Group leader resources
A plan for filling your expedition
What actually fills a church trip, the timeline that works, and how to use every channel your church already has.
Invite people. That is the whole answer, and it is what separates the groups that fill from the groups that do not.
A flyer on the welcome table does not fill an expedition. What fills it is a pastor who is visibly excited about where he is taking his people, who says so, and who asks them directly to come. Everything below exists to give you more chances to invite.
Most trips that fall short do not fail because of the destination or the price. They fail because the church was informed about a trip rather than invited on one.
Informing: the flyer is on the table, the notice is in the bulletin, and the trip gets mentioned once from the stage.
Inviting: you tell your church from the pulpit why you personally want to stand in that place with them. You hand someone a flyer after the service and say you would love for them to come. You call the six people you know would love it and have not signed up. You bring it up for a year.
And do not try to guess who will go. The people you assume cannot afford it or would not be interested are often the first to register. Invite widely and let people decide for themselves.
Before the work falls to you, know what our media team produces for your expedition at no cost:
None of it is billed to you or your church. If you need something we have not thought of, ask your expedition consultant.
The pulpit. The most effective channel, and the most underused. Sixty seconds from you personally at the end of a service is worth more than a year of bulletin notices. Say where you are going, why it matters to you, what it costs and where to sign up. Repeat it monthly.
The bulletin and the screens. Weekly if you can. A traveler needs to see a trip several times before it moves from interesting to possible.
Small groups and Bible studies. Ask the leaders to mention it and to bring the flyer. People who already study together often register together.
The church website. Put the flyer and the link to your trip page on the front page. People check the website after they hear about it on Sunday, and if it is not there they assume it is not real.
Social media. Post the flyer and photos of the destination. Photos outperform text every time.
Email and text. Send the flyer and the registration link to your church list. This is the highest converting channel most churches own and the one they use least.
Other churches and your network. Expeditions are usually open to anyone. Sister churches, your denomination or network, and friends of your members can fill the second half of a group.
A simple meeting creates more registrations than any single announcement. Thirty minutes after a well attended service, roughly nine months out.
Have flyers on the table and the trip page on a screen. Do not press for deposits in the room. People decide at the kitchen table.
Waiting. It takes two forms.
Waiting to start planning. A pastor has the idea in January for a trip the following spring, then spends months thinking about it before calling anyone. By the time the itinerary is built and priced, half the promotion window is gone.
Waiting to start promoting. The flyer arrives and sits in the office because it feels early to announce something eleven months out. It is never too early. The people who register first become your best recruiters, and they can only do that if they know.
Travelers need time to request vacation, set money aside, renew passports and talk it over at home. If you are already later than you would like, do not be discouraged. Compress the same plan and start loud.
Counting backward from departure.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 12 months out | Proposal approved, trip page live, flyer in hand. First announcement from the pulpit, first bulletin notice, church website and social media posts, first email to the church list. |
| 9 to 10 months out | Host a short information meeting. Second announcement push. Ask your small group leaders to mention it. |
| 6 months out | Weekly bulletin presence. Personal invitations to people who showed interest but have not registered. This is where most of the group actually commits. |
| 3 to 4 months out | Final call. Announce the registration deadline and mean it. |
| 90 days out | Final payments are due and registration closes. |
Most groups start planning eight to thirteen months out and begin promoting as soon as the trip page is live. Groups have come together in less time, but the earlier you start, the easier it is.
We do. Travelers register and pay on your trip page, and our travel support team answers their questions by phone and email. Your job is to invite people.
Usually, yes. Most expeditions are open to anyone the pastor is happy to travel with, and friends and family of your members are often the easiest people to invite.
Tell us early. A stall is the signal to make personal calls, not to wait and see. If numbers are not landing where they should, we will look at the options with you well before final payments are due.
Tell us where you want to take your church and when. We will build the itinerary, price it, and send you the materials to start inviting.