Planning a trip for your church group is a great way to promote community, inclusion, and engagement. It’s also a helpful tool for churches that are interested in mission trips or outreach. However, there’s a lot of planning that goes into any successful church trip.
Whether you’re securing a vehicle to help with transportation or making sure you have the Holy Bible for your church group members and for those you may meet, here are some tips that will help you plan an effective church group trip without all the hassle.
1. Find the right transportation.
When you’re looking at travel options for your trip, it’s easy to go with the simple, expensive option of flying. However, that brings some added complications. Fundraising flight expenses might take too much time. Flying may create travel stress. Instead, consider buying a used school bus to help you get around. It’s usually easy to find a dealership with used buses for sale. Plus, school buses are relatively roomy and comfortable. It’s a great compromise to help you get around. Make a couple of phone calls and look for school buses near you. You never know what you might find.
2. Choose a sensible destination.
Whether you’re visiting another congregation or you’re going to do fieldwork, you want to pick the right location where your church group can have the most impact to spread the word of God and make a personal connection with the locals. While you can consider overseas travel, it might be difficult, even in a “post”-COVID-19 world. You also want to pick a good spot with extracurricular activities for downtime. Add a few lighter moments here and there help to the itinerary to bring everyone together.
3. Make sure you can access your bible.
If you don’t want to carry the New Testament or your favorite translation with you, you can find other ways to access your bible and provide an introduction to the word of God. Whether you prefer the New American Bible or the Catholic Bible, you can access ebooks, digital bibles, and more. You can even read the Catholic bible online if you want to. It’s a great way to stay connected to the good word without having to carry around dozens of copies of the bible.
4. Budget as effectively as possible.
Your budget plays a big role in your church group’s trip. After all, even with school buses and online bibles, you still have to consider costs for food, lodging, and activities. When you’re getting ready to plan a church group trip, discuss the budget ahead of time and stick to it carefully. Since you’ll likely have to fundraise most of the money for the trip, it’s a good idea to set realistic goals that you can achieve. If you want to pad in a bit of spending money or flexible cash, you can still do so.
5. Enjoy yourself.
A big part of any church group trip is built around community and togetherness. This trip is an opportunity to build relationships in your congregation while you all spread the word of God. As such, it’s a good idea to take it seriously but not too seriously. You still want to have fun and make special memories while you’re travelling. Whether you’re taking pictures in your new buses or you’re capturing videos of nightly sermons, there are plenty of ways to create meaningful, lasting memories of your church group trip.
Planning a church group trip might seem like a logistical headache, but it’s a lot easier than you think. With some proper planning, a bit of research, and the right budget for your trip, you’ll be ready to hit the road in no time at all.