Mission Trips are intentional service and learning experiences that help you put your faith into action. Learn more about what will be included in your CSM trip below.

Service Opportunities

  • The bedrock of CSM trips is serving alongside community organizations in each of our cities. Your group will serve alongside 1 to 3 community partners each day of your trip! We come alongside organizations, rather than create our own projects, to support the greater work that is already happening in our cities. With this model, you are participating in and supporting work that extends well beyond your week of service!

  • Your group will be connected to meaningful service opportunities that will help meet the specific needs that our community partners have. CSM trips are built to encourage and to strengthen organizations who are committed to our neighborhoods long-term, so with that our partnerships and ministry experiences are relationally based and focused. While the needs vary depending on the particular community, projects may include donation sorting, gardening & yard work, serving lunch to people experiencing homelessness, tutoring children, visiting with senior citizens and much more!

  • Our prayer is that the experiences that students will have on their trip will impart them to return home with a heart and the tools to care for their own local community.

Trip Journal

On the first day of your trip, each participant will be given a trip journal which includes all morning devotions, prayer tour and activity guides, debrief materials and more! Our hope is that as students are experiencing the trip that their journal will be a helpful tool for reflecting, processing and remembering their experience. See an example of the 2021 Trip Journal here:

Eating Local

We believe that one of the best ways to learn to know a community is through food! Because of this, each evening your group will eat dinner at a different locally-owned international restaurant. Some examples include Indian, Thai, Puerto Rican, Lebanese and as well as food local to the city you are serving (e.g. BBQ in Kansas City)! As you eat, you will be introduced to the flavors of the city and world while supporting local businesses.

Prayer Tour

At CSM, we see prayer and education as two significant parts of an effective service trip. These two are met during one of your group's initial service opportunities: the prayer tour! The prayer tour is a driving tour of the city to introduce your group to the history and the present day concerns of the city. As your group is learning about the city, they will be invited to pray for the city using Scripture or their own words, asking the Lord to move in the city and in their hearts. We pray that through this experience your group will gain a new perspective of the people and culture of the city as you see where God is already at work and inviting us to join.

Debriefs using the WOW Theological Method

Each night, groups will debrief the day together using the WOW Theological Method. During this time, participants will learn how to reflect on their experiences using a 5 step theological reflection tool - a tool that they’ll use and can utilize in their own personal lives as well.

Reading Theology with Friends

During one or two afternoons of your trip, students will gather to learn how to read short theology passages in community. Students and leaders read a work of theology based on the week’s theme, together. The author is a theologian who has attempted to put forth a reasoned explanation of some aspect of God by means of reading scripture, exploring traditional Christian understandings, and considering people’s experiences with God. Writing about the mystery of God is no easy task, and sometimes reading about it is also not easy - at least alone. Read an example of one of the previous passages below.

Evening Worship & Theology Talks

On two evenings of the trip, all participants will conclude their day of service with a time of worship and by hearing a 15-18 minute Theology Talk based on the trip’s theme. The Theology Talks were created specifically with students in mind to help participants think of and actively engage their personal faith formation beyond church into everyday life situations and scenarios.Listen to a clip of one of 2021’s Theology Talk here.

What might your trip look like?

No two CSM trips are the same. Interested in knowing what a day on a CSM trip might look like? Click below to view a sample schedule.