated clearly to adults before they sign up.

Second, think about the creature comforts that people will need. While teens might grumble about sleeping on an air mattress on the floor of a church basement, it’s usually not a deal breaker. That may not be true for senior citizens. From real beds with mattresses, to separated sleeping spaces for families with children, the sleeping arrangements might need to be reconsidered when your participants range in age from 8 to 80. That’s also true of shower and bathroom accommodations, meals and diets, transportation, mobility, and more.

Third, get creative with how to engage people. Remember that the point is not to build the most houses or to serve the most meals - it’s for folks to practice living in an intentional Christian community. Once you begin to market this trip, inevitably one or more people will approach you saying they are interested in the experience but they are not sure about some aspect of the trip or work. It’s ok to bring along someone who can’t swing a hammer, so their job for the week is just to support the rest of the team. The experience will be richer for everyone with that participant along.

Fourth, be aware that when families come on a trip together, a whole new set of dynamics can emerge. Within the context of the group, family issues can come to light. A prepared trip organizer keeps an eye on this and helps families to isolate and work out their issues within the context of their family unit before they grow to include others on the trip. A wise leader discerns when to say something, and when to simply let the family unit do its thing.

An Intergenerational Mission Trip Easy Button

If all of this is sounding great and you’re feeling gung ho about organizing a mission trip - more power to you! On the other hand, if this sounds great but it’s difficult to imagine organizing all of this while also balancing many other responsibilities, you should consider using an experienced mission trip hosting organization. It’s always wise to use established host organizations who align with your theology and have connections on the ground with local partners. Those local connections help your group manage logistics, learn, stay safe, and use your time well. At Incredible Days, we work with churches of all sizes to offer an affordable “Easy Button” for mission trips. With established Mission Trip sites in New England, and the ability to create customized trips all over the world, we take the workload off of local church people and bring a wealth of experience to organizing mission trips for groups of all ages and sizes. Consider using Incredible Days or another mission trip hosting organization to streamline and simplify the experience so that you can have a transformational trip as well.

A Blessing

Whatever the future of your church’s mission programming, may it be fruitful, faithful, and fulfilling. Good luck, the world needs you!

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Rev. Andrew Wicks is a UCC Pastor in Connecticut and the Founder of Incredible Days. We encourage you to check out their incredible services!