NASHVILLE

Students will be staying at a camp outside of Nashville. Students are not allowed to go anywhere without an adult leader.

Students are rarely given the opportunity to unplug from the constant stream of distractions, drama, and temptation that go hand-in-hand with smartphone use. We believe that God wants to use this week as a unique period of time in each of these student’s lives where they can focus on what God is doing. In order to ensure that every student is in the best possible position to receive that message, we are restricting all cell phone use and possession during this trip. Here are important details:

• Students may bring their phones, but they will be taken up, bagged, labeled, and stored in a secure office at the camp from the time we arrive in Nashville to when we are on the bus home on Friday.
• Family group leaders, staff, and the media photographer can capture all the pictures from the trip.
• Family group leaders can relay any important information from students to their parents.
• The Student Staff can be contacted if there is an emergency at home.
• This policy includes other devices that can access apps and the internet (iPads, laptops, smart watches).

While this may seem extreme, we want to assure you that your students will be safe. From our experience, most students will be relieved to have an excuse to take a break from all the “noise.”

We will meet at Johnson Ferry on April 7 and depart from the church in charter buses to Nashville. While in Nashville, we will travel on buses with two to three family groups per bus. On April 11, we will return to Johnson Ferry on charter buses and students will need to be picked up from the church.

Safety is of the utmost importance on this trip. We will have two full-time nurses traveling with us that will be available at all times.

Johnson Ferry is a very generous church, and the Nashville mission trip is already subsidized 50% by our global Ministry. If you need additional financial assistance, you can contact the Student Music Office at [email protected] and we will reach out to you with next steps.

Rehearsals are MANDATORY for this trip. Starting January 8, students must attend 80% of choir rehearsals in order to go on the trip. See above for rehearsal date information.

We eat our meals at the camp and sometimes bring in catering for lunch and we try out best to have plenty of options for those with dietary restrictions/allergies. We cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment, but we do our best to communicate ahead of time and will have an adult allergy advocate on the trip. For any further information or concerns, please reach out to [email protected].