CIY

Youth leaders love bringing students on Engage trips because it’s easy! We continually hear feedback about how simple it is to have an Engage experience with your group. We ask youth leaders to focus on recruiting students and fundraising for the trip. Meanwhile, we’re taking care of dozens of logistical details you never have to worry about. These include:

• Packing lists
• Airfare
• In-country transportation
• Housing
• Safety
• Daily schedules
• Meals
• Devotional experiences
• Training

Training is the heartbeat of Engage. It’s essential. Engage has developed a training resource with videos and intentional training exercises that will prepare your group before the trip, guide your group during the trip, and help your group continue to process and learn after the trip. This training includes both spiritual and cultural content and will train your group for international settings and for being Kingdom Workers wherever you are. Our training is facilitated online.

Since Engage manages all of the logistics and training, you have the opportunity to be present in key moments with your students throughout the trip. Instead of making sure all the pieces are coming together during the trip, you get to be present and experience the trip with your students. It’s a great opportunity to see aspects of their hearts, passions, and struggles that you might not otherwise get a chance to see.

One of the few things we ask group leaders to manage is fundraising for their group. Engage knows fundraising for a mission trip can be overwhelming, so we want to set you up the best we can. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Have each member of your team write a support letter. Engage will provide you with a sample letter. Your group can edit this letter and send it to family, friends, church members, coaches, etc.
• Set up an online fundraising page. Engage has an online template for you to be able to create your own fundraising page. Some groups set up one page for their entire team to share with family and friends or post to social media. This allows people to contribute directly to your group’s trip using a credit or debit card.
• Host a fundraising dinner. Invest in making a meal for the people in your church. At the dinner, explain to your guests what your group is going to do and why they want to do it. Use this opportunity to ask for donations and for prayer supporters.
• Plan a race. 5K, full marathon, color run, you name it. The entrance fee will go to support your group’s trip (other donations on top of the entrance fee may come in as well).
• Organize an auction or yard sale. Ask for friends or families in your church to donate items to the sale and all the proceeds will go to your trip expenses.
• Facilitate a Parent’s Night Out. Gather your group together to host a babysitting night. Parents can have a night out for a date and in return, they can offer donations that will go directly toward your group’s trip.
• Go epic and plan a food fight! Ask all participants (even adults) to pay an entry fee and bring their own food (pudding, flour, rice, etc.). 3…2…1…FOOD FIGHT!!

Our staff is always available to answer any questions and help guide you through the process of joining one of our teams. Email us at engage@ciy.com or call (417) 781-2273.

You may be ready to pack your bags and get on the plane tomorrow, but some of you have parents who aren’t ready to make that commitment. We want to help you start healthy conversations with your parents – conversations that will reveal your heart and enthusiasm for wanting to see and experience the work God is doing in other parts of the world. Here are some ideas to consider when talking to your parents:

Invite your parents into the conversation.

Do not flat out tell them you’re going to another country. Going on a mission trip like this should not be a quick decision, but rather one that is considered through lots of prayer and listening to the Lord. Ask your parents to join you in prayer and consider this with you. Explain that this is a decision you want to work through and make together. A decision to go, or not go, doesn’t have to be made immediately.

Share how God has placed this on your heart and why you believe this is what He is calling you to do. Reveal your pure and true motives. This isn’t just another fun thing on your bucket list, and your parents need to see that!

If you’ve already shared this calling with a youth leader, he or she can be a great support for you. Ask him or her to share the value of a mission trip like this with your parents.

Ask for help in deciding on a trip location and remember to be flexible. There are opportunities to learn and see God at work anywhere you go. Your parents might have more reservations about certain places. Allow them to express those concerns, and then perhaps choose a location with which they are more comfortable.

Be ready to do your research.

Your parents will most likely have lots of questions. Be prepared for these questions by doing your research and finding answers. If you show them you have the motivation and drive to seek out answers on your own, that demonstrates the level of responsibility you’re willing to undertake with this opportunity.

Come up with ideas of ways you can fundraise to pay the expenses of an overseas trip. Below is information about fundraising. Use that information as a guide to help spark some creative ideas to raise money.

Connect with people who have gone on mission trips and ask them questions about things they learned and what God taught them. By doing this, you’ll gain valuable insight.

We understand that the amount of money it takes to go on a mission trip may seem daunting, but funds can come from many sources over a period of several months. A few examples of fundraising ideas are:

• Write a support letter. Once you’re accepted on a trip, Engage will provide you with a sample letter. Make the letter your own and send it to family, friends, church members, coaches, etc. The goal of the letter will be to ask for support in a couple of different ways. You’ll want to ask for prayer supporters (people who will commit to praying for you on a regular basis), as well as financial supporters.
• Set up an online fundraising page. Engage has an online template for you to create your own fundraising page with a link that is uniquely your own. Once you’re accepted on a trip, you’ll be able to set up your page and send the link to family and friends, or to post to social media.
• Host a fundraising dinner. Invest in making a meal for several people you know. You could even invite your whole church! At the dinner, explain to your guests what you want to do and why you want to do it, and ask for donations and prayer supporters.
• Plan a race. 5K, full marathon, color run … you name it. The entrance fee will go to support your trip (other donations on top of the entrance fee may come in, as well).
• Organize an auction or yard sale. Ask for friends or families in your church to donate items to the sale and all the proceeds will go to your trip expenses.
• Facilitate a Parent’s Night Out. Gather some friends to help you out and use your church as a place to host a babysitting night. Parents can have a night out for a date and in return they can offer donations that will go directly toward your trip.
• Go epic and plan a food fight! Ask all participants (even adults) to pay an entry fee and bring their own food (pudding, flour, rice, etc.). 3…2…1…FOOD FIGHT!!

Engage has developed a training resource with videos and exercises that will prepare you before the trip, guide you during the trip, and help you continue to process and learn after the trip. The training includes spiritual and cultural content, and will prepare you for international settings and for being a Kingdom Worker wherever you are. Our training is facilitated online and is a great way for you to interact with and get to know your team in the months leading up to the trip.

Each Engage location is carefully researched to ensure the safety of each trip participant. Engage never takes a student team to a location without first sending CIY staff to do a survey and research trip.

Information relating to food, water, housing, political stability and health concerns are reviewed with our in-country mission partners. Engage monitors reports of political unrest and travel conditions through the U.S. State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Travel medical insurance is provided for each participant. The coverage for this plan includes doctor or hospital visits and admittance for illnesses or injuries. The plan also includes coverage of an emergency medical evacuation if a serious situation would arise.
Engage provides trained and qualified trip leaders, many of whom have decades of experience. Each trip leader is required to have a criminal and sex offender background check.

Engage encourages each team member to raise support by supplying them with creative fundraising ideas. Many team members share stories of how God provided the necessary funds for their trip. It’s a great way for your child to stretch and develop his or her faith.
CIY provides an online tool to help with fundraising. Through this resource, students have the ability to share information about the trip and how others can support them. It also provides an online platform where supporters can donate directly to their trip using a credit or debit card. CIY holds a nonprofit 501c3 status, which means donations are eligible to be tax deductible.

Trip participants are accepted months in advance of their trips, giving them plenty of time to raise funds. A payment schedule is put in place, which helps participants stay on track to have all monies raised before the trip begins.

Trip-specific information – such as recommended vaccinations, visa information, packing lists, transportation information, and instructions regarding the Engage training resource – will be communicated directly to you and your child with ample time to prepare for the trip.