One of our primary missions as student pastors and leaders is helping our students live out the Great Commission. If we’re honest, though, that mission can sometimes feel impossible. Throughout my years in youth ministry, I’ve preached the commission passages, created games that connect to missions, and hosted missions nights for teens to meet missionaries. God certainly worked through these efforts, but I still felt something was missing. The students weren’t fully catching the vision.

Then came the lightbulb moment: What if we planned our own mission trip?

The Birth of Our Student Ministry Missions Outreach

Once a year, usually in July, I take a select group of students on a three-day trip to a BCMN-endorsed church plant or church revitalization. Our goal is simple: run a community outreach event for the church.

Here’s how it works: For the first two days, we canvass the area going door-to-door with invitations. On the third day, we help run the community event—managing games, serving food, face painting, facilitating bounce houses—while church members focus on building connections with guests.

After three years of these outreaches, I’ve watched God use this experience in remarkable ways. Still not convinced? Here are three compelling reasons to start your own missions outreach:

Reason #1: Students Connect to the Great Commission

Jesus never intended the Great Commission to be merely a command we hear preached, feel convicted by, and then ignore in daily life. He wanted His followers to live it out!

A missions outreach gives students firsthand opportunities to serve as gospel representatives and witness the powerful effects of the gospel in action. This year, nearly 20 teenagers split into groups and went door-to-door inviting people to our community event. Each student stepped out of their comfort zone, invited strangers to church, asked for prayer requests, and engaged in spiritual conversations.

After the visitation, students expressed genuine joy and excitement about being bold with the gospel. They discovered that the Great Commission isn’t reserved for the “super spiritual”—it’s for all Christians, including teenagers.

Reason #2: Students Connect to Church Planters

This year, we partnered with Pastor Frank Suglio from Heritage Baptist Church in Willoughby, Ohio. Pastor Frank has a God-given passion for planting gospel-preaching churches throughout the Cleveland area, and his evangelistic efforts match his calling perfectly.

During our time with Pastor Frank, students learned firsthand about church planting and discovered faithful gospel laborers beyond their hometown. The missions outreach reinforced the “Go” aspect of the Great Commission, helping students recognize that all believers share the same mission and are united by the gospel.

Reason #3: Students Connect to Each Other

Maybe your teen group is perfect. Or maybe it’s like mine—filled with amazing teenagers who sometimes get tired, fall into drama, make questionable comments, get annoyed with each other, feel left out, or even feel unusable.

Something unique happens during our missions outreaches: the student ministry begins functioning as a true team. Students start praying together, sharing their goals, partnering in unexpected pairs, encouraging those who are struggling, and looking for ways to bless others. They begin seeing themselves not just as a youth group or even as friends, but as fellow members of the body of Christ on mission together.

We always leave our missions outreach stronger and more unified in our mission, especially within the specific contexts where God has placed us.

The Lasting Impact

Before departing this year, I encouraged students to pair up and pray for our hometown of Findlay, Ohio. We prayed for the city to be reached with the gospel, for our pastoral leadership, for spiritual and numerical growth, and for someone to be sent from our church as a missionary or church planter.

My desire for the missions outreach was for students to see missions at work while recognizing that missions happens right where God has placed them.

Experience: The Ultimate Teacher

Julius Caesar once said, “Experience is the teacher of all things.” While his actions weren’t perfect (remember the Ides of March?), there’s truth in his words. Students need more than lectures and controlled environments—they need to experience the incredible reality of ministry and missions.

Yes, there are challenging aspects, but ministry and missions represent some of the best parts of Christian life. There’s a reason we’ve dedicated our lives to it, and we discovered that through experience. Let’s give our students the same opportunity.

Paul captures the goal of a missions outreach perfectly:

“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:15 KJV)

Ready to plan your own student ministry missions outreach? The experience will transform both your students and your ministry.