Student Missions
“Be intentional about developing a missional life by being part of what God is doing in Virginia and around the world. Spend a week, a semester, a year on mission.”
Spotlight on Panama
This summer we’re sending a group of students o Panama to build a partnership with the Baptist churches there as they seek to be more missional in their communities. We are looking for students who have strong leadership abilities, are passionate about Christ, and are interested in developing skills that will help them lead a mission trip from their church or campus group to Panama. Find out more.
Other Mission Opportunities
There are many other opportunities to be on mission:
- In Virginia
- Around the U.S.
- Internationally
- Working at a summer camp
- Through urban ministries
- Through rural ministries
- Hunger initiatives
Don’t see what you are looking for? Check out:
- Virginia Baptist Partnership Missions for more information on upcoming mission opportunities coordinated by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board!
- TheTask.org lists opportunities through the International Mission Board.
- Student dot go provides mission opportunities from Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
- Answer the Call coordinates mission opportunities by the North American Mission Board.
- Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia (WMUV) provides many opportunities that are open to men and women.
Mission Partners
In addition to its own program of summer missions and special mission projects, Virginia Baptist Collegiate Ministry cooperates with a variety of mission sending
agencies to provide the widest possible range of ministry activities for students.
We encourage you to investigate the opportunities for service offered by our
partners listed below. When it comes time to apply, we urge you to select a
position or agency based on your sense of call, your gifts for ministry and
your current circumstances rather than applying to multiple programs. Because
each agency, including Virginia Baptist Collegiate Ministry, follows its own
calendar and process, following this advice will help insure that the most
committed and most appropriately gifted students get placed in each ministry.
Virginia Baptists maintain a variety of mission partnerships with Christian brothers and sisters around the world. The Glocal Missions and Evangelism Team coordinates these partnerships, receiving our partners when they come to serve among us and mobilizing Virginians for service in the locations of the partnerships. Partnership mission projects are usually short-term (one to three weeks) and volunteers are most often organized for service in teams. Current partnerships are in Austria, Paris, Brazil, China, among the Romany people in Eastern Europe, and in the Northeastern US. Volunteers with the Glocal Missions and Evangelism Team are usually asked to provide for their own expenses.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a relatively young mission organization formed by like-minded Baptists about a decade ago. Mission requests are from a variety of ministries across the US and around the world. Financial arrangements vary with most placements including assistance with expenses or some offering a stipend.
The North American Mission Board is the Southern Baptist mission agency that addresses the US, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico. A variety of mission requests can be found on the "Studentz.com" section of their website. The NAMB student mission program includes summer, semester and two-year opportunities. It also includes the "Innovators" program, a bivocational approach to mission in which student missionaries are employed in secular jobs as a part of their service. Expenses and stipends are provided for summer, semester and two-year missionaries. Innovators' support comes from their employment. When applying through NAMB, please select "Virginia Baptist Mission Board" as the sending agency when you get to that portion of the application.
The International Mission Board provides Southern Baptist mission outreach beyond North America. Throughout the year, the IMB receives thousands of requests from around the world. Their website is helpfully organized, allowing you to view requests by region, by date, or by type of service. "TheTask.org" will also provide useful information like what types of inoculations are recommended for each ministry location. IMB summer missionaries raise their own financial support for service. When applying through IMB, please select "Virginia Baptist Mission Board" as the sending agency when you get to that portion of the application.