The bonds created while traveling are obvious to group travel leaders. Warm friendships develop during group vacations that can last a lifetime. Faith-based trips can have an even deeper effect, because not only do they encourage fellowship with other passengers, they also can strengthen a person’s faith.
If a religious trip is tied to a church, then that church will also receive positive benefits from the travelers. Faith-based travel members often feel more connected to their church after a travel event, which would make them more likely to continue to attend, tithe and become more involved in the church.
Sometimes church management may see your faith-based travel club as something that doesn’t relate to them. These officials may not understand how a religious travel group can help the church grow stronger.
It may be difficult to demonstrate how your travel group is more than a job where you tour exotic destinations for fun. People can view your job as only a vacation and not understand the intense organization that comes along with it.
The easiest and most effective way to convince church management that your travel group is important is to convince them to go on a trip with you. Whether you need to win over the pastor or other church leaders, invite everyone involved along so they can see the benefits and how much is involved with their own eyes.
Letting church management experience the value of your group firsthand allows them to witness the fellowship, as well as the hard work involved in keeping things running smoothly.
Make the invitation to church leadership a standing offer, such as convincing the pastor to come on one trip a year or have at least one person from senior management come on every major trip. This keeps your travel group in their minds, which fortifies their involvement and support.
Talk with church management after a trip to make sure they realize that even though the travel club may not be profit-oriented, the club can bring more people to the church, which ends up helping the church grow. Faith-based travel groups that are not valued by the church leaders can struggle for support both financially and otherwise.
Always seize on opportunities to remind church management of your importance. Keep in communication with them about your religious travel group’s current activities. For example, send a monthly report showing the number of club members in each location. While the church management can see the numbers of your club this way, until they go on a faith-based trip, they won’t fully understand the fellowship possibilities. Travelers can become some of a church’s most enthusiastic advocates after just one amazing religious group trip.
