What Matters Most… Keeping Kids Safe

Life-changing. Unbelievable experience. Meaningful service in Christ's name. These are some of the words that immediately come to mind when we think mission trip.

Something that does not usually come up right away is safety. But it should...

When thinking about a mission trip there are several areas you should consider when it comes to safety: the service or work being done, the adults on the trip, discipline issues, travel, and fun.

Service:
When it comes the work you'll do, safety issues will vary greatly based on the type of service. Are you doing construction work? Then you'll want to make sure that no one too young uses power saws. Does everyone know how to safely use a hammer, scrape paint, or climb and stand on a ladder? Will you be doing a VBS program for a church or ministry? It will be important that everyone on the trip has a good understanding of working with children. Is the work going to be done in a foreign country? Be sure each member of your team is aware of any special circumstances.

Adults:
You can never "over" train the adults who work with you ministry or travel with your group. Does every adult have an up-to-date criminal background check on file? The ministries you serve with may require this (especially if you are going to working with or around children). What is the training for the adults of the ministries you'll be serving with? Does it match your own churches expectations? Make sure you know in advance what you'll do if an adult does/says something inappropriate (emotionally, physically or sexually). And make sure you cover this with all your adults before you depart.

Discipline Issues:
Be sure everyone knows what the expectations for behavior are. And what the consequences are if people don't live up to those expectations. Don't say "you'll be sent home if you break this rule" if you're serving in a remote African village you reached via bush plane. That's simply not practical. But what will you do?

Travel and Fun:
This is part of the experience. The 12-hour bus ride. The day at the water park on the way home. Visiting the volcano or rain forest before you fly out. Do you know about allergies, motion sickness, and all the other "oops I forgot to tell you...?" Just make list of everything you might do for fun or travel and communicate it to each person going on the trip.

This is by no means an exhaustive safety checklist. But if you think these things through, you'll be on your way to a life-changing, safe mission trip.