Ultimate Workout 36: When 100 Teens Set Off for Missions

What do you get when you combine 100 teens from more than ten countries, six project sites, and one mission trip? Maranatha’s Ultimate Workout project for teens! 

This annual trip, exclusively for volunteers ages 14-18, just completed its 36th iteration in July, in the Dominican Republic, where 139 volunteers arrived to serve. Based in the southern part of the Caribbean country, teens helped to construct the block walls of two churches, Torre de Salvacion and La Guama II. Other teams painted two churches, led VBS for hundreds of children, or joined in other outreach like community trash pick up or food distribution. Another dedicated medical team provided care to 473 patients at various sites. 

Aside from work and outreach, an important component of Ultimate Workout is spiritual development. Every morning started with small group reflection time in scripture. The evenings featured powerful worship, and preaching on the theme “Marked By The Name.” As a result, 16 teens and 2 adult staff members gave their lives to Christ in baptism in the sea. 

Abigail Hernandez was one of the young volunteers who decided to take the step of baptism. 

“I realized in my life I’ve been lacking commitment. I did not want to commit to God but through being here at [Ultimate Workout], it really helped me with why I should connect and commit.”

A project that has continued for this many years clearly has a good reason to last, but 36 years is a long time in a rapidly changing world. Teenagers today are an entirely different generation from teenagers nearly four decades ago. Their needs, desires, questions and reality have shifted and adapted over the years. 

“I felt something different on this trip,” says Dina Ramirez, international volunteer manager at Maranatha. “The dynamic of the kids and their energy has changed over the past years. Many of them battle spiritual questions, but also questions of identity, worthiness, and purpose. They’re looking for a place to feel safe and valued.” 

“Sometimes I feel I could just disappear and it wouldn’t make a difference.” Says volunteer Daniel Nadler. “And so coming through this trip, God really showed me that [others] can still love me and I can have an impact.” 

The carefully constructed worship experience, guided by handpicked mentors, helps to provide a space for conversations on faith and life, in general. Through these daily spiritual moments, teens like Abigail and Daniel are inspired to make faith decisions for Christ and find worth in who they are. 

The program also incorporates social activities to facilitate connection and belonging among the volunteers. All this, combined with the daily activity of working side by side, and the teens begin to bond very quickly. At this year’s project, volunteers could be found playing games of foosball and table tennis at 5 a.m. on the grounds of their campus accommodations. 

“I didn’t think I was gonna make as many friends, but I made a lot of friends here. I met a lot of different people from everywhere. All the kids are so sweet. It’s just, it’s really nice,” says Aaliyah Bennett, volunteer. “It’s refreshing coming into a new environment, you know, not being in the same place at all times, you know, it’s just refreshing. I would say 10 outta 10 would recommend.”

For more than three decades, the Ultimate Workout has provided high school-aged teenagers the opportunity to flex their physical and spiritual muscles. Stripped of electronics, parents, and other familiar comforts, volunteers step into the mission field in search of a fresh perspective on the world, relationships, and God. During the project, volunteers live in spartan conditions while building a church or school, coordinating outreach for the local community, and strengthening their personal connection to Jesus Christ.