Learn the good life
Our hope is that every RISE trip gives you a chance to learn a little more about the good life.
We all get to choose what kind of life we want to live. Jesus came to show us a kind of life that is full and rich and alive. He said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
That's what the good life is. An abundant life. A life with meaning and purpose. A life where you love people well, do good, work hard for something that matters, and give yourself to something bigger than yourself. A life with God.
And there should be plenty of laughter, great friendships, adventure, and happy days along the way.
That’s the kind of life we’re talking about. The kind that thrills the soul.
And we hope a RISE trip helps you learn a little more about how to live it.
WHAT’S “LEARN THE GOOD LIFE”?
Every RISE trip looks different, but these are the things you can always count on:
MORE GOOD
MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
There’s a lot of variety on a RISE trip, and that’s part of what makes it so fun. One day you might be building a home side by side with a family. The next, digging a well, helping at an orphanage, or teaching clean-water classes.
You’ll get your hands dirty and work hard for something that matters. But every day brings different projects, different people, and different stories. It keeps the trip exciting, and you just never know which project or person you meet will end up meaning the most to you.
NO TWO DAYS THE SAME.
We want to do it all. The projects. The food. The culture. The adventure. The faith. The people.
We don’t want you to just visit a place. We want you to really get to know it. That might mean playing soccer with the kids in the village, trying food you’ve never heard of, walking through a local market, visiting a place of worship that’s meaningful to the people there, hiking to a waterfall, or learning to surf.
See more. Try more. Adventure more. Really get to know and love a new place and the people who call it home.
Of course you come ready to help where you can, but you also come ready to listen, learn, and let the place and the people teach you something too.
You go and give away part of your heart. Somehow, it comes home fuller.
A DAY ON RISE
No two days look exactly the same. That’s kind of the point. But a typical day might look something like this:
MORNING
Breakfast. Scripture study. A devotional. Then out the door.
GET TO WORK
Get your hands dirty. Work hard. Build something, help somewhere, solve a problem, make a difference.
TAKE IT ALL IN
Maybe it’s a market, a waterfall, a cultural celebration, a soccer game, a surf lesson, or something you could only do where you are.
END THE DAY TOGETHER
Dinner. Laugh. Talk about the day. Go to bed tired but happy.
Full days in the best way.
DO IT ALL
fIND YOUR PEOPLE
Be part of something bigger, together.
RISE trips bring together teens from different places and backgrounds who still share a lot of the same beliefs and standards.
There’s something about working hard, trying new things, laughing a lot, and experiencing all of this together that makes friendships happen fast.
You may show up knowing almost no one. Somehow, it doesn’t stay that way for long.
It’s amazing how quickly a group of strangers can start to feel a lot like family.
FULLY PRESENT
Every RISE trip is phone-free.
No phones. No scrolling. No distractions.
For a few days, nobody is checking what everyone else is doing. You’re just there. Present. Talking more. Laughing more. Noticing more. Living more.
At first, giving up your phone might sound like the hardest part of the trip. Funny enough, it often ends up being one of people’s favorite parts.
You might not even want your phone back.
FIND GOD THERE
Faith is at the heart of every RISE trip. Being away from your normal and experiencing new things has this unique way of opening your heart to see life, God, and faith in ways you hadn’t before.
On every trip, there is time set aside for scripture study, prayer, devotionals, and church, but some of the best conversations about who you are, what you believe, and what you want your life to be about happen naturally after a project, over dinner, on a bus, or standing somewhere beautiful.
There is something almost magical about finding God in places you never thought to look.
And something even better about realizing He found you there too.
On a RISE trip, faith, hope, and love aren’t just things you talk about. They’re things you get to experience and live. And somewhere between the people, the work, the beauty, and the unexpected moments, faith can become more personal, God can feel more real, and you come back knowing Him and loving Him a little better.
God just feels bigger on these trips. Maybe that’s the best thing you bring home.
iN GOOD HANDS
RISE is built on decades of combined experience in youth trips, international travel, and humanitarian work all around the world.
We pay a lot of attention to the details. Safety is always, and will always be, a top priority. Experienced adults lead every trip, while young adult leaders help create the connection, energy, and mentorship that make the experience so good.
We take the same care in choosing lodging, transportation, food, projects, and local activities. Every trip is planned by people with years of experience and in close coordination with trusted local teams.
But the details are also what make a trip meaningful and fun. We plan for a variety of experiences, the pace and placement of different activities, and how to make sure there’s something worth looking forward to every day.
Trips like this are a lot more work to plan. But we love it. And we think it’s worth it.
We take care of the details so those who go can have an incredible trip, and those back home can feel confident knowing they’re in good hands.