HILLCITY youth mission trip
 Summer 2026

We do a youth mission trip, because we believe that our students should learn what it means to serve others. It’s an important part of following Jesus in our lives. But more than that, we want to remove kids from where they are comfortable and distracted, and create for them an environment where they can hear from God more clearly, develop meaningful and purposeful relationships with their peers, and adults - and where they can learn about who they were created to be, and what they’re capable of.
Oh, and we want them to have fun too :)

This trip is for any HILLCITY youth who have just finished 6th-12th grade
Summer 2026 location - ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 
July  17-24, 2026

Register Now

What will we be doing ? 

We travel for the first 2 days on the trip, then enter our "routine" of service for the middle 4 days and then head home on the big blue bus on the last 2 days.

Organization(s) we are working with:

We will be working with Erie City Mission, Emmaus Soup Kitchen, and another food bank related ministry.

Our daily rhythm:

Our daily rhythm will include devotional time, some sort of service, something fun, 3 square meals a day, a time of worship and a message, and time spent in small groups talking about the message and their day. In no particular order :)

How  will we be serving?

We will be serving in various ways at each ministry, but you can expect to be preparing meals to serve, serving and interacting with those that are hungry, working in a donation center as well as helping the ministries directly with various tasks to support their efforts in Erie. 

Is there fun days or free time? 

Absolutely, yes!
This year we plan to hit up Niagra Falls, a local water park, shop in the city of Erie and the hike around the beautiful Presque Isle State Park (and more!)

Common questions?

How much does the trip cost?

The total for the trip is $300 (late registration, after May 17th,  will be $400)
Partial and full scholarships are available - we don't want cost to prohibit any student from attending and serving!

How are students divided up? 

Many of our large group service projects are done together. But small groups are divided by gender and age (ie, Middle school girls and High school girls  in different groups) - this serves their spiritual and developmental needs specifically.

What is NOT included in the cost of the trip? 

The $300 cost covers all travel and meals with the exception of 2 things:
  • Personal spending money
  • Lunches on travel days (while we are on the bus)

Is there a registration deadline?

All of the registration information is below - we will need  your registration and payment along with some additional health and release forms to be handed out at the parent meeting in May.  
The deadline for registering is May 17th
(late registrations will be accepted after May 17th for an additional $100)

I would love to register:

YAY!
We are thrilled that you want to come along for our 2026 summer trip to Erie, PA!

To be fully registered, we will need 2 things from you:
1. The completed registration form (along with payment) - just click on the button below
2.  A few signed health and release forms - these will be handed out as a paper copy at the parent meeting on XXXXX . If you can not attend the meeting, just let us know, but we DO need these forms before your student can participate on the trip.

**We DO have scholarships available and we love to hand them out to students that are eager and excited to serve. We never want finances to get in the way of a student attending.  Simply email aaron@hillcityhudson.org OR emily.steffen@gmail.com  for the scholarship code to input at registration.
register HERE!

Timeline and important dates: 

Registration opens
Feb 11
Mission trip location announced and online registration opens
Parent Meeting
May 17 - after church
Our parent meeting is meant to go over the trip (and pre-trip) schedules so that parents feel confident and excited for their student to serve. We will also be asking for a few additional forms during this meeting so even if you're student has come in years' past, it's important that you attend this meeting.
Student Meeting
June 10 - 5:30pm
This is a MANDATORY student meeting to help us get prepared for the trip - you can expect to go over some logistics, prepare for the trip spiritually and do some team building before we leave to serve together.
Pancake breakfast fundraiser
June 28
This Sunday morning fundraiser is a great way for our HILLCITY "big church" to connect with the youth going on the trip - and leads to a great fundraiser for our students.
Youth commissioning service
July 12
A Sunday morning commissioning service during our normal service time at HILLCITY - we will pray for the students as a church body and have a sponsorship way for those supporting the trip to meet and pray for each student while they are away in PA for the week.
HILLCITY summer mission trip
July 17-24
We leave on the big blue bus for PA, serve the community, have some fun, grow with Jesus, make more friends and then return home on the big blue bus.

Meet your leaders.

These 2 are our main leaders for this summer 2026 mission trip
We will, of course, have many other small group leaders and adult volunteers to help connect with students and make the trip successful.
If you are interested in volunteering as an adult, get in touch with Aaron or Eli HERE!

Aaron Steffen

Pastor and bus driver
Aaron is the Lead Pastor at HILLCITY and he also cooks most of the meals on our trips. It’s one of his life goals to help people learn how to follow Jesus in their everyday life, and help them grow in their relationship with Him - which is a huge part of what these trips are about. He’s been on something like one billion mission trips (actually probably 11 or 12). He really enjoys sleeping in his own bed, in his air conditioned bedroom - so an air mattress in a balmy church basement might make him grouchy (watch out). He really hopes that while we’re on the trip you’ll find yourself challenged, have opportunities to lead others, and experience your faith in a new and exciting way that carries over into your life when we get home. He also hopes that you learn the important life skill of practicing daily hygeine rituals 😀 

Eli Rambo

HILLCITY youth intern
Eli is the Youth Intern HILLCITY and currently a student at Crown College.  He’s a HILLCITY Youth Alum, who has spent many trips learning what it means and looks like to lead students in growing in their relationship with Jesus and one another. He is really good at spending time sitting with people and having deep conversations; on the bus, at dinner, or even over a cool board game during free time. Eli has a full head of hair, two dogs, numerous baseball hats from teams he doesn’t cheer for, and a fiance called Krysta. 

Packed bag packing list

What is a packed bag?
Think of this as your checked bag on an airplane. We don't "unpack" this part of the bus when we travel to make on/off work in a timely fashion

PACKED BAG PACKING LIST DOWNLOAD HERE

Day bag packing list

What is a day bag?
Think of this as your carry-on on an airplane. This is an overnight bag that we can easily access when we stop on our travel days.

DAY BAG PACKING LIST DOWNLOAD HERE