What Is Spring Invasion?
Spring Invasion, a short-term missions program sponsored by EFC-MAYM in cooperation with Coahuila, Mexico Friends Churches, has been hosting Friends Church Sr. High student missions teams in Mexico since 1993. Spring Invasion allows students to serve the foreign mission field for one-week, experiencing ministry in a cross-cultural community and observing God’s action in the context of Coahuila, Mexico Friends Churches. Invasion also provides a place for youth groups to be challenged and stretched together, finding sacrifice and service as pleasures in God’s Kingdom. Furthermore, Invasion not only helps students develop a mission-minded world-view, but also allows them to take a beginners-level peek at exploring missionary life and ministry Calling. Invasion gives all participants a tremendous blessing as they plunge themselves right into the middle of God’s work!
Participating Spring Invasion Youth Groups, are divided (by youth group) into teams of 10 – 20 members per team. Then each team is assigned to work with a Friends Church in various sites within the state of Coahuila, under supervision of a local Pastor, Invasion Directors and Youth Group Leaders. There are several potential locations available for Invasion Teams to be placed. Ministry sites include: Nueva Rosita, Allende, Cloete, Agujita, Nacimiento, Palau, La Luz, and Coronado’s Rosita church.
Students who wish to participate in Spring Invasion but don’t have a youth group and/or adult leader to come with can contact a nearby Mid-America Friends Church Youth Pastor to inquire about participating with their group, or contact jesse@efcmaym.org to talk about options.
Spring Invasion is once every two years: The EFC-MAYM Youth Division decided during 2007 meetings to begin an ‘every-other-year’ schedule for Spring Invasion. Current plans are for EFC-MAYM to go to Coahuila in 2016, 2018, 2020 and so on. In the off-Invasion-years, the Youth Division would like to encourage local youth groups to continue a spring break experiential mission’s emphasis, which could happen through the local church, or by churches working together and/or through the EFC-MAYM Ministry Center.
NOTE: Passport or Passport Card required – Apply Immediately.
When is Spring Invasion 2018?
During your Spring Break!
Week #1 = March 10-17
Week #2 = March 17-24
Who is Spring Invasion for?
Spring Invasion guidelines for student team members:
- Sr. High Student (college, adults, families also welcome!)
- Must have Passport or Passport Card
- Active participant in local church and/or youth program
- Respectful to authority and peers
- Willing to be stretched and follow all Spring Invasion guidelines
- Has been accepted as a team member of a participating EFC-MAYM Church/Youth Group
- See full Spring Invasion Guidelines here.
Spring Invasion 2018 Registration Costs and Deadlines:
Spring Invasion Costs vary for each group. Contact your youth group leader for your groups’ total registration costs and to see about fundraising help.
There are two Spring Invasion registration payments to make:
Note: Check with your youth leader before you register to find out if you are to pay your $225 Deposit and optional $12 or $15 shirt cost directly to EFC-MAYM or if you should make payments directly to your youth leader or church.
Spring Invasion:
- Feb. 19 = $225 Registration and online registration form due to EFC-MAYM: covers all expenses while in Mexico including meals, overnight arrangements, work project supplies, administration, etc. The deposit amount is the same for every student, adult, and interpreter. Cost of optional $12/$15 shirts are not included and can be selected when registering online. (Also note that the cost for children, age 4-13, accompanying adult leaders is $75.)
- A second payment due to your church group helps cover cost of your groups’ transportation, hotel costs, tourist cards and administration down and back. Also, each person is responsible for travel meals.
Late Fees: Any registrations or payments posted online late will be charged a $20 late fee. No registrations will be accepted after March 5. (Contact Jesse for any exceptions.)
March 5 – Release & Medical Consent Form due to Friends Ministry Center, 2018 Maple, Wichita, KS 67213.
NOTE: These deadlines are to the EFC-MAYM Friends Ministry Center. While individuals are responsible for registering online, payment checks and Release Forms may be collected by group leaders at an earlier date. Also, your group leader will most likely be collecting your Passports/Passport Cards in preparation for border crossing. Ask your leader!
Passport or Passport Card – You cannot participate in Spring Invasion and cross the border without either a passport or passport card. Locate your passport or apply for a passport or passport card immediately. You may have to pay expedite fees to get it in time if you wait.
Spring Invasion Refund/Cancellation Policy :
- Cancellations received on or before Feb 19 will be refunded in full
- Cancellations received between Feb 19 and March 5 will be refunded the deposit minus a 20% administration fee.
- Cancellations for any reason March 6 or after will receive no deposit refund.
Spring Invasion Base
Our meeting place to start and end the week in Mexico together, will be at Agujita Friends Church, next to Samuel Vasquez’s home. Groups who register meet at Eagle Pass, Texas for border crossing and convoy to Agujita. Agujita is a short distance from Nueva Rosita.
Spring Invasion Directors
Jesse Penna, EFC-MAYM Director of Student Ministries, and Matt Macy, Associate Director of EFM (Evangelical Friends Mission) will serve together as Spring Invasion Directors. Jesse is the primary contact person for registration and program coordination in advance of Spring Invasion, and will be able to be on-site in Mexico for one week in March. Matt will be in Mexico both weeks of Spring Invasion. You can contact Jesse anytime: 316-267-0391 (office) or 316-641-9961(cell) or jesse@efcmaym.org.
Ralph Corbet, Invasion Project Director, has been involved with Spring Invasion since the beginning. His primary focus is on any construction or work projects youth groups might be involved with. Ralph has a great relationship with this Mexican Friends Church community and helps determine what projects we take on as he assesses needs. He also serves the student teams in many other ways. You will like Ralph!
Samuel Vasquez is one of several pastors and a leader among the pastors that Ralph, Matt, Jesse and all of us look to for leadership in our work with the churches in Mexico. Samuel and the Mexican pastors are our bosses. Show great respect to them. They will be very busy hosting us and will be interested in what we do in their churches and communities. When we leave, they will still be there, so we must follow their leading, welcome their participation and seek their opinions in what we do. We hope to help them minister to the community, not hurt it. Our witness may affect their witness.
Primary Youth Leaders!
All Primary Youth Leaders for your church are encouraged to view all Spring Invasion Planning Resources here.
What about safety?
Spring Invasion Directors and our Mexican pastor hosts are very careful to provide a safe and secure environment to house and transport team members. We would not take a Spring Invasion team into a known dangerous environment or intentionally expose them to risks at any time. Spring Invasion directors rely on missionary-trusted local insight. We monitor reports of political unrest and travel conditions through the US State Department – http://www.state.gov/.
What if your parents have concerns?
It is perfectly normal for parents to be concerned about their children traveling out of the U.S. They should feel free to contact Spring Invasion Directors with any questions they may have about safety, concerns, leadership, or costs. Also, your parents can be provided with references of other people ‘just like them’ who have already sent their children on mission trips to Mexico in the past year, and/or who have traveled internationally extensively, including to Mexico. Contact: or 316-267-0391.
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