Our high school mission trips aren’t just about serving—they’re about Gospel transformation. In New York City, students like you step into bold conversations, share the Good News of Jesus, and watch God change hearts.
During our Timothy Ambition mission trips for teens, we adapt our mission trips for adults to the needs of high school students. It’s incredible to watch God use young people to spread the Gospel!
Caleb,* a student on a recent high school mission trip, began praying beforehand that he would get to see someone baptized. It was a bold prayer, but Caleb had faith that God would come through!
On Tuesday, Caleb and his partner met Elio*. They asked Elio some good questions that led to a spiritual conversation around faith. Caleb shared the Gospel with Elio. But he said Elio really didn’t seem interested.
On Thursday, Caleb ran into Elio again–this time in a completely different neighborhood!
Elio shared that he felt God speaking to him all day Tuesday afterwards, and he knew it wasn’t a coincidence that their paths crossed again.
Caleb and Elio met that night to read the Bible, and Elio put his trust in Christ!
The next day, a recent Equip Missionary Training graduate, Jake* went with Caleb to read Scripture with Elio. After that study, Caleb’s bold prayer came true.
We baptized Elio!
Caleb witnessed this life changing moment during a simple, weeklong high school mission trip! His short term trip created a long term impact in the life of someone who didn’t yet know Christ.
Read to the end to hear what’s happening with Elio now!
In this blog, you’ll learn about the benefits of high school mission trips and mission trip opportunities available for high school students here in North America.
Why High School Mission Trips?
Short term mission trips are incredible opportunities for high school students to engage with spiritually interested people through prayer and evangelism.
Our Timothy Ambition high school mission trips will teach you boldness, adaptability, and reliance on the Holy Spirit. The days will require you to get out of your comfort zone, but every conversation carries the potential to plant life changing truth in someone’s heart!
While many youth mission trips offer valuable service opportunities, we think it’s even better to provide evangelism training for your age group.
In fact, we believe high schoolers have amazing potential to engage in evangelism and discipleship
High school students can set an example for other Christians, just like Paul encourages Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12:
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.”
When we train high school students to engage in spiritual conversations and share their faith, they emerge with powerful testimonials of God at work through their boldness!
You see, many young people are spiritually open and ready to hear the Good News of Jesus from their peers. All it takes is intentional training to build a Christian’s confidence and give them opportunities to practice.
Now that we’ve seen why hands on evangelism training is important, let’s look at how you can benefit from being part of a high school missions trip!
Benefits of High School Mission Trips
Going on a high school mission trip gives you the chance to grow spiritually, gain confidence in sharing your faith, and experience different cultures.
You’ll encounter God in a new way as you deepen your understanding of God’s heart for the nations and prepare to live out your faith wherever you go.
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Here are 3 things you can experience on your high school mission trip:
Grow Closer to God
High school mission trips can help you grow closer to God by deepening your faith through prayer and hands on ministry. During Timothy Ambition, you will engage in daily devotionals, abundant prayer, and powerful worship to strengthen your relationship with God.
As you move out of your comfort zone to share the Gospel, you will rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and boldness. You will see God at work in new ways as you hear and share testimonials from your fellow trip participants. The stories are always powerful!
Gain a Passion for Evangelism
You will build your confidence, boldness, and practical skills for evangelism in any context.
During this high school mission trip, you will learn how to:
- Start spiritual conversations
- Recognize people who are open to the Gospel
- Connect new believers with long term ministry efforts to continue their discipleship
The practical evangelism tools you learn at Timothy Ambition will equip you not just for this trip, but also set the foundation for a lifetime of ministry!
Discover a Possible Call to Missions
Going on a short term mission trip like Timothy Ambition can open your eyes to God’s heart for the nations and inspire you to consider long term missionary jobs.
You will see firsthand how many people have never heard the Gospel and how you can play a role in engaging the unreached.
Many long term missionaries started their missions journey because of the life changing impact of a short term mission trip. This trip could be your first step toward a similar calling!
We’ve just explored the benefits of high school mission trips, so now, let’s discover why it’s important to be strategic about your mission trip location.
Why North America?
Your mission trip location matters! You don’t have to do international mission trips in order to have intercultural experience.
The fact is not all high school students have passports and some members of your youth group might not be able to travel internationally.
This is why doing a mission trip in the US is ideal for high school students. No passport is required!
But don’t worry, you can still have a great cross cultural experience in New York City.
Did you know that NYC is one of the most diverse cities in the world?1
During Timothy Ambition, you can meet people from all over the globe, many of whom have never even heard the name of Jesus!
Cross Cultural Mission Trips in the US
Here’s what you may not know. There are places around the world where it is either illegal for Christian workers to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, or criminal to be a Christian.
This can lead to Unreached People Groups (UPGs) where there is no indigenous community of Jesus’ followers able to have churches. Technically speaking, less than 2 percent of the population of a UPG actively follows Jesus!
But God is opening doors for unreached people to learn about himself through migration. We have people who have moved away from their homelands and into our neighborhoods.
And they are also moving into yours! We will teach you about the least reached peoples among us and how you can strategically engage them. Then, you’ll get to practice your new skills out on the street, having spiritual conversations with a wide variety of people groups.
We don’t always know where conversations will lead, so we encourage you to remain flexible and trust God to guide you each day. Be prepared to watch the Holy Spirit move through you and your team of other high schoolers!
Make This YOUR Mission Trip!
Timothy Ambition will equip you to engage in spiritual conversations both in New York City and at home in your local community.
Whether you are:
- Looking for a youth group mission trip
- Planning to come as a Christian high school
- An individual bringing your own chaperone
You can join us for this life changing mission trip!
We offer year round trips, including summer mission trips and spring break trips for high school students. Click here for this year’s mission trips for teens dates!
But mission trips aren’t just for high school students! We also offer 1 week mission trips for college students and adults called Seed Weeks!
We hope this encourages you that 1 week spent engaging in intentional evangelism really CAN make a difference!
Remember Elio, the guy who accepted Christ and got baptized after hearing the Gospel from a high school student doing Timothy Ambition?
Our long term workers have reached out to disciple him. Last we heard, he was attending church!
Our goal is to plant churches among those living outside their homelands, like Elio.
Stories like Elio’s are happening all the time on our short term mission trips.
Come see how God can use YOU in New York City!
Fill out the form below for more information about the Timothy Ambition mission trips for teens. And be sure to tell your parent, guardian, teacher, or youth leader about this opportunity too!
Sign Up for High School Mission Trip Info
*Names changed to protect privacy
Sources
1 https://www.worldatlas.com/cities/the-world-s-most-multicultural-cities.html
