If we’re really followers of Jesus Christ, what does it mean to be a servant leader?

Student Ministry Pastor Dave O’Vell is hoping the seven high school students and three adults traveling to Mexico this week will get a better understanding of the answer to that question, and then apply what they learn when they return home.

The mission trip to Cabo San Lucas runs from June 9-16.

"When you hear Cabo everyone thinks vacation time,” Dave said. “But it will be a culture shock for a lot of these guys.”

Rather than sunning themselves on a beach, the trip participants will be building a roof and painting the walls of a new church plant in the area.

In the morning they will also engage with kids ages 3-14, playing games, building relationships and teaching VBS-type lessons.

In the evenings the group will focus on servant leadership lessons from a Biblical perspective.

"My favorite thing is each night we do team time,” Dave said. “We’ll just get together as our group and talk about the day, do some debriefing and pull out lessons we need to pull out and talk about those a little bit more."

Dave said he hopes the trip will give students a bigger picture of who God is.

"People don’t realize it but a lot of times we Americans think of God as American, and  that we have to take him to other countries,” Dave said, "rather than him being the God of the universe.”

Dave also hopes the trip produces growth in the lives of each student.

“Whatever the next step is spiritually that they need to take,” Dave said. "Getting them away from some of the natural distractions, getting them in an environment where they can focus on that."