Nicaragua FACTS

-Nicaragua is in Central America. It is the largest country in Central America. About the size of the state of New York, it has a population of approximately 6.5 million.

-Nicaragua is the poorest Latin American Country in the world. It is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

-Managua is the capital city with a population of approximately 2.2 million people.​

-Estelí is the commerce center of the North, and is the hand-rolled cigar capital of the world! Over 4,000,000 hand-rolled cigars are exported from Estelí every DAY! 60% of the jobs in Estelí are in the tobacco/cigar industry.

The Fourth Step: promote!

Your Church: Once you've decided that you are going on the trip and the dates are set, make sure you ask your pastor to promote the trip in the church services, bulletins, newsletters, and website. In these promotions, give due dates for others to join the trip. Give dates for pre-trip meetings. Remember to ask for prayer support from your congregation. You may even talk to your pastor or leaders about asking people to give to help your group go. Also ask your church to give to any specific ministry projects your group wants to accomplish in Nicaragua. This trip will help the overall influence of your church in the world. You may be surprised how some people in your church will help or give even though they may not be able to go. 

Write A Letter: If you need some help raising the money required for your trip, consider writing a personal letter to family and friends asking them to support you financially. Many of your family and friends will gladly give to help you impact the world for Christ. If you need a sample of a letter like this, we've provided one for you here: 

Social Media: You may choose to promote your trip and even ask for financial assistance on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Use discretion when it comes to details. Check with your Pastor or group  leader first to see if they think it's O.K. (Remember, this is specific for Nicaragua Missions Trips. Please use caution with what you promote on social media if you are going on a mission trip to any other country. Check with the missionary you are going to visit first to see if there are any possible negative repercussions for promoting your trip to their country.)

There are some websites that will help you raise your mission trip costs. Here's a couple you can check out: 

The third Step: Plan!

Plan Your Mission: If you are the group leader, you need a clear plan for your mission trip. Not necessarily all the details of travel, lodging, food you'll eat in country, etc. We'll take care of all that for you. But you need a plan of what your group will be doing as a project or ministry. It helps to plan ahead what "type" of trip your group will be involved in. Here are three categories:

1) Hands Trip: A hands trip is a construction or physical labor intensive trip. We have all kinds of Hands projects going on that your group may want to do. From planting fruit trees, building fences, installing irrigation lines, building church buildings, installing equipment, painting, etc., we are always doing some kind of construction you can get involved in.

2) Feet Trip: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10:15. Feet trips center around evangelism. You may choose to hike to a community in the mountains and share the "Jesus Film", or hold a VBS, or hold a basketball or soccer camp for the purpose of sharing the Gospel. You may even be able to help us launch a new church plant when you are here! We have teams of Nicaraguans ready to assist you with translation, and setting up these kinds of "Feet" trips.

3) Heart Trip: These trips focus on Compassion Ministry. We have 8 feeding centers you could choose to serve at, or a Medical Center in a remote region, or maybe you'd like to visit some of the poorest communities to hand out mosquito nets, clothing, bibles or medicine. Heart trips focus on showing the Nicaraguan people how much we care about them, and meet practical needs. 

Let Us Help: If you are unsure of a specific ministry or community your group would like to minister to, just contact us and we can tell you where the need is greatest at the time.

Raise Extra Project Offering: We encourage your group to plan to raise extra money that your group could bring with you to help accomplish a specific ministry project. Big or small, groups typically can share the need with their church or others and raise project costs to bring with them. Once again, contact us and we can give you a large range of current project needs and the estimated costs. It all takes planning because most of the time, you'll need to send the project offering ahead of time so we can purchase the material needed before your group arrives. Contact me at kennedys2nicaragua@gmail.com to discuss a project perfect for your group.

More Things To Know About Nicaragua & Our Ministry

Ask Us

Let Us Help You Plan Your Missions Trip to Nicaragua

Use the form on the right to ask us any questions you have about coming on a Mission Trip to Nicaragua. Whether you're just beginning to pray about it, or you've already got the dates set; we'll help you any way we can!

                           -Max & Jennifer Kennedy

                            Missionaries to Nicaragua

Are you Ready To Change Lives Forever...

Including Yours!

The Great Commission Jesus gave, in Matthew 28, was given to ordinary people just like you and me! The challenge to GO into all the world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ, was not just given to career missionaries. That challenge is your challenge. 

We would like to help you GO! Below is some information you need to know to plan a mission trip for your church. Most of it is specific to going on a Mission Trip to Nicaragua, but much of the info will help you plan regardless of where God sends you!

Max & Jennifer Kennedy

Max & Jennifer were approved as BBFI Missionaries to Nicaragua in May of 2014. Max was the pastor of Park Lake Baptist Church in Sachse, Texas for 18 years before God called he and Jennifer to career missions in Nicaragua.

Max & Jennifer's specific role is "Church Planters". Their goal is to plant 20 churches in Northern Nicaragua and train national pastors and leadership to lead those new church plants.

Max & Jennifer are currently living in Estelí, Nicaragua currently planting  3 churches in Northern Nicaragua.

Please pray for the people of Nicaragua as we share with them the life changing Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The First Step: PRay!

For Courage: Start praying for God to give you the courage to go on a mission trip to a foreign country. Many believers are a little scared to leave their comfort zone to experience a foreign culture and language. But remember, "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."  - 2 Timothy 1:7

For Provision: It's true... Mission Trips do cost money. One week Mission trips to Nicaragua are $1,600.00 per person (that includes airfare, lodging, food, transportation, travel insurance, fun day activities, etc.) Basically, everything you will need once you get off the plane in Nicaragua. But remember, God wants you to GO, so God will provide!

For Life Change: Begin praying for all the lives you and your team will impact with the Gospel! Ask God to save souls, and use you to touch people's hearts. We have seen it happen hundreds of times. Nicaraguan's are so thankful when teams from the U.S. come to share their lives. As you pray for changed lives, don't forget to pray that God will change your life too!

The Second Step: PRepare!

Passport: You will need a passport to enter Nicaragua. Don't wait until the last minute. A passport can take up to 6 weeks to process. Here are some helpful links to see what it will take for you to get your passport: 

Communicate: Make sure you communicate with your team to set dates well in advance. Communicate with your group leader about what projects or ministry activities your group will participate in when they get to Nicaragua. Communicate with Max & Jennifer frequently so they can help you prepare your group for the trip. Email us at kennedys2nicaragua@gmail.com

Pack Smart: We suggest you pack one large checked bag and one carry on for your personal items. Most airlines have a weight restriction for both. Check with your airline to make sure you don't have to pay for over weight luggage. If your airline allows two checked items, please consider using your second checked item for ministry needs. Your group may want to pack ministry specific items collected from your church congregation. (e.g. - small toys, children's clothing, vitamins, tylenol, spanish curriculum or coloring books for kids, etc.) Also, please contact us before you finish packing because we may need you to bring something specific for our ministry needs.

Prepare Your Heart: It's extremely important that you are prepared spiritually before you go. Consider doing a bible study with the rest of your group before and during your Mission Trip.