Teen Mission Trips

What is a Christian mission trip for teens?

A Christian mission trip for teens is a week of service-learning in a new community alongside a local church or ministry, where teenagers serve alongside community leaders in a variety of ways and take daily time to worship and reflect together. Experience Mission (EM) hosts mission trips for teens in communities across the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Trips last 6 days or more depending on the community.

Teens join an EM trip through a team from their church, school, or a group of families, so the first step is finding your team! Whether you are a teenager exploring Christian mission trips for teenagers or a parent weighing one, this page covers what to expect, how safety works, and how to start a team.

What do teens do and learn on a mission trip?

Teens serve in whatever work is most helpful to the host community. While serving, they learn by listening to the people they serve alongside and building real relationships with members of the community. Depending on the community, your teen may have the opportunity to join:

• Construction and repair - Tiling, drywall, roofing, and framing with local churches and families on Navajo Nation, or building projects for a church, school, or home in Belize and Costa Rica
• Outreach and community work - Visiting neighbors, gardening, and cleaning alongside a church in Belize, or joining work projects in Pikeville, Kentucky
• Kids ministry - Helping run Kids Club, a VBS-style program for children, in communities such as Muskegon, Michigan, and Belmopan, Belize
• Supply sorting and neighbor care - Sorting and packing medical supplies for overseas clinics in Portland, Maine, or supporting a ministry that serves neighbors experiencing homelessness
• Disaster recovery - Supporting long-term rebuilding alongside local leaders, on trips open to teens age 14 and older

Local partners decide what work matters most, so coming with strong construction skills matters less than showing up ready to listen and join in. To learn more about the service focus of each trip, check out all of EM's group mission trip communities.

What should parents know before their teenager goes on a mission trip?

Adult leaders from your teen's own group stay responsible for students all week, while EM field staff and local partners guide the team through projects and ministry opportunities on site. EM sets the same supervision and safety standards for every group mission trip.

Parents often ask about these safeguards first:

• Supervision ratios - At least 1 adult leader is required for every 7 high school students and every 5 middle school students
• A team leader age 21 or older - Required on every team with minors
• Background checks - Every participant age 18 and older completes one under EM's background check policy
• Trained field staff - EM field staff hold First Aid and CPR certification and carry medical kits
• A written safety plan - EM's Health & Safety Plan explains how EM and team leaders share responsibility in the case of an emergency

Looking to serve internationally? International trips require a passport for every student.

How does faith shape a mission trip for teenagers?

EM is an interdenominational Christian organization, and our faith in Jesus shapes everything about the way we structure our mission trips, guiding how teams serve as much as what they do. Teams are encouraged to enter communities as guests, bring a "joining what God is already doing" mentality when serving alongside local ministries, and make room to pray and reflect together.

On summer mission trips (June through August), EM's Evening Gathering gives teens a daily time to worship, pray, and talk about what they saw and heard. Before the trip, cross-cultural service training based on EM's 7 Healthy Service Principles helps teams prepare to listen well and honor the people they meet.

How can a teenager join a mission trip if their church has no group?

EM cannot place an individual student on a team they do not already belong to, so a teen joins by helping form one. Teens and parents can start a team in four steps:

1. Ask a leader - Talk with a youth pastor, church leader, or school contact about organizing a mission trip team
2. Gather 6 or more people - A team can even be a group of families! (Note that some international communities require a team larger than 6 people)
3. Recruit an adult leader - Every team needs a leader age 21 or older, plus enough adults to meet the supervision ratio
4. Choose a community and submit an interest form - Pick a community that welcomes your youngest teen, then share your group's size and dates through a mission trip interest form

EM support staff help from there, and the guide on how to plan a mission trip walks leaders through each stage of the mission trip process.

How old does a teenager need to be for an EM mission trip?

Age requirements depend on the community. Several communities welcome students as young as 6th grade, while most other communities start at 9th grade, including disaster recovery trips.

Teens in 6th through 8th grade can read about middle school mission trips, and teens in 9th through 12th grade can read about high school mission trips. Each mission trip community details page confirms its current grade range before you register.

Which mission trip is a good first trip for a teen?

A first trip works best when the travel is manageable and the community welcomes your youngest teen. These three communities welcome younger teens and run 6 to 7 days:

• Portland, Maine - 6th grade and up, $475 per person for six days, serving with Partners for World Health and Preble Street, easy location for teens in the Northeast
• Pikeville, Kentucky - Late elementary and up, $550 per person for six days, serving alongside local church partners, easy location for Midwest and East Coast teenagers
• Belize - 6th grade and up, $855 per person for seven days, serving with Pastor Nelzon Guillen and Family of God Church, shorter international air travel just south of Mexico

Belize requires a team of 10 and a passport for every student. The mission trips page compares every community in one place, and each trip page lists current weeks and prices.

How do teens pay for a mission trip?

A teen's trip fee depends on trip length and distance, and 2027 per-person costs currently range from $475 to $1,595. This trip cost covers lodging, meals, all work project materials, support for local partners, and EM field staff, plus in-country transportation on international trips.

Travel to and from the community and any international entry or exit fees are separate costs for volunteers. Teens can raise support through church-wide efforts and family fundraisers, with adults leading the planning. EM's Mission Trip Fundraising Guide offers ideas for teams to fundraise together!

What is EM's approach to a teen mission trip?

EM's 7 Healthy Service Principles encourage teens to take the posture of a guest and a learner rather than a tourist or hero. Teens are reminded to listen before acting and notice the strengths a community already has before making judgments about what they see.

In this way, teens learn that every person bears the image of God and that the people they meet matter more than finishing any specific project. Their time in a community is short and the legacy they leave is how well they loved their neighbors while they were there.

Read all 7 principles on EM's approach to missions.

Teen Mission Trip FAQs

Find a mission trip for your teen!

Explore 2027 teen mission trips and find a community that fits your teen's age, dates, and budget. Browse group mission trips to compare communities and per-person cost, or share this page with your youth leader to start a team! Youth leaders planning for a whole group can start with youth mission trips for helpful details about planning a youth trip.

Written and reviewed by Experience Mission Staff - Updated: October 2026