The Scattering – Team Leaders

The Scattering is a week of mission for young people to grow in their faith and put it into action. We partner with local churches so that we can reach local communities in an authentic way, and invite people to the partner church as we tell them about Jesus.

Whilst we want people to come to know Jesus, and expect it to happen, it’s the added bonus to what we do. It’s all about discipleship of the young people getting involved, exposing them to mission and seeing them grow in their faith.

If you’d like to be a team leader in The Scattering 2025 happening in London (26 July – 1 August), South Wales (16 – 22 August) and the North East of England (23 – 29 August), please sign up using the form below.

Sign Up

What The Week Looks Like

Equipping Weekend: Held in one location, everyone gathers together for a weekend of worship, practical training, Bible teaching and ministry to equip young people for mission.

Mission week: The teams of young people will go and spend a week partnering with various churches as they to go out share the good news of Jesus through word and deed and in creative ways.

Celebration: Coming back together again, the teams and people from the churches celebrate what God has done during the week and are challenged to live a missional life throughout the year.

As team leaders you will be needed throughout the entire week. At the Equipping Weekend you will be introduced to the young people in your team and begin to help form a sense of team unity. You will then travel from the equipping weekend to the host church where you will spend the next five nights. You will help lead the young people in mission working alongside your host church. Then, on the Friday you will bring your team back to where it all started for an evening celebration.

Team Leader Requirements

The Scattering Week: Be present for the whole week
Training: Attend one of the training days, preferably the one in the region you are will be serving in. Here you will receive mandatory safeguarding training and meet your church hosts to plan your mission week.
You will be expected to adhere to The Message Trust policies. This means familiarising yourself with The Message safeguarding policies and the risk assessments that will be produced for your team’s mission week.
All team leaders will need to have an enhanced DBS check with The Message Trust. If you do not have one we will process one for you unless you are on the DBS update service.
You will be required to fill in daily reports during the mission week.
You will work with the project host church to curate a mission week timetable and ensure that they are well prepared to receive your team.

The Charge Responsibilities

We will run the Equipping Weekend and Celebration.
We will recruit and train the young people for your team.
We will train you as a leader, and arrange for you to be DBS checked.
We will help you to design the programme for the mission week – this may involve a visit to the church, praying and planning activities. By the end of June we will have compiled a timetable for the mission week.
We will run a pre-mission training day (date is to be confirmed, but will be no later than three weeks prior to the mission). The day will include training for team leaders, mission week planning and a Q&A session for team leaders and project hosts. Your Project Host can attend all or any part of this programme.
We will provide advice, support and prayer throughout the preparation and mission week.

Our Eight ‘-Ate’s

For all our team leaders we have come up with eight ‘-ate’s that we feel summarise what we are expecting from you.

Facilitate

You are there to help facilitate mission. You create the space that allows young people to take steps of faith. This means you may not be the one always doing the mission.

Demonstrate

You will show the young people how to do things. It is the I do, you watch, we talk. I do, you help, we talk. You do, I help, we talk. You do, I watch, we talk.

Motivate

There is no doubt the at times the young people will be feeling tired or even disheartened, it is your job to help re-ignite their passion and remind them the reasons we do what we do.

Celebrate

You want to create a culture that celebrates the risk over result. We celebrate the young people stepping out in faith regardless of the result.

Compassionate

The young people are in your care, and there will be moments when you need to be pastoral and come alongside the young people.

Communicate

You will need to communicate well with the project hosts, the young people and the wider Scattering team. Let the young people know what you are planning, communicate well when plans change. It is better to overcommunicate than assume.

Incorporate

Some young people will naturally find it harder to integrate that others. Make sure that everyone is getting involved and that no one feels left out

Innovate

There will be times that plans need to change for reasons outside of your control. Be prepared to be innovative and think on your feet to solve problems in a creative way.

We are so glad you would like to be part of The Scattering this year and help see young people be trained into a lifestyle of missional discipleship.

Other Ways To Get Involved

Even if you are unable to be a Team Leader, you can still get involved with The Scattering.

Sign Up Your Young People – We would love to have your young people (aged 13-18) join us for the week of equipping and mission. If you would like to sign them up, we have three events in 2025 in London, Wales and the North East of England.

Pray! – These events only work when we come together in prayer to believe for all God is doing. We would love if you could join us as we pray. You can do this by following our social media, signing up to The Message Trust prayer news, or by speaking to us directly about ways you can press into prayer for this week.