Mission Trips & Spiritual Growth Spurts
I remember the physical awkwardness that hit me during the late elementary and early middle school years. Growing pains.
My parents were concerned about the multitude of spilled drinks that resulted from using limbs that were just a little longer than the day before. It seemed like I could outgrow shoes and clothes in a matter of minutes. Perhaps worst of all, I was regularly embarrassed by tripping up the steps at school in front of cute girls. Not that they were paying attention.
Accompanying the existential pain was the physical pain. Sometimes growing up really hurts. I would get side stitches and weird sensations in my arms and legs. But it was all part of the process. Growing pains serve an important purpose. Without them, our bodies would be stunted, unable to reach their full potential, because growing pains are the precursors of growth spurts.
We ‘re familiar with the similar importance of spiritual growth pains. Sometimes these pains arrive as the simple result of living in a world where there is sin and death. When times like these crash in on a young person, the best youth ministry leaders are there to help. But sometimes spiritual growth pains need to be induced because spiritual growing pains are often the precursors of spiritual growth spurts. Without them, our youth ministries could be stunted, unable to reach their fullest potential.
And one of the best ways to induce spiritual pains is a mission trip (though you may not want to use this in your promotion!).
Jesus knew this. He took his disciples on mission trips. These trips were a rich source of learning for his followers, as well as an opportunity for Jesus to expand the impact of the Good News. On at least two occasions, we get a peek into his pre-trip preparation (Matthew 10:5-42, Luke 10:1-16). After one of them, we even get in on one of his post-trip debrief sessions (Luke 10:17-24).
That’s why Sonlife offers mission trips. We have two types of experiences for your students, in three different settings:
- Remix (Canada) & XJ (the US) – These are 5-day summer conferences for high school students. They equip students as disciple-makers with the evangelism and apologetics tools they need to reach their friends. You can find out more about them at
- Fusion – This is a short-term missions experience that strategically partners churches in North America with churches in Latin America. The purpose of this partnership is to multiply healthy, disciple-making student ministries. You can find out more about Fusion at
We’d love to answer any questions for you about these experiences, or have you join us this year!