Global Missions: YAGM
The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program invites ELCA young adults ages 21-35 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. As they offer themselves in service, ELCA young adults are shaped by the witness of our global neighbors. They share in the journeys of companion churches and organizations in one of six country programs around the world.
A year of service through the Young Adults in Global Mission program invites young adults to become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, providing critical support to ministries and projects in communities of need. It also invites volunteers into a journey of self-reflection, providing space to consider their sense of identity, God’s work in the world, and their place within it all.
Young adults serve in the spirit of accompaniment, walking alongside global companions in a manner that practices mutuality, interdependence and solidarity. Areas of service include, but are not limited to, health and development, congregational ministry, human rights, education, homelessness, addiction recovery, women’s issues and children and youth. All site placements provide opportunities for young adults to confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, economic disparity and globalization, all through the lens of faith.
Candidates for Young Adults in Global Mission apply to the program at-large rather than to a specific country. Applicant preferences are taken into account but the final decision about where volunteers serve is made by Global Mission staff and YAGM country coordinators in mid-April.
Young Adults in Global Mission
Contact Church Office for email + mailing information to send to YAGM Team!
United Kingdom Team
The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program places volunteers in the United Kingdom with our long-time ecumenical partner, Time for God. YAGM volunteers in the UK join a larger network of volunteers from around the world who serve in urban and rural settings throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
Time for God’s wide range of placements means that volunteers can find themselves working within their interests: from rehab centers to elderly care homes, from small village churches to diverse urban neighborhoods. YAGM volunteers will get involved in their local community and learn firsthand about the various social, cultural and economic challenges of that region.
Time for God provides a strong structure of support with meetings and retreats throughout the year to make space for rest, reflection and connection within the YAGM group and with the other volunteers.
The ecumenical nature of the UK program provides YAGM volunteers the opportunity to experience different expressions of the Christian faith, while encouraging them to articulate the particular contributions of the Lutheran tradition. YAGM volunteers serving in the United Kingdom will wrestle deeply with what it means to live and serve as a person of faith in an increasingly secularized culture and how to serve that culture with love.
Examples of service opportunities include:
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Working in a local congregation (this can include youth work, leading worship, work with the elderly, and a variety of other ministries)
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Working with people experiencing homelessness
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Serving in live-in addiction recovery centers
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Caring for children with special needs
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Serving as a tutor and mentor to at-risk youth
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Leading youth clubs
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Leading school assemblies
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Serving in urban community centers
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Creative projects
A year in the UK is a unique experience — a wonderful opportunity to grow and serve, to engage in UK life and see firsthand the difference that showing up and being willing to serve can make.
