Mission Year
About Mission Year
Mission Year is a year long urban ministry program focused on Christian service and discipleship. We take teams of young people, place them in an area of need, and help them to serve people and create community. We are committed to the command of Jesus to “love God and love people,” by placing the needs of our neighbors first and developing committed disciples of Christ with a heart for the poor. Learn more about our first year program…
Mission Year's Blog
Get in the Game! / Feb 15, 10:58 AM
Through the crisp Autumn air, the sound of cheering fans, drum-lines and shouting coaches carries across brightly lit battlefields. Fitted with full, matching armor, you and your team square off against the army whose goal is to break and punish you.
Hut-Hike!
The ball is snapped and in that moment, together with your teammates, you decide whether you will be hammer or nail, hero or victim, champion or forgotten.
The electrifying synergy of teams on the field or court offer a taste of beauty of God’s Kingdom when we are working together to accomplish powerful goals. Sports offer tangible lessons in the wonderful tension between independence and dependence in community, the respect and reward of disciplined actions, and the growth and joy that comes from completing a common goal.
Sports are a phenomenal avenue for ministry, and that’s why Mission Year is creating its first Sports Team to begin in September 2012.
The foundations of Mission Year, such as community service, neighborhood outreach, church partnership, team living, and discipleship, stay intact. Mission Year Sports Teams add a new element as they incorporate sports into their ministry lives in challenging, exciting ways.
First, you will live in a house with others who share a passion for athletics. Not everyone will share your specific sport, so you will have opportunities to learn new skills and appreciations as you get to know each other and learn from one another. Sports will become a major asset in your neighborhood outreach as pick-up games and other active initiatives are a great way to meet and engage new people.
We want to help develop you as an athlete in urban ministry, so readings and trainings focused on this topic will be incorporated into your general curriculum. Philadelphia also hosts a Sports Symposium which addresses this very conversation, and our local partnership will connect you with these leaders in the field.
Finally, your team will combine your unique gifts to find ways to collaborate in neighborhood sport activities. Whether hosting a basketball tournament or teaching a field hockey clinic, you will have freedom to work together and explore possibilities for your community.
Are we looking for specific sports skills?
No! We are open to all kinds of athletes, though we ask you to come with an adventurous spirit so you can be open to all kinds of sports represented on your team. Of course, if your background involves large or expensive equipment, such as say… swimming pools or horses… we can’t provide those for you. Still, we believe you can use your sports foundations to find a good spot on the team.
Will my service site be sports-focused?
Ours Sports Team is in Philadelphia, where we work with several schools and are connected to a youth flag football league, Timoteo. While there may be coaching or other opportunities through some of these partnerships, not all Sports Team members will serve in a specifically sports-focused site. Still, even other sites may be excited to incorporate your experience in ways that meet the needs of their organizations.
What is the process to apply for a Mission Year SPORTS Team?
The very first step is to click on over to the apply page and fill out the general application for Mission Year. Be sure to note that you are interested in our sports team! As you move through the admissions process, we will follow up with you and request a very short and simple additional application for this program.
Join the team and get in the game!
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Serving in Buenos Aires: Alum Profile / Jan 10, 10:02 PM
In 2010, Mission Year sent their first ever international team to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The group was made up predominately of alum from the US Mission Year program who took their urban experiences of neighboring, service, and church partnership to one of the biggest cities in the world.
Paul Holzman made the decision to remain in Buenos Aires after his Mission Year there ended. We asked him a couple questions as we are always eager to hear the work our alum are doing.
Why did you decide to stay in Buenos Aires and what type of work are you doing there?
The biggest decision maker to stay in Buenos Aires was to be in the same city for at least two years in a row. Personally, my life has been jumping around a lot from place to place the past six years. Already having been here in Argentina two out of the last four years, I thought it a good place to stay.
I am currently working part-time at an International Christian high school teaching US History and Government and Spanish as a Second Language. I have another job teaching English. I’m still serving at La Misión [my Mission Year church] in the Music Ministry and meeting with the pastor, Marcelo, discussing his vision for the city. He wants to start a monthly gathering focused on building relationships with people who have desire for something more in life personally and socially (helping out their city, Buenos Aires).
How does your Mission Year experience influence your current life?
My Mission Year influences me in so many ways daily. It has left me with a constant desire to seek real community, discipleship, and having an active faith in my community and to never be satisfied for where I am at in each of those areas.
What have you learned from your neighbors, church, or service site coworkers that has stayed with you?
One thing I have learned from my neighbors, church, and service site is that it does not matter where I am at…God is there and ready to work in a beautiful way in my life, the lives of others, and in His Kingdom here on earth when we are in tune with where we are and what we are doing and truly seek what God has in store for the particular moment or day.
They have also shown me that this is possible by being consistent in small daily routines while being aware of the people that surround you. Although intentional actions of love and servitude are ways of being who Jesus calls us to be as believers, for me, most of these moments have revolved around just being present. This lesson and practice I have learned from neighbors. Many of them just allowed God to love them for who they are and ran with it in big ways throughout my time with them!
I saw that they understood that God created them and this allowed them to be able to love and be loved in huge ways. This has been a huge and continuous lesson I am still learning and trying to put into practice.
Mission Year is encouraged by the ministry of La Misión in the beautiful city of Buenos Aires. It was an honor to serve with them for a year, and we prayerfully support Paul as he continues to serve and learn from his neighbors.
Photo credit: Lana Litvinchuk
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Teaching in Mexico / Dec 20, 06:52 AM
Yesterday we featured Ryan Greer, a Mission Year alum serving in Bolivia. Today, we’d like to introduce Lena Hartshorn, who finished Mission Year and moved to Mexico to work.
When and where did you do Mission Year?
Houston, Texas in the Third Ward. Sep 2010-July 2011
How did you decide to participate in Mission Year?
Originally, I was interested in global initiatives. I wanted to become fluent in Spanish, so I was mainly interested in going to a Spanish speaking country. But then I found out about Mission Year, and it seemed like a good stepping stone after living in the city during college and before moving into “real life” and figuring out what I really wanted to do. It also came highly recommended by a close personal friend who had done it a few years before.
How does your Mission Year experience influence your current involvement in Mexico?
I often think about the practices we (ha!) practiced during Mission Year. I think about how we intentionally spent time together in our homes. I think about how we did “church” outside of the church through song, prayer, discussing the Word with one another and of course, loving our neighbor.
I think about how, although at times it definitely was stressful, the leadership and discipleship in place was INVALUABLE. The Shaffers (my city directors) were wonderful examples of a Godly family and always seemed to ask the right questions. The mentors I had at Yellowstone Academy (my service site) were priceless as well. I won’t forget them soon.
I think about making meals from scratch with 2-3 cooks in the kitchen. I think about buying locally and simply being more aware of what I buy, use and waste. I think about alot.
I think about how bold we were during that year and how I couldn’t have been that bold were it not for my team, my City Directors and the movement of the Holy Spirit.
As far as influence, I realize how essential it is to be intentional, to be warm, hospitable and considerate of others. I also realize how important it is to stand up, to speak up for people and in situations where injustice is being perpetrated. Although it is much harder for me to do this without the support of my housemates and city directors Mission Year has made me very much more sensitive to injustices all around me.
Living where I am now – under a government that is working with/for the “bad guys” – I often find myself asking people “what can we do? how do we make the violence stop? how do we end the fear?” Most people don’t have hopeful answers for me. Several people advise me to keep praying and trusting the Lord, but as far as taking action – I don’t think I’ve met anyone who has a hopeful answer in that respect…which really makes me sad. At a time when “Occupy Every Corner in the U.S.” is all the rage, there are people here afraid to hang out on the corner after it gets dark and they don’t seem to see that changing any time soon.
Where have you traveled/lived abroad? What type of work have you been doing?
I have traveled to Mexico and Ecuador as short term missions trips. This time is different, it is a 2 year commitment to live/teach in a small border town in Mexico called Miguel Aleman.
I teach preschool, kindergarten and 1st grade at a small Christian school. I hope to get involved in other ways but right now I am only teaching.
What did you learn from urban neighbors that has stayed with you?
That in surprising and blessed ways we rubbed off on them. That, whether or not they “liked us” or could “relate to us,” our presence had a positive effect on the neighborhood and our presence – simply our being there and being open – honored them.
I remember one man saying something along these lines: There was a time when black people had to move around the white people. Then the white people went about their business and just left the blacks alone. Now, here you white girls are, living right in the midst of us black folk. That is really something. That’s good.
I’m not patting us on the back, but I did realize how ignored someone can feel and how much of a difference a simple choice of where to live can make. I also learned about trust. I realized how much we each carry with us – and how much must be overcome to establish a relationship of trust between different people.
And from the point of view of my neighbors, the point of view of those coming off of years of overt oppression and currently living lives oppressed by a more subtle type injustice, it only makes sense that this sort of experience, this sort of experiment, would come with blessings and bumps. But I learned that it is not impossible.
I learned that … people living in places typically avoided by those living in comfort are as equally capable of love, of trust, of care, of generosity, of bringing joy, of sharing and of imparting wisdom. In some cases, more.
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This is the final post in our 15 Dreams blog series supporting The 15 Campaign. Dream #15: We dream of a world where servants are making a difference across the world.
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Making a Global Difference / Dec 19, 12:09 PM
Every year, Mission Year says good-bye to approximately 60-70 team members who have completed their year of service, community, and discipleship. Every alum of our program chooses to live out what they learned in Mission Year in radical and different ways.
Our final dream in our dream series is that servants would go fort and make a difference across the world. We celebrate the alum of Mission Year who are doing just that.
Meet Ryan Greer. He participated in Mission Year Oakland in 2004-05, and is currently living in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He is volunteering some with an organization called Sustainable Bolivia and studying Spanish until his brain hurts. He shared with us about the connections between his Mission Year experience and his current endeavors.
Where did you serve in Oakland during Mission Year?
I lived with two other guys and three girls in a 2 bedroom house in Lower Bottoms, a neighborhood in West Oakland famous for being the birthplace of the Black Panther movement.
Where have you traveled/lived abroad? What type of work have you been doing?
I have had the privileged opportunity to travel to many beautiful places around the world. As a child I lived in Mexico for a year, Brazil for two years, and Kenya for eight years.
As an adult, I have lived in Jordan, Argentina, and now Bolivia. I love to travel, I love the challenge that it presents, the difficulties that are never expected, and the way that it forces me to slow down and reconsider what is actually important in life.
After finishing Mission Year and returning to complete an undergraduate degree, I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Development at Eastern University through their partnership with Mission Year.
Now the type of work I do is related to community development in an international arena. I am passionate about peacemaking and conflict resolution, as well as helping communities grow stronger and gain a greater understanding of their God given potential. While that is all very ambiguous, it translates into jobs with organizations like Samaritan’s Purse, Mennonite Central Committee, Catholic Relief Service, and even UNICEF.
Given your global interests, how did you decide to participate in Mission Year?
I have always been interested in global initiatives. My parents served as missionaries in several different countries while I was growing up and that love for other cultures and other countries has remained with me to this day.
I first heard about Mission Year when I attended the Urbana Missions Conference in December of 2003. Initially I had no real interest in working or volunteering with an urban ministry, but Mission Year’s motto, “Love God, Love People, Nothing Else Matters” grabbed me like none other.
After learning about the organization, I was drawn to their desire to create community through loving others, and from then on, I was hooked. I applied a couple weeks later and moved to Oakland in August.
I didn’t go to do urban ministry, I went to learn more about community, and in so doing, had both those ideas turned upside down in my life.
How does your Mission Year experience influence your involvement globally?
Mission Year continues to be, without a doubt, one of the most formative years of my life. I cannot begin to relate in its entirety how much Mission Year changed my perspective on what it means to build God’s Kingdom, on what it means to serve and love others, or on what it means to be a part of a community.
Urban ministry and global ministry are very similar fields, both involve living in a culture that is most likely not one you’ve grown up in, with different customs, different values, and sometimes even a different language.
When it comes to how Mission Year has influenced my global involvement, the comparisons don’t seem to end. Mission Year helped teach me the importance of listening, a skill that is important wherever you may live.
Mission Year helped me to better understand how social problems affect a community on a personal level, and how people are abused and neglected by the very systems they try desperately to be a part of. Mission Year also helped me to become interested in issues that normally wouldn’t concern me, and taught me that to love others you have to become interested in what they are interested in.
Do you have longer term plans internationally?
“Longer term plans” always bring a smile to my face. My version of long term planning basically involves buying a frozen pizza.
If my work overseas has taught me anything, it is that things change, that what we think may be good for us might actually be our greatest struggle, and that flexibility can save your life. With that said, I try to best to remain open to whatever God may have in store for me.
I would like to continue living and working overseas, but in what capacity and for how long is not entirely up to me. As much as I miss my home in the States, I have come to value the perspective that we are never truly home until we are with Christ, and to that end I will continue doing all I can to make that homecoming party as off the hook as possible!
What did you learn from urban neighbors that has stayed with you?
My urban neighbors taught me many important lessons during my time in Mission Year. I learned the dangers of romanticizing the poor, and how even people who we seek to serve can be selfish and hurtful.
At the same time, however, I also learned the beauty of our humanity and the indescribable blessing that it is to connect with someone in a way that transcends language and culture. My urban neighbors taught me to cherish life, even when everything in it seems pitted against you. I am forever grateful to them for those lessons.
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This post is part of our 15 Dreams blog series supporting The 15 Campaign. Dream #15: We dream of a world where servants are making a difference across the world.
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The Breathing Church / Dec 12, 09:04 AM
When churches engage their local communities, it is beautiful:
The worship of Christ is not squashed and chained inside of four walls.
The body of Christ is still out washing dirt off of feet in His name.
The eyes of Christ see the precious value of all and the possibilities that lie ahead.
The love of Christ is tangible through cups of water and games of basketball.
The hands of Christ are healing the sick and broken.
The restoration of Christ is evidenced in relationships that fight and make up.
The words of Christ encourage the downtrodden and broken hearted.
The ears of Christ hear the cries of the people and respond.
The peace of Christ is modeled in the turning of a cheek.
The joy of Christ is celebrated with banquet tables and open invitations.
The suffering of Christ is experienced with dignity and humility.
The arms of Christ are open and inviting others inside.
Imagine a world where the body of Christ is present and active in every community. This dream includes more than a building, but is a fellowship of believers working together to express God’s love, to witness His calling to restoration, and to live out life authentically in front of an unbelieving world. Then, our church buildings would not be big enough to contain the neighborhoods that want to join us in worship.
Mission Year partners with churches in each of the neighborhoods where we serve. We are honored to learn from them as they live out this dream of engaging the community. They are the hands and feet of Jesus, working tirelessly to express His love and to draw others to Him. We are blessed to spend each year sharing in their ministry.
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This post is part of our 15 Dreams blog series supporting The 15 Campaign. We dream of a world where churches are engaged in local communities.
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