Preparing Your Heart for Service: The Most Vital Step
Meaningful service flows from a prepared heart. That's why spiritual preparation for mission trips is the most important preparatory work you can do. It begins long before you pack your bags. Spend dedicated time in daily prayer, asking God to give you a heart of humility and to empty you of your own agendas. Invite the Holy Spirit to guide your every step, conversation, and interaction. To help you on this journey, Bold Hope offers mission trip devotions for before, during and after your trip as well as prayer calendars for our teams.
"Create in my a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." - Psalm 51:10
Stay Rooted in Faith Before and During Your Trip
Immerse yourself in Scripture, particularly passages about service, compassion, and God’s global mission. A vital step is to build a prayer team; invite your friends, your small group, your church, and your family to commit to prayer before your mission trip. This isn't just for your benefit—it involves them in the mission, too. We also recommend journaling your expectations, fears, and hopes, and then prayerfully committing them to God, remaining flexible to His plans, which are often different and better than our own.
Maintaining Spiritual Health on the Field
Once you are on your trip, keep your focus on Christ. Start each day in His Word and with prayer, and end each day reflecting with your team on where you saw God at work. Serving others isn't always easy or glamorous. There will be challenging moments. But God promises to meet you there, and staying spiritually grounded will allow you to be a vessel for His love, even when you feel tired or stretched.
