Membership strength, or as one pastor refers to it "Keeping the Faithful," is a recurring theme for many Protestant churches. With the soaring interest in faith-based tourism, there is no better time for churches to organize a Christian Travel Ministry to fortify the congregation's numbers. Recognizing that approximately ten percent of Americans travel overseas each year, churches have an opportunity to tailor-design trips for like-minded members to share in faith, fun, and fellowship as a group. If faith-based travel activities are already offered but the search is on for ways to expand the program, it's very easy: offer travel opportunities that include visits the actual sites related to the church's Christian heritage and the Bible.
Destinations such as the Holy Land, Christian cruises or following the Footsteps of the Apostle Paul, as well as humanitarian trips have long been the mainstay of spiritual travel. Now, with the value of the pound sterling at a twenty-five year low and the ever gracious and warm welcome tourists receive in Great Britain, the time is right to visit the roots of the Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican and Episcopalian, and Baptist denominations.
Getting a Christian Travel Ministry started with a ten point plan:
1. Determine the Objectives of the ministry with specific statements. The focus of the church's travel ministry may be to deepen the spiritual faith of the membership or to strengthen the relationship between the members and clergy. Concentrate on two or three primary objectives. With a goal of making history and culture come alive, Baptists can take an enthralling saunter through the chronicles of their own heritage on a tour which includes morning worship at the Metropolitan Tabernacle (1859) where Charles Spurgeon was minister, followed by visits to other important Baptist sites in London.
2. Take Inventory of the membership and their needs. A travel ministry can appeal to every demographic within the church from couples to singles, youth to seniors, families to multi-generational travelers. This ministry is an opportunity to make a shared past and culture come alive regardless of the stage in life. A well-paced itinerary with many classical Anglican sites focusing on London, Canterbury, and Cambridge would have wide-ranging allure for an Episcopalian Heritage Tour.
3. Think Strategically with programs that center on the direction the Christian Travel Ministry will take to satisfy the specific objectives. For example, Presbyterians might plan a tour in Scotland with stops in Stirling and Edinburgh and a pilgrimage to Holy Island (tides permitting) and Lindisfarne Priory. This monastery is one of the most important early centers of Christianity in Anglo Saxon England from where Saint Cuthbert converted pagan Northumbria. Other interesting programs which follow in the footsteps of Saint Columba (Iona) and Saint Ninian (Whithorn) and include some of Scotland's most sacred and revered places can be developed. Visiting these heritage sites will create an opportunity for members to share and enhance their common bond.
4. Use a Timeline to plan the travel programs. First, choose an itinerary that has broad appeal among the membership. Next, decide on a departure date allowing plenty of time to promote the trip. Most programs should be planned at least eight or nine months before departure. Then, work backward from your selected departure date. A successful promotion will have most of its work accomplished four months before departure.
5. Clearly Communicate all that is included on the itinerary chosen such as dates of departure and return, meals, accommodations, transportation, admissions to attractions, English-speaking guides, trip insurance and so on. Equally important, outline what is not included, for example a valid passport, optional sightseeing, items of a personal nature, etc.
6. Keep Details Organized. One person should be responsible for all record- keeping eliminating confusion, problems, and the need to rely on memory. Design a master Group Record spreadsheet with four sections. The first section records the names as they appear on passports for each room request. The second section details the cost of the package, airfare, trip insurance, etc. chosen by each traveler. The third section gives you a place to record payments received from members. The fourth section is a place to record any special requests, such as dietary restrictions, or services, such as accessible rooms. The Group Record together with the timeline is the most important control instrument of any program.
7. Promotion Tactics. Typically, word-of-mouth advertising is the most effective method of publicizing a trip. Other approaches include informational meetings with brochures, maps, videos and speakers, press releases in local newspapers and Christian radio, write-ups in the church and denomination newsletter, flyers placed in shops throughout the community, inserts in the church bulletin, social networking websites and a Christian Travel Ministry page on the church website.
8. Stay on Members Radar with both high-tech and low-tech touches. One meeting, one bulletin insert, and a webpage that is never updated is not enough. Maintain the excitement with interesting details about the destination. The key to a successful Methodist tour, for example, is the creative blending of important Wesleyan locations timed to include Sunday worship at the birthplace and other must-see attractions. An itinerary based in Central and South West England can be full of bubble and fizz as well as pleasant surprises when Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath, Stratford and Oxford are included.
9. Follow-up. A successful Christian Travel Ministry depends on the high satisfaction rate of each trip. Survey each participant for feedback and tweak future programs with the resulting suggestions. Offer the next departure on the last day of the current trip tapping into the enthusiasm and excitement of the one in progress. Gather together for post-tour fellowship to share pictures and memories and to talk about the next trip.
10. Substantiate other Ministries within the Church. A tour that coincides with the Southern Cathedrals Festival in Salisbury, England, in July or the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford Cathedral in August would support the Music Ministry choral groups and hand bell ringers. A tour customized to include some of the many flower festivals in British cathedrals, abbeys and parishes would endorse the church's Flower Ministry. A journey that follows the footsteps of C. S. Lewis would be ideal for Christian book groups. Invite non-members to join the tour in support of the Evangelism Ministry by offering programs with broad appeal to iconic locations, perhaps with free time for golfers to play a round at Saint Andrews' Old Course or art lovers to visit world-class museums in London such as the Tate Modern.
Go to http://www.greatbritainbeckons.com/index2.html for "CHRISTIAN HERITAGE" detailed program suggestions.
The result of a Christian Travel Ministry is evident: fellowship is cultivated, faith is intensified, and lives are enriched. Many travelers also grasp a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life through personal spiritual occurrences and encounters. For everyone from teens to seniors, these are turning points in their lives; visiting Christian and Biblical sites firsthand are forever engraved into their hearts, their characters, and their ways of thinking.
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