Summer Youth Missions Trip Leader
Manage a mission trip site. Mentor an intern. Grow as a leader.
As a Trip Leader, you’ll run a mission trip site for a summer. Every week a new youth group arrives, and you’ll lead them through service, outreach, and spiritual growth. You’ll also mentor a college intern, coach student leaders, and partner with local ministries. It’s a summer that will stretch your leadership, deepen your faith, and have a lasting impact.
This role is designed for college-aged young adults, recent grads, and teachers.
The Details
- Pay: Up to $6,000 for the summer, raised through support-raising (see below).
- Covered: Once you arrive, your expenses are covered, including housing, food, and gas.
- Schedule: One week of all-staff training, nine weeks at your site, then a wrap-up retreat.
- Location: Training in the Chicago area, then assigned to one of our 11 mission sites.
What You’ll Do
- Partner and communicate with youth pastors
- Lead nightly Bible studies and team discussions
- Develop students as leaders and disciples
- Manage the day-to-day of service projects and outreach events
- Mentor your summer intern, who will help you lead each week of trips
Your Summer at a Glance
- Late May: All-staff training trip in Chicago.
- June and July: You head to your mission site. A new youth group joins you each week, and you facilitate their trip, invest in the students, and partner with local ministries.
- Early August: Reunite with all interns and staff to debrief, worship, share stories, and rest.
What You’ll Gain
- Spiritual growth: Daily Bible study, a deeper prayer life, using your spiritual gifts, and starting spiritual conversations
- Hard skills: Teaching, facilitating discussions, coaching, budgeting, and planning and organizing
- Soft skills: Creativity, adaptability, community building, collaboration, and problem-solving
About Support-Raising
Trip Leaders raise their own salary, up to $6,000. This is a missions role, and like any missionary, you’ll raise support for your work. Here is why that can be worth it:
- You’ll have help. LeaderTreks has run this program for years and trains you along the way.
- Your summer costs are covered. Once you arrive, you won’t pay for housing, food, or gas.
- The math may surprise you. Many leaders make and save more than they would at a traditional summer job.
You’ll Thrive Here If You:
- Follow Jesus and care about student ministry
- Want to lead, coach, and develop others
- Are adaptable, organized, and ready to travel
- Are at least one year out of high school, have leadership experience, have a driver's license, and can pass a background check