Short-Term FAQs
Q: How am I going to come up with the money for the trip?
A: Most of your support will come from ministry partners, individuals whom you ask to be part of your support team. Churches and fellowship groups may also have funds budgeted for members going on short-term projects such as ours. We have a sample support-raising letter to help you get started.
Q: What does the ministry look like?
A: You will spend a lot of your time meeting new people, sharing your faith and depending on the length of your project, doing basic follow-up with students. In most cases, ministry is very relational. After students trust Christ, you can get them connected with local long-term workers to help them develop their relationship with God.
Q: Where will I stay and how will I get around on a project?
A: In most cases, project participants are housed in college dorms or guesthouses, or modest, local hotels. Typically, public transportation is used to travel to schools and outings in the project country. At times, vehicles may be rented for some group outings. Security in housing and safety in travel are our primary considerations.
Q: How do I communicate between where we are and home?
A: Email has changed the world and in most locations, you can access email services. There are also phone cards that enable you to communicate at substantially lower costs than normal national rates. Although you will have occasional communication with friends and family at home, your free time is limited. Your main focus is the project and the task that God has called you to.
Q: If I end up not making the trip, can I get a refund?
A: Note that the application fee is not refundable.
Q: Is it safe?
A: We want to make it clear that our first priority is to be sure that everyone goes and comes back safely. Over the many years that we have been leading projects we have grown in experience and knowledge. For developing Asian countries, we constantly monitor all travel advisories issued by the U.S. State Department and are in frequent communication with local contacts in the towns where we will be working. We have been working with our network for several years now and have come to expect safe and healthy food, housing, transportation and ministry locations. If, in the unlikely event that during the preparation process any of our ministry locations become unsafe, it will be immediately cancelled and the project will be assigned to another country.
Q: Will there be an orientation and debriefing?
A: Orientation materials will be sent out and an orientation meeting for the entire team will take place in the U.S. before departure. Towards the end of the trip, there will also be a debriefing session.
Q: I might be open to long term work overseas; how can this trip help me in the discovery process?
A: You may have traveled to China or Central Asia before and you may have even gone on a vision trip before. GLS short term programs will allow you the opportunity to do more soul searching, to better discern what God’s calling is for you, to deepen your understanding of the local people and their culture, to serve the people, to receive prayer support from a team and from an organization that will help you process your thoughts and experiences as they pertain to long-term work and living, and to help guide you through your next steps.
Long-Term FAQs
Q: Are people who join assigned to serve GLS projects?
A: We do not take a cookie cutter approach and assign tentmakers to places and ministries. We counsel and connect tentmakers to jobs and ministry opportunities, but they enjoy considerable freedom in choosing what they do and where they serve.
Q: If I am open to serving as a tentmaker but unsure about my calling, what should I do?
A: If you’re unsure of your calling, or haven’t gone to China before, explore by first going on a short term programs. If you have gone to China before and sense God's prompting, then we suggest setting aside at least two years to explore. Why two years? Our experience has shown that it takes about a year to adjust to living and working in China. By the second year, you would have made some friends, engaged in some form of ministry, and be in a better position to consider the viability of staying longer. We will help you in the discernment process.
Q: What if I want to go to China but have yet to choose a career or am open to a career change?
A: Many people consider teaching as an entry point. Teachers are employable around the world.
Universities prefer to hire teachers with MA degrees in education or a related field of study. Many young singles have gone to China to teach English with certification from intensive courses in TESL–Teaching English as a Second Language or TEFL–Teaching English as a Foreign Language. They teach in private language centers, after school programs for children and business people, etc. The pay is very modest and contracts are one year but renewable. If you are not Caucasian, it is harder to find English teaching appointments for lack of “face validity”.
On the other hand, experienced and credentialed teachers are well paid at international schools. Some schools offer free or discounted tuition for the children of their teachers.
Overall, entry level jobs in business are harder to find now. The better your skills, work experience and language abilities, the more job opportunity, security and sustainability you have on the field.
Tentmaking is not just about getting a work visa to stay overseas and support yourself. It is about being an effective witness at work where people spend most of their waking hours. Carefully consider how God has shaped and gifted you, and prayerfully choose and develop your vocation.