Mission Trips

Our cross-cultural ministry trips are designed for students to learn contextualized ministry from our global strategic partners and practically apply what they are learning in their field of study. Students will participate in cross-cultural ministry alongside the local partners to support their long-term work. They will also grow in their understanding of differing worldviews, religions, and cultures to better understand how to complete the task of world evangelism, which currently remains at 42% of the world being untouched with the Good News of Jesus Christ. In the process, students will strengthen community, spiritual development, as well as character formation opportunities while facing the challenges of engaging in ministry to people around the world.

All trip locations are chosen based on relationships to Church of the Highlands, Association of Related Churches, and GrowLeader, strategic kingdom work, and safety.

Yes, although we cannot guarantee that adverse circumstances will not occur, trips are planned with trusted partners of Church of the Highlands who live on the field and maintain constant communication with our Highlands College staff. Should any changes in safety arise, our partners would immediately notify us, and we would make appropriate changes to our trips. Students will exercise safe travel practices, such as having a travel buddy and communicating with leaders.

Students receive pre-field training and post-field debriefing from the Missions Coordinator and Ministry Placement Team. Students receive resources and training covering the basics of Global Missions, objectives and goals for the experience, specific guidelines around international travel preparation and cultural acquisition. Students will also consistently meet with their trip leaders to prepare.

Trips are only available for current Highlands College students.

All our teams are led by Highlands College staff so that our students receive a holistic experience based on our Four Pillars.

Students are encouraged to have medical insurance and bring their insurance cards on the trip. Although travel insurance is purchased for the students, that insurance only covers the student for the dates allotted to the trip.

Yes, students can keep their cell phones with them on the trip and remain in contact with friends and family. We also encourage students to fully unplug to engage in this unique learning and ministry experience.

The cost of the trip covers flights, travel insurance, and grounds costs (lodging, transportation, and food once the host picks the team up from the airport until the team is dropped off at the airport). Any extra meals, snacks, souvenirs, etc., are the personal responsibility of the individual.

No, please note that this mission trip cannot be considered a charitable contribution. A charitable contribution is a donation or gift to, or for the use of, a qualified organization, and these donations are being made to individuals, thus disqualifying them from tax deductive status.

Donations can only be made by visiting the Highlands College website and following the link to Mission Trips. Once there, you can donate to the trip of your choice.

No, we do not offer scholarships for our trips. Each student is responsible for raising money for and/or funding their trip.

Pray for each team and trip leaders. You can also assist students in raising support. Help them brainstorm people to contact, support them in their endeavors, and assist them in telling family and friends. Fundraising through verbalizing their calling and purpose for the trip will help them grow in interpersonal and communication skills.

We encourage teams to work together to raise the cumulative cost for their team. Any excess funds initially goes to the other team members for their specific trip.

If a student finds themself in this situation, the Missions Coordinator and Ministry Placement Team meets with them to determine if this is the best opportunity for them to go. If their team’s budget has been fully met, any overage the team raises may be applied to fund the struggling individual’s trip.

Once donations are received for the Cross-Cultural Ministry Trip they cannot be returned, because funds are used to reserve and purchase plane tickets, accommodations, and other non-refundable reservations for that year’s trips. If a student cancels their involvement after travel documents are purchased (airfare, visas, etc.) they will be expected to cover any associated penalty fees and losses that are not covered by travel insurance.

For all international trips a US Passport is required and an ID for all domestic trips, such as a driver’s license. If you do not have a passport, you should begin the application process immediately. Routine processing of U.S. passport applications is currently taking 8 to 11 weeks, with expedited processing currently taking 5 to 7 weeks. See travel.state.gov for details and application instructions. Most countries also require that travelers’ passports not expire within six months of the end of their trip. If it expires within six months of the end of a trip dates, please begin the process to renew.

Upon their return, team members participate in a team debrief with their team leader. All students who participated in a mission trip will also come together in a corporate debrief to discuss the differing experiences and what they learned across the world. Participants will be encouraged to continue to pray for the missionaries and projects they served and to seek ways to deepen their missions and outreach involvement wherever they are called.

Mission trip costs mainly comprise of travel expenses that rise the closer you get to the dates of departure. Therefore, to maintain as low a cost as possible for plane tickets and accommodations, we require a $300 deposit which would allow us to make immediate reservations, ensuring the lowest costs possible. The deposit is made with the application to the mission trip on Managed Missions. Deposits will be processed once the application is approved by the Missions Coordinator.