Applications for summer International Service Projects or United States Projects are due Oct. 10 and can be completed online.
The office of mobilization, decorated with memorabilia from past projects across the world, gives each student a chance to make a global impact through programs offered each summer.
Students can dedicate anywhere from 10 days to three weeks of service through an ISP or USP mission trip.
“The purpose of the program is to get a broader worldview, understanding what being a globally minded believer is about and how to make disciples wherever you are,” said Courtney Watson, coordinator for the Office of Mobilization.
Last year, the MOB office saw its highest increase of participants actively in- volved with ISP or USP — 422 people participated, and 31 percent of those were returning students to the program.
Last summer, students went to more than 20 countries and MOB officials said they hope for the same number or more this coming summer.
After applying for the program, students then schedule a one-on-one interview with a member of the MOB staff and are placed in a program that best fits them.
They then take a semester-long class and specific training courses to help mentally and spiritually prepare students for service.
John Sanger, sophomore biology major, said he has never regretted his decision to go on an ISP trip.
“God really just showed me my life; I reflected upon on it, how I thought I had a close relationship with Him and while there, I realized I made a lot of mistakes which made me revaluate my life, my walk with Christ,” Sanger said.
When asked to describe her experience on her ISP trip to the Philippines in one word, sophomore graphic design major, Delaia Federico, said, “Life-changing.”
Many students often times can feel as if they are not ready whether it be spiritually or mentally for this form of service.
While Sanger said he felt personally unprepared prior to his trip and training, he recalled a quote a group leader told him that encouraged him: “God does not call the equipped, he equips the called.”
More information and the application can be found at http://www.calbaptist.edu/osl/mob/.
