CITY
MISSION TRIP
$469
HOW WE SERVE
Colorado Springs is a picturesque city at the base of Pikes Peak, one of the nation’s most beautiful mountain ranges. Here your students will explore this vibrant community and work alongside community partners who are serving individuals struggling with material poverty, homelessness, and various forms of trauma.
THE MISSION IN
COLORADO SRPINGS, COLORADO
Colorado Springs is the second largest city in Colorado and was recently ranked as one of the best cities to live in. However, amongst this beautiful city are individuals struggling with material poverty and homelessness. The United Way reports that over the last few years, the percentage of individuals living in a state of homelessness was up nearly 6% with youth homelessness up 7%. And then there are others who are not homeless, but still struggle with day-to-day living.
The good news — there are many active churches and community organizations within Colorado Springs helping to meet this problem head on. Next Step is excited to continue to come alongside the local church and community organizations like Crossfire Ministries, Family Life Services and Habitat for Humanity to assist people like Gloria.
Working through an organization called Brothers Redevelopment which helps elderly and disabled people by providing home repair and affordable housing. Our student teams cleaned out her house, fixed drywall, installed a new toilet and landscaped her yard. Gloria loved spending time with all the students, leaders, and staff throughout the summer. She specifically loved to tell them about Jesus and how he was always there for her. Gloria’s love was contagious and deeply moved the students serving her.
While many homeowners and organizations need physical work, they also simply desire someone to talk with and listen to them.
Our teams continue to participate in building projects for families in transitional housing, join outreach events in the community, and engage in tangible service projects that meet the food and shelter needs of individuals living in states of at-risk homelessness or homelessness. No matter the project, students will have many opportunities to share the Gospel to families that find themselves in hard times. Most importantly, groups get the chance to learn from people like Gloria who have so much to share.
PARTNERSHIPS
FAMILY LIFE SERVICES
Family Services
FLS has a rich tradition of helping families in Colorado Springs. Originally an orphanage, the 2.5 acre property was home to 34 orphaned children before refining its mission in the 80’s to focus on rebuilding the lives of single moms and their children. FLS now facilitates life transformation of struggling, single moms and their children through faith-based resident programs and community outreach.
MISSION MEDICAL
Health Care Services
Mission Medical is a faith-based organization providing free healthcare to uninsured, under-insured, and low income individuals in Colorado Springs, even though they have few provisions for their medical clinic. Next Step currently works with Mission Medical Clinic to rehabilitate and build out their facilities. Next Step is eager to continue this partnership to help Mission Medical serve their clients with the utmost dignity.
FRESH START
Community Rehabilitation Program
Fresh Start Center’s mission is to fight hunger, poverty, and joblessness through sustainable agriculture, employment programs, case management, and food distribution. Next Step works with Fresh Start Center within their food-growing operation. Whether it’s farming, building new grow beds, cleaning fish tanks, picking food for the pantry, or caring for the rabbits, chickens and goats on the farm – there is a lot to do!
SITE PHOTOS
YOUR EXPERIENCE
WORSHIP
Next Step wants your students to grow together in faith and understanding who Jesus is. Each year we create new devotionals for you to guide your students through at different times during the day, and each evening includes worship, a speaker to challenge them through a brief message, and a new video series created by Next Step for your mission trip. All of our program materials are designed to help you get the conversations started, and then let you do the framing and guiding of your students in the specifics of their faith! Each night ends with your chance to gather in your group and go over the day's lessons.
CONSTRUCTION
At Next Step, we partner with local community leaders and organizations to ensure that the projects are meaningful to them and the work they are doing in the community. Not all of our sites have construction based ministry ..or may have it every week, but on sites that do, your students will work on projects ranging from full home builds and home additions, to drywall, siding, flooring, wheelchair ramps, and more. Feel free to contact us and see what projects might be in store this year for your community and week of choice!
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Do you want your short term mission trip to make a real difference? At Next Step, students serve alongside local community members, churches and nonprofits, as we meet the needs of the community together. With projects being selected by our community partnerships, you will be part of a movement in ethical and responsible short-term missions. We actively pursue this as more than just buzz words. We strive to continue to be a forerunner in the collision of short term missions and sustainable community development!
LOGISTICS
Next Step Ministries will be hosting your trip at Colorado Springs Christian School 4845 Mallow Rd. Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907.
Guys and girls will be separated into different classrooms for sleeping arrangements. You will be sleeping on the floor so you will need to bring a twin air mattress, sleeping bag, and pillow.
The school also provides a kitchen, dining area, restrooms, space to hang out, and air conditioning. All Next Step students and staff will remain within the youth ministry portion of the building where there is plenty of space for games and relaxing at the end of each day.
For showers, we will lead you to a locker room in the gym where there are 6 showers divided by shower curtains. Please be mindful that we are guests at this school. We are confident your team will treat their facilities with respect and gratitude
This mission site is bus and van accessible. Some groups choose to fly and then rent vehicles for the week. The nearest airports are the Colorado Spring Airport (COS), located 20 minutes away. Also, there is the Denver International Airport (DEN) located about an hour away.
Twin Size Air Mattress
Bedding & Pillow
Water Bottle
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Towel
Toiletries
Swim Suit
Work Shoes
Work Clothes
Casual Clothes
Work Gloves
Safety Glasses
Hammer
SUNDAY (ARRIVAL DAY)
3:00-5:00 pm – Arrive to Mission Location
6:00 pm – Dinner
7:00 pm – Worship & Weekly Orintation
9:00 pm – Church Time, Small groups, Free Time
10:30 pm – Lights Out
MONDAY – THURSDAY (WORK DAYS)
7:00 am – Wake Up
7:15 am – Eat Breakfast & Lunch Preparation
8:00 am – Morning Devotional
8:15 am – Depart for Worksite & Begin Working
12:00 pm – Lunch & Devotion
1:00 pm – Resume Working
3:30 pm – Clean Up/Return
4:00 pm – Free time/Showers/Leader Meeting
6:00pm – Dinner
7:00 pm – Worship
9:00 pm – Church Time, Small groups, Free Time
10:30 pm – Lights Out
FRIDAY (OPTIONAL FREE DAY)
8:00 am – Wake Up
8:15 am – Eat Breakfast & Lunch Preparation
9:00 am – Morning Devotion
9:15 am – Leave for Free Day Activity
4:00 pm – Shower Time/Free Time/Leader Meeting
6:00 pm – Dinner
7:00 pm – Worship
9:00 pm – Church Time, Small groups, Free Time
10:30 pm – Lights Out
FAQS
When should I register for my trip?
Registration opens in July and will be available through early spring. To get your preferred dates, locations, and spaces, it is recommended to secure your spots sometime before October.
What is the min or max people per group?
There is genrerally no set minimum group size for most of our summer mission trips, but based on the location and dates there may be some applicable suggestions and/or restrictions. If you have less than five participants in your group, please contact our office so we can go over the logistics of a trip with a smaller group size. The maximum number of people that can register for a trip will depend on the specific location capacity and availability.
What is the adult to student ratio required?
Next Step Ministries asks each group to bring 1 adult for every 6 students.
Are background checks required?
Yes. Each church group is responsible for conducting background checks on each participant 18 years of age or older.
When will we find out what our work projects are?
Your group will learn about the work projects on the first night of your trip! Our staff will contact you 1-2 weeks prior to the trip to share updates and provide an adjusted tool list.
How are the trips staffed?
A Next Step Area Director facilitates community partnerships, lines up projects, leads the summer staff, and coordinates other logistics such as lodging and accommodations. The trip itself will be facilitated by a team of energetic, mission-minded college-age summer missions staff. The site staff will include a construction team, worship team, speaker, meal coordinators, and administrative leaders to guide you through the week.
What if the trip I’m considering is already full?
Each location has a different max capacity, so please contact our office to learn more about spaces available. In the event we are fully booked for the trip you are interested in, we can put you on a wait list or help find alternative trip options. To avoid these delays, we recommend registering for your trip as soon as you can!
What is the payment schedule?
Payment for a Next Step Ministries mission trip is separated into a deposit and two scheduled payments:
- Deposit - $50 non-refundable and non-transferable deposit per spot reserved due within 30 days of your trip registration date
- March 15th Payment – 50% of remaining balance of trip cost due
- May 15th Payment – 100% of remaining total balance of trip cost due
Is Next Step affiliated with a denomination?
No, we do not affiliate with a particular denomination. Next Step Ministries is an interdenominational organization and we partner with hundreds of churches from all different denominations on our mission trips. Please see our Statement of Faith to learn more about what we believe. In simple terms, we stick to the basics of the Gospel. Our foundation for ministry is to provide opportunities for students to connect and grow in a personal relationship with Christ.
How are the work projects selected?
Next Step Ministries works alongside community leaders, non-profit organizations, and the local church in order to set up work projects. Next Step Staff called Area Directors work closely with our community partners to determine how to multiply our impact in the community and prepare the projects you will be working on in advance.
Will our group be paired with other groups?
You will most likely be attending a trip with 2-4 other youth groups. All groups will share sleeping quarters and we will have meals and worship together as a large group. Many of our mission site locations can accommodate for 80-100 volunteers each week. For work projects, we love to mix students, but also understand many groups prefer to stick together. Please let us know your preference and we will plan accordingly!
Is the mission trip safe?
Yes. Next Step Ministries exists to give middle school, high school, and college students an opportunity to explore their faith, experience God, and extend service to others on a mission trip. Students are our top priority and safety is always our primary concern. Thankfully, because of our long-term commitment and involvement within the community, we have developed many close relationships with local families and organizations. The community is familiar with Next Step and we’ve worked hard to humbly earn their trust and respect. Because of these close friendships we are the first to know if something out of the ordinary comes up or is unsafe.
WANT MORE INFORMATION?
Day or night, Next Step Ministries is happy to hear from you. Whether you have a question, comment or concern, please don’t hesitate to give us a call, or just type "TRIP" in the chatbox to get more information. You can quickly schedule a meeting with us HERE. And feel free to download this brochure below for all of our basic mission trip information.
