GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT
Coming soon for fall 2025, spring and summer 2026!
Overview:
Global Engagement teams provide opportunities for students to serve nationally and internationally over fall, spring, and summer breaks. GE experiences vary in length, location, intensity, and the type of service students get to participate in, with our partner communities and host organizations. All GE experiences earn students 30 service credits.
GO. CONNECT. SERVE.
"Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something amazing in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." - Habakkuk 1:5
Global Engagement Teams are opportunities for you to live out the Great Commission and the Great Command. In Matthew 28, as Jesus is about to leave his ministry on earth, he commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has been doing.
Go.
Go and make disciples. Jesus is saying to his disciples to come and be a part of this work - this grand reconciliation work that is focused on bringing people back to God. To tell people of God’s goodness and mercy. As you participate in a global engagement team, you are living out the call to “Go”.
Love God. Love People.
Along with our call to “Go”, we learn about the posture we are supposed to live into in Matthew 22. In this passage, Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is. He responds with two things: 1. Love God and 2. Love your neighbor. We are created to worship God above all else. Everything we do should point to a deep love of God. From this place, we are able to love our neighbor the way Christ wants us to love them. We are called to be love to our neighbor across the street and across the world. When you join a global engagement team, you are able to live out this great command to “love” along with the great call to “go”.
Global Engagement members will participate in pre-trip training and post-trip debriefing to focus on filtering encounters through a biblical lens. We prepare you to learn from and serve alongside long-term workers, while embracing the sensitivity required as short-term participants. These transformational experiences offer rich perspectives on how to express your faith by praying, going, sending, and welcoming others in the name of Jesus Christ.
Each year, the Office of Service and Discipleship mobilizes hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and alumni nationally and internationally, to partner with long-term and national workers to meet the whole person needs of communities. Programs include but are not limited to: community development, youth ministry, poverty alleviation, conversational English teaching, prayer ministry, mobile medical care clinics, anti-human and sex trafficking, and much more.
Our extensive recruitment, development and training process equips each participant to consider their cross-cultural experience as an integral part of their mission-lifestyle perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
How many service credits do I receive for going on a team?
All participants on a Global Engagement trip will receive the max number of service credits you can receive for one experience, 30.
Why are the trips so expensive?
Great question! Each trip's budget is built in conjunction with our on field host. The following costs are covered completely in the overall cost: Host fee, meals on field, meals during travel transportation to LAX from APU, transportation on field, airfare, lodging on field, translators, travel insurance, training costs, debrief post trip, OSD admin fee, visa (trip specific), emergency fund, team care on field, phone plan (for leaders), and a host gift. We strive to make the trips as affordable as we can while also ensuring that all required costs are covered.
Why do you offer trips to these specific locations?
Each location we go to was selected based on an application process. All of our partner organizations submitted these particular trips for consideration, meaning that these are the places that they would like an APU team to come and serve. When selecting trip options, we try to have a wide array of options as we recognize there is something to be learned from each place and people group we visit as well as there are many different ways to participate in ministry cross culturally.
Do I have to go to trainings?
Yes! Trainings are extremely important to your overall trip experience, as they are chances for you to bond with your team and receive necessary information regarding how to engage in your trip. Not only are they fun and engaging, but they will also help you develop a stronger sense of why you are choosing to go on a global team. Along with this, trainings give us a chance to unpack what we are called to as Christians, which is to love God, love each other, and go into the world.
What is required of me as a member?
Members are required to do the following: attend all required trainings and team meetings, sign the finance agreement and release of liability, turn in all required documents and financials by their deadlines, follow the APU Community Expectations before and during their trip, and engage fully in ministry while on field. They are also required to fundraise for their entire trip.
Do I have to get certain vaccines for my trip?
The only vaccinations we require are if it is required for the country you are traveling to. We highly recommend vaccinations based on where you're going in the world (you can read more about vaccinations for the country you are traveling to here).
What happens if I don’t fundraise everything before my trip date?
We understand fundraising is an incredibly difficult task for many of our students! While we strive for each team member to have had their trip paid in full by their departure, we understand this is not realistic for all students. After returning from your trip, you are still responsible to either pay off the balance of your trip or continue to fundraise in order to do so. We do not submit service credits until your trip has been paid in full.
How many people are allowed to go on each trip?
Each of our trips are incredibly different and unique, so this means that the amount of members per trip varies. Team sizes can be anywhere from 4-20 members each! However, our biggest trip (Ensenada Spring) has a maximum size of 48 members but is split up into four different teams.
What’s the application and placement process look like?
All applications are housed on our website, apuosd.org. When you apply, you’ll create a managed missions account. All leader applicants (no matter the track) will apply and interview with our Global Engagement Staff throughout the month of September and will receive a phone call regarding their placement in mid October. Fall and Spring member applications are placed on a rolling basis, meaning that the spots are first come first serve. However, for all summer teams, after processing your application, you will receive information on how to sign up for the summer member interview day as each summer participant is required to interview in order to see where the best placement fit is for each person.
How do I fundraise for the trip?
Fundraising is both a team and individual effort! Each participant will be required to create a Givesmart fundraising profile in order to fundraise through APU. You will get the information on how to do this once you are placed on a team. People want to give to your trip - you just have to be willing to ask! Individual fundraising is most commonly done through support letters, but oftentimes you can get creative by selling something and using the proceeds to go on your trip! For each team, we host an event in the spring called Night Market, where every team going out for the season (aside from fall teams) has an opportunity to raise funds for their whole team or individually. Aside from Night Market, be creative with your teams to help lighten the financial load for each member!
Who should checks towards my trip be made payable to?
All checks should be made payable to Azusa Pacific University. It is important to note that the student’s name should not be placed on the check memo line. When bringing checks to our office, we will attach it to an APU donor support card, which will allow us to get the funds applied to your trip.
Why does the money in my managed missions account not match the money in my Givesmart profile?
Great question! Givesmart will only show any online donations you receive, nothing more. Managed missions will show your personal payments, donations (both online and physical), scholarships, and discounts. Managedmissions is where you should be checking to see how far along you are in your fundraising process. If you see a donation on your givesmart but not in your managed missions profile, don’t worry! It typically takes 1 week for donations to be sent to us. If after a week, you still don’t see it, reach out to osdfinance@apu.edu for them to look into it.
When’s the last day I can apply for a trip?
The last day to apply for a trip varies for different seasons.
Fall - October 31, 2024
Spring - January 24, 2025
Summer - January 31, 2025
If you have an approved medical exemption from the Accessibility and Disability Resources Office, please contact Karen Rouggly at krouggly@apu.edu to discuss your options for participation.
For more information regarding Global Engagement, please contact globalengagement@apu.edu