Mission Opportunities for Young Adults
by Sara Luke
From Alaska to Italy, from Senegal to Texas, young-adult women are in mission in a variety of programs offered through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries. They serve as commissioned missionaries of the board and as volunteers worldwide.
The board’s young-adult programs offer young women opportunities to be in mission from 10 weeks to three years. Among opportunities is the US-2 Program, which places young adults, ages 20-30, in mission work within the United States for two years.
Darlene DiDomineck, now a missionary in residence with the young-adult programs at the board’s offices in New York City, was in the US-2 class of 1998-2000. She served with the Frankford Group Ministry in Philadelphia, Pa.
"The US-2 program changed my perspective on the way the world works and my role in society," Ms. DiDomineck said. "I served with 23 classmates, each with different experiences and perspectives -- what an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to become part of a community of young women and men working together for peace with justice in the name of our Creator and Redeemer. I have found a second family among my classmates. I know I can call on them for support and love no matter where we are."
The biggest impact of the US-2 Program on Ms. DiDomineck was in her understanding of community.
"It’s how it’s described in the book of Ruth," she said. "Naomi tells to her daughters-in-law to return to their homeland and families, but Ruth has been so changed by her experience she can never turn back. I went from looking at community as simply having neighbors to understanding community as being with people, standing in solidarity with my neighbors seeking justice, being part of daily joys and struggles, recognizing our interconnectedness."
In Ruth 1:15-17, Ruth says to Naomi:
"Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die --
there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!"
"Ruth recognized that Naomi was forever part of her, and that Naomi’s struggles became her own," Ms. DiDomineck said. "I have had the opportunity to learn from communities of great strength and passion. I am forever changed. What a beautiful way to live."
Young-adult opportunities
Following are explanations of mission opportunities for young adults offered through the General Board of Global Ministries:
Global Justice Volunteers.
This program enables young adults, 18-25, to have short-term experiences living and learning alongside people whose lives are shaped by justice work. The program provides opportunities for service, learning and cross-cultural exposure to individuals wanting to explore links between faith and justice.
Placements are for 2.5 to 9 months with ministries around the world where people are raising awareness of issues, mobilizing collective efforts and addressing root causes of injustice.
Individual Volunteers.
Young adults can serve as volunteers for two months to two years throughout the world. Requests for volunteers come from churches, schools, hospitals, clinics, camps, community-development organizations and social-service programs.
Many types of skills are needed, including teaching, medical work, refugee assistance, office work, computer services, pastoral work, counseling, rural development, finance, business development, and work with children and youth. Volunteers are responsible for their own transportation and living expenses.
Mission Intern Program.
This is a three-year, social-justice and leadership-development program for young adults, ages 20-30. Time is divided between an international work/study assignment and an action/education assignment in the intern’s home country. The program encourages young adults to learn from communities of faith and to connect that understanding to a community in the intern’s home context.
The program challenges participants’ understandings of faith and encourages them to examine their role in church and society while learning from communities seeking justice.
Bishop W.T. Handy Young Adult Missioners.
This is the newest of the youth and young-adult programs. It aims to make rapid placement of young adults in service worldwide, where they can provide Christian witness and examples of Christ's hope, healing and restorative love.
A 21st-century model of mission, based on sending young missioners from everywhere to everywhere, this program places young people from every country into mission service, shattering the myth that mission service is the domain of the Western world.
Participants are young adults, ages 18-35, who initially serve for two years, then are encouraged to serve additional terms. Missioners serve either in their home context or in international assignments.
Summer Intern Program.
This is a 10-week paid internship for college students ages
18-30. Summer interns are placed in community centers, camps, women’s shelters and local churches to provide support for community ministries.
Interns are encouraged to develop a covenant community of young adults to support one another and to learn from each others’ experiences while serving within community programs throughout the United States.
US2 Program.
This is a two-year social-justice and leadership-development program for young adults ages 20-30, who serve in the United States with faith-based peace-with-justice programs. The program encourages young adults to deepen their faith while examining their role in church and society.
The program provides the opportunity to live with and learn from communities of strength while struggling with hunger, homelessness, HIV/AIDS, illiteracy, children at risk, substance abuse, racism, domestic violence and inadequate health care.
The US-2 Program has been providing mission opportunities for young adults since its inception in the Women’s Division more than 50 years ago.
For information, about Global Justice Volunteers, contact Bud Heckman, executive secretary for volunteer placement for the General Board of Global Ministries, 212-870-3825 bheckman@gbgm-umc.org. For information on Individual Volunteers, contact Walt and Betty Whitehurst,757-426-2461; IndVol@aol.com. For information on US-2, Mission Intern, Summer Intern and Bishop W.T. Handy Young Adult Missioners programs, contact Youth and Young Adult Ministries, Mission Personnel, 475 Riverside Drive Room 320, New York, NY 10115; 212-870- 3660; Miryap1@gbgm-umc.org.
Sarah Luke is interim executive secretary for young-adult programs for the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries in New York City, N.Y.