Last week I went to a large youth conference put on by my denomination called International Youth Convention (IYC) in Denver, CO.  It is put on every other summer and rotates around the country through different convention cities. If you want to learn more about IYC click here.

This was the fourth IYC I have attended, but this time I went with a different focus.  This time I made it into a student leadership trip instead of taking our entire high school group.  From this new perspective I can say I loved this trip, here are a few reasons why this trip was so valuable:

1. Every student went with the right attitude

I realize what this implies; that not every student goes on trips for the right reasons.  If you have led a youth trip before you already know that not every student goes on trips for the right reasons.  From the very beginning everyone knew we were going to serve and not just consume.  They all worked hard the whole time, and with great attitudes.

2. We were busy the entire time

This is one of my biggest issues with past IYC’s, we had a lot of down time.  I can understand a few reasons for this, but I still don’t like it.  Attending a convention of any kind is expensive, and after all the fundraising and sacrifice it takes to get there hanging in a hotel for hours is not a good use of the time.  With all the serving we did we needed the down time we did have, which wasn’t a whole lot.

3. We had a lot of fun

We took a smaller group than typical on this trip, these are some of the students that I know the best, and we drove instead of flying.  All of these factors meant the trip was highly relational and a ton of fun from the very beginning.  Van conversations, restaurant experiences, awesome worship, serving together, and messing with random boys that hit on the girls in our group was a ton of fun!  Even when our “fun” day got rained out we still laughed more than we didn’t.

4. It was refreshing

This trip was refreshing for the students and for the leaders.  Professional speakers and worship leaders, experiencing the joy of serving, helping out other teenagers spiritually by praying with and for them are all things students shared were very refreshing for them.  As leaders, watching students we had poured so much into worship, serve, and pray with complete abandon is the most refreshing thing in the world!

I have another week before I leave on my next trip, a mission trip to Joplin, MO.  I am already excited for what God is going to do on and through this next trip, but I hope it is great as this last one.

How have your summer trips been so far?