Research potential missions countries. Make a list of places that interest you and compile information to help you make a decision. You can also prioritize based on the kind of mission work you want to do. Missions trips tend to be specific, for example, some target war-torn countries and refugees while others visit more stable areas in need of church-building. Decide if you want to go on a short-term (one to three weeks) or long-term (three months to a year) trip.
Contact a local church. If you're already a member of a local church, you should ask about any mission trips your church is planning to take. If you're not part of a church, you can still research churches in your area by going on the Internet. Look for missions trips that match the criteria you've established for yourself. Organizations such as Adventures In Missions (adventures.org), provide mission trip services for adults and high school and college students to more than a dozen countries.
Raise money. It usually costs money to go on a missions trip, so you should contact friends, colleagues and family members and solicit donations. If you're part of a church, you should see if there's any discounts or ways to defer payment or to collect offerings to sponsor you on the trip. If you're not part of a church, you should write letters to other churches in and outside of your local community describing your mission, and the amount of money you need to raise.
Learn the customs of your host country so you have a familiarity with the culture and the people before you arrive. If the host country's primary language isn't English, try to learn some basic words in the country's official language so you can communicate when you arrive. Find the number of the contact person in the country where you are going, and ask him basic questions about the area where you'll be staying and important things about the people that you should know.
Familiarize yourself with the members of your missions group. Arrange for a get-together so you can become friendly with the people with whom you'll be going on the trip. You'll be spending a lot of time with them, and things may get intense and hectic, so you want to have "broken the ice" prior to leaving on your trip.
