Dear Youth Leader,
Thank you so much for your faithful service to your teens, as well as your upcoming time of service to the people of Philadelphia. Here is some information that will be helpful to you as you inform your teens and their parents about your Philadelphia mission trip.
Weekly Schedule:
The group will arrive between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday. On Saturday we will do some orienting of the group to Philly, and talking about ways to be safe.
On Sunday morning the group will go to a local church, most likely the church you will partner with for the week. Then on Sunday night we will have a cookout dinner for the homeless that the group will help host at a local ministry site.
The rest of the week will include VBS, prayer walks, a coffeehouse event and some small service projects if they are needed by the church (like cleaning, painting, etc). That’s just an overview and there may be other things that come up. Basically our goal is to partner with a local church and come along side the ministry they are doing. We want to build relationships with people at the beginning of the week and spend the rest of the week developing and strengthening those.
We have about 10 local ministries that we partner with at different times throughout the summer, so the ministry for each week will vary. As the time gets closer your project leader will be in touch with you with more specifics.
We have 2 full time staff members that live in Philly year round who will also be here over the summer. In addition to that we will have 4 summer staff that have been to Philly before and are well trained in their job. They will accompany your team to the ministry sites and will be in charge of assisting the project leader with whatever he/she needs. In addition to that, your project will have a trained project leader running the trip.
Breakfast and cleanup are the last events on the schedule on Friday morning. You should plan on departing no later than 11am on Friday. Early departures are fine, and your project leader will work with you to adjust the schedule if you need to leave in the early morning.
Housing:
This summer we will be staying in a church building that we have used as our lodging site for the past 3 summers. Mattresses and bunk beds are provided. Please bring bedding (sheets & light blanket or sleeping bag). The guys’ lodging area is particularly tight, so it’s important to pack essentials, and not crow the room with too much luggage. On some weeks where there are more participants, the guys may sleep off-site at a church about 8 blocks away on mattresses (provided) on the floor.
Food is prepared on site. Please remind your project leader if you are brining anyone with food allergies or special needs.
We have 3 showers in the building. We may have 3 additional off-site showers by the summer for the guys to shower at, and in that case, the on-site showers will be exclusively for the girls. Plan on no more than one shower per day, and possibly less on particularly large projects. A shower-caddy for taking belongings to and from the shower area is recommended.
Safety:
I am guessing that the parents’ biggest concern is going to be safety, and rightly so. For those who have never been to our neighborhood, but watch the news and are familiar with Hollywood depictions of the inner-city, it’s easy to assume and fear the worst.
The number of trained and competent staff that we will have here during the summer will put their minds at ease. We will meet with your group at the beginning of the week to talk about how to be safe on the street – what to do and what not to do. Your group will rarely, if ever go out without a AIM staff member with them, and our night ministry is limited. If we are ministering at night it will be in a small area where everyone is within sight of everyone else. Students do not walk anywhere in a group of less than 3, and every group must have at least one male with them.
The biggest thing to assure the parents is that we have never had anyone victimized on our mission projects. Injuries sustained have been minor, and have most often been caused by the individual’s poor judgment. (For example – Dehydration, minor injuries during service projects, injuries from roughhousing during down-time)
Our job as AIM staff is to minister to the students and keep them safe so that they can step into life-changing opportunities to minister to the people of this city. Our desire is that at the end of this summer each student is changed by what God is doing in this city, and this city is changed by what God does through each student.
Another huge safety asset is that AIM’s year-round presence in Philly, and our ongoing relationships with the people who your youth will be working with. Even the people on the streets respect us as “the church people”. They will go as far as to watch their language or hide their beers so as to not offend us or drive us away.
In addition to all of that, please remember that this is home to many of our staff members. While the city can be dangerous, it is also our home, and we not fearful about walking the streets or talking to people. Most violence occurs between addicts and rarely includes non-addicts. We cover every project and every ministry site in prayer and are constantly seeking the Lord’s guidance and direction as well as his protection.
The biggest thing that parents can do is to cover their child and your group in prayer. As safe as we are, we can’t prevent everything and we trust in the Lord to protect us when we can’t. The amazing thing is that He promises to do that! He says that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deut. 31:8), He is our protector (2 Thess. 3:3), and that we can trust Him in times of need (Psalm 20:7). All throughout His word He tells us to be strong and courageous because He is God He is worthy!!!
The Philadelphia Staff
Adventures In Missions
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