It’s a new year, and ministry plans are underway! The 2020 summer mission trip season will be upon us before you know it, which means youth pastors everywhere are looking for affordable mission trip opportunities.
There are lots of sources for finding cheap mission trips for your group, but you won’t find a more affordable opportunity than Love Packages!
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Benefits of a Short-Term Mission Trip
A good short-term mission trip will accomplish two ends:
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- Spread the gospel. The ultimate aim of any mission trip is to take the word of God to the ends of the earth. A good short term mission trip will partner with the local Church to serve a long-term strategy.
. - Inspire your missionaries. Getting people—especially young people—out of their comfort zones is profound. Getting them in a place to serve others, and to serve something bigger than themselves, is life-changing.
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The difficulty, of course, is the cost. Two weeks overseas costs several thousand dollars and requires a lot of logistics. What if there was another way to get students out of their bubbles, doing meaningful work, and serving the global Church?
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An Affordable Mission Trip Opportunity
The most affordable overseas mission trip opportunities we could find in 2020 ring up for at least $500. Even a one-week domestic mission trip costs about the same (or more).
A week at Love Packages is easily the most affordable mission trip opportunity you’ll find this summer, especially if you’re in the Midwest. Groups that come and spend a week at our Butler, Illinois, location find that $100 or less covers the cost of each student’s entire week.
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Our Illinois facility has lodging, a shared kitchen space, and facilities for about 30 people—and it’s free for your group when you come to volunteer with us!
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- Bunk beds for about 30 people upstairs (and a few more downstairs)
- A shower room with eight shower stalls
- A private restroom upstairs with three toilets and four sinks
- “Public” restrooms downstairs
- Communal kitchen (sink, oven/stove, fridge, freezer) with cooking and eating dishes and utensils
- Communal dining for about 30 people
- A classroom with desks
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Your team only needs to cover transportation and food. (We also have a recommended packing list you can download.)
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“I’m really thankful for Love Packages, because it opens your eyes and shows you how much the rest of the world needs Christ. It really inspires you and pushes you to make a difference.” – Faith DeLaughter, Student
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A Love Packages Mission Trip: An Overview of Your Week
When you come to Love Packages, your group will get a tour of the warehouses and an overview of what we do. Each member of your team will get training at a station in the warehouse, and then we get to work!
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- We start each morning with an update and a short time of prayer, then it’s all hands on deck.
. - Your missionaries will be trained to sort incoming literature, shelve Sunday school materials, group classroom sets on the banding machines, pack boxes, stack pallets, break down boxes, etc. Sometimes we have pictures to sort or messenger bags to pack.
. - We break for lunch in our shared kitchen and dining space, which is also when we get to share some testimonies with your group. (This is sometimes affectionately referred to as “Storytime with Steve.”) It’s a great opportunity to remind your missionaries why we do the work we do, how much God loves the lost, and how our humble efforts can become mighty miracles in the hands of our God.
. - After lunch, it’s back to work in the warehouses for a few more hours.
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About once per week, we pack a 20-foot shipping container. If your group is here for a week, there’s a good chance we’ll throw them in a cargo container while you’re here too, which is usually the highlight of the week.
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“Who knew that moving books around and packing boxes would give our high school students a bigger vision for reaching the world for Jesus Christ? The Love Packages staff not only love God and the believers they serve in other parts of the world, but they also love and minister to our students.” – Paul Gearhart, Youth Pastor
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As an added bonus, there is zero cell reception in the warehouse and no public WiFi anywhere. Have teenagers that need to disconnect? We got you.
Here’s a video put together by a student ministry after their week with us:
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Check out “How to Prepare for Your Summer Mission Trip to Love Packages” for more details!
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Schedule Your 2020 Mission Trip!
What should a short-term summer mission trip accomplish?
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- Help spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
- Inspire people to go deeper in their faith.
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And, preferably, not wasting unnecessary resources. Affordable mission trip opportunities get more people involved in serving the gospel and leave more resources on the mission field.
So if you’re looking for a good short-term mission trip for your ministry group this summer, we’d love to hear from you! You can call the office at 217-532-6701 or fill out the contact form on our Mission Trips page. Our summer months, especially, fill up really quickly, so don’t wait!
See you soon!