Ambassadors is the leadership team of 4th & 5th graders who serve in our local church. I offer training each August for new and experienced ambassadors. This was the jumping-off point for the Ambassador Road Trip.

The Ambassador Road Trip is a spring retreat for 4th & 5th graders born out of a faithful group of children’s ministry leaders’ desire to prepare students for future youth retreats and connect them to a greater Body of Christ than their own local church. Frankly, a middle schooler leaving unmentionables in the public bath house is devastating. For a 4th grader, it’s no big deal and just like home. There are so many life skills to learn when kids go on retreat for a night or two. 

The Ambassador Road Trip is held at Indian Springs State Park in Flovilla, Georgia. We arrive on Friday night, stopping for dinner on the way. We are housed in huge cabins and share several buildings on campus secure from other areas of the park.

Music and a large group gets the party started in the dining hall, well-lit to begin the habit of taking notes in the prepared handbook. We bring our own kitchen team and rotate serving and cleanup among the churches and students in attendance. Students discover what we’re eating at each meal by searching the scriptures on their own time as part of the handbook which makes for some interesting group time in the cabins before bed. Early to bed because sleep matters.

Saturday is filled with large group #2, workshops (worship art, group games, Bible study), lunch, discovery time, large group #3 to finish the night with sticks and s’mores and outdoor games like 4-square-in-the-air, etc. Sunday morning is breakfast, large group #4, cleanup, and dismissal before noon which gets my kids home by the time church lets out.

The Ambassador Road Trip is inexpensive at $100 person for two nights (covers all expenses with enough to make the State Park deposit for the following year) and the content is on a two-year cycle since it includes only two grade levels. I charge a little more to cover chaperones, gas, and Friday night dinner along the way.

Year #1 – AMBASSADOR acrostic

• Ambassadors based on 2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are Christ’s ambassadors.” We spread the letters over the four large groups, review before going on, look up every scripture, take notes in our handbooks.
• Workshops: Bible Ninja Skills, Worship (Lord’s Prayer/Gloria Patri focus learning sign language), Outdoor games, Worship Art (each workshop is designed by and presented by two kidmin leaders collaborating from different churches)
• Two hour discovery time (puttputt, hill climbing, walking, playing ball on the lawn, unstructured but planned) right after lunch.

Large group: What does an ambassador of Christ look like; practices we live out? Handbook fillins….
2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are Christ’s ambassadors.”
A – Arrive 30 minutes early to assignments (plenty of time to be ready) Luke 21:38
M – Mature/Can be trusted (dependable, punctual, enthusiastic without craziness, positive attitude/no complaining) Philippians 2:14
B – Bible readers (we pour out what we take in; are you reading your Bible regularly and attending weekly Sunday school?) 2 Timothy 3:16-17
A – Assist by practicing hospitality (kindness to a stranger) (Hi!, hand outs at end of services) Romans 12:13
S – Smile (lets others know you want to be here; makes the best impression on guests and those having a hard time) Philippians 4:4
S – Set up on Sundays, Tour of the Nativities, Christmas Eve readers and lit candle processionals, wherever I’m invited to help Luke 12:35
A – Assist the littles in the K5 & 1st grade Sunday school classrooms and special events Luke 18:16
D – Dress appropriately for the event (flip flops vs sneakers; awards ceremony/representatives; brush your teeth, no gum chewing; clean) 2 Corinthians 6:3
O – Open the doors…of conversation, of encouragement, and the real doors, too. 1 Thessalonians 5:11
R – Respond quickly with kindness; be aware of your surroundings and others 1 Peter 3:15

Year #2 -DISCIPLES based on Acts 11:26 “The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Christians = little Christs; Christians = Disciples = Christians

• We spread the letters over the four large groups, review before going on, look up every scripture, take notes in our handbooks.
• Workshops: Creed (Apostle’s Creed and learning sign language), Group games, Worship Art, Bible Ninja skills
• Two hour discovery time (puttputt, hill climbing, walking, playing ball on the lawn, unstructured but planned) right after lunch

Large group: What does a Christian disciple look like; practices we live out? Handbook fillins….
D – Declare Jesus Lord (in charge) of your life* – 1 Timothy 4:12
I – Invest your time in godly training – 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
S – Super willing to learn – 1 Timothy 3:14-15
C – Creative – Genesis 1:26-27
I – Involved in a gathering of believers – Hebrews 10:25
P – Prayerful in all things – Philippians 4:6-7
L – Leading others to become disciples – 2 Timothy 2:2
E – Establish your heart and mind in the words of God – Psalm 119:11
S – Serve others – Galatians 5:13 

*G= God created us to be w/Him (Gen 1)
O= Our own way; Our sins separate us from a holy, perfect God (Gen 3)
S= Sins can not be removed by good deeds (Gen 4; Mal 4)
P= Paying the price for sin, God’s only son Jesus died and rose again (Matt-Luke)
E= Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone has eternal life (John 3:16)
L= Life with Jesus starts now here on earth and lasts forever aka Kingdom of Heaven (Acts-Rev)

The Ambassador Road Trip is perfect for multiple small churches taking on specific elements to stage together; meet up in a district or local camp/park spot. The 2024 Ambassador Road Trip is scheduled for April due to Easter being celebrated at the end of March and is sponsored by various children’s ministry champions who serve multiple churches and editing to excellence cycle #1 – Ambassadors. Want to be part of the 2024 Ambassador Road Trip team? Contact me directly at dedereilly@comcast.net or our team leader Kate Morris at morriskt@bellsouth.net.

What does a developmentally appropriate retreat life look like for your pre-teens?

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“Taking people away from their regular life for a few days, and offering them a season of activity, intense focus without distractions, peer-to-peer interaction and Bible influence is perhaps one of the greatest investments in people’s lives.” – Henrietta Mears from “Teacher: The Henrietta Mears Story”