Two litanies to bless and commission mission trip teams

Responsive recitations or litanies can be used in commissioning individuals or groups going on short-term mission trips.
A litany for university students declares the commitment to spreading the gospel while pointing to the need for the Holy Spirit's empowerment and the involvement of the sending community.
A litany for youth groups reiterates the biblical mandate to go and make disciples. It can help participants and their families embrace their mission, pray for a fruitful experience, and serve faithfully.

"Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!" -- Psalm 90:17, Good News Translation

When used, these have been both preceded by and followed by prayers for the mission trips.

Litany 1: Sending service for mission teams at Southern Nazarene University

This litany has been used in SNU chapel services in which either SNU's spring break mission teams or those going on summer trips were commissioned.

Leader: As many SNU students and staff contemplate going home or to some vacation venue, some have chosen to go "beyond the beach" to spread the gospel of Christ across cultural and geographic boundaries.

All: We support this valuable and unique ministry.

Leader: The Lord himself has commanded us to go into all the world. Mission trips to ____________ and to _________ are small steps toward fulfilling Christ's Great Commission.

Youth in Mission participants and JESUS film team members: We will pray for the Holy Spirit to fill, empower, and guide.

Leader: The team(s) to _______________________ will be inviting people to seek God's face and to receive God's love in Christ. The people they go to will have spiritual, emotional, physical, and psychological needs. Team members need to let God's light beam through them.

Faculty and staff: We offer our blessing to those who are soon to leave.

Leader: The call to seek God's face, to receive God's love in Christ, and to radiate God's Spirit in the world is not restricted to those on the teams. This is a call to which the entire SNU community must respond.

All: To live up to this calling, we need the filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Leader: Jesus Christ has promised to always be with us. Jesus invites us to abide in Him, and He promises to abide in us.

All: We thank Jesus for this promise. Strengthened by Jesis's presence in us, we offer ourselves to God's purposes and accept this call.

Leader: There will be many challenges on this journey, but we are led by the greatest of all shepherds. Jesus knows where we will find what we need. We are all part of this adventure of seeing where Jesus will lead.

Students being commissioned: We joyfully offer our gifts, talents, energy, and enthusiasm to follow Jesus' lead in the many challenges our ministry will face.

Faculty and staff: We thank God for the inspiration you are to us. We offer our prayers and emotional support as you set out for this spring break adventure with God.

Leader: May the Shepherd of all of our souls lead you, bless you, and make you a blessing as you serve in __________________. May that same Shepherd also lead the rest of us, bless us, and make us a blessing wherever we will spend this week of spring break.

Litany 2: Commissioning youth groups going on mission trips

Youth 1: In the Great Commission given in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples (Matt. 28:19).

Youth 2: In his Gospel, Mark reports that Jesus told us to go and tell the good news to everyone, everywhere (Mark 16:15).

Youth 3: Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Luke that He is sending forth the promise of God with us (Luke 24:49).

Youth 4: In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you to go."
And, "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 15:16; 20:21 NIV).

Pastor: A mission . . . sending forth . . . a person sent somewhere to serve. God sends a person on a mission.
Commission . . . granting authority . . . allowing someone to act on behalf of another. God commissions a person to go for Him.
Youth on the _______ missions team, do you realize you are being sent forth by God to a specific service?

Team: We do.

Pastor: As your assignment has been given, have you accepted it as a commission from God to go and act on His behalf?

Team: We have.

Pastor: Do you commit yourselves to serve faithfully on this trip in ways that will bring honor and glory to the Lord?

Team: We do.

Pastor: Parents, it is written, "How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!" (Romans 10:15 Easy-to-Read Version). Are you aware of God's blessing upon your children's lives as they respond to His commission?

Parents: We are.

Pastor: Have you committed your children to the Lord?

Parents: We have.

Pastor: Will you commit yourselves to pray earnestly for their mission?

Parents: We will.

Responsive readings to use in world evangelism focused services

-- Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu

"God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." -- 2 Corinthians 9:8

Afterword: What is a Litany?

A litany is a form of prayer or religious devotion. It consists of a series of invocations or supplications repeated in a set rhythm or pattern. It is often done by a leader reciting a phrase or series of phrases, with the congregation responding in unison.

Using a litany is a structured way for a gathering of believers to:

Express their devotion
Intercede for something or someone
Offer praise to God
Renforce key beliefs or themes

The repetitive nature of the litany can create a sense of collective unity and spiritual focus as it reinforces key beliefs or themes central to the participants' faith tradition.