Schoolies is a rite of passage for many school leavers. Heading to the Gold Coast and a variety of other beach cities, young people celebrate the end of school by drinking and partying but, for a group of Year 12 students from St Faith’s Anglican Church, Narrabeen, another sort of schoolies trip was more appealing.

From December 3, a group of 10 students and leaders from the youth group Soulies, went to Forster on the NSW north coast for a short-term mission.

“In contrast to most schoolies trips, we want to be a blessing on the town, rather than a burden,” said youth minister Dave Miers.

The group worked alongside the Coast Evangelical Church, assisting the community in a variety of ways.

“Last year we did a kind of backyard blitz for a lady who was in need,” Mr Miers said. “We also did some baking for the local indigenous community.”

Students also assisted the community by running kids programs during school time and after school.

Another aim of the trip is for students to spend time thinking about their faith and their lives after school and how those things might meet.

“We want to help the kids to think about living their lives intentionally and for Jesus,” Mr Miers said. “We’ll be looking at Ephesians through a series of studies around the topic of ‘Don’t waste your life’.”

The idea for mission-coated schoolies trips is not a new one. Mr Miers got the idea after attending a similar trip while at Christ Church, St Ives. Scripture Union and Crusaders also run schoolies camps for Christian teenagers.

“I think it’s attractive to go away on a trip with your peers who are part of the same family, share similar convictions and genuinely love each other,” Mr Miers said.

While the focus of the trip is to show love to the local community, the Narrabeen students will also get plenty of opportunity to wind down after their exams.

“There will most certainly be time for them to relax and enjoy the beach,” Mr Miers said.