Taylor World Outreach (TWO) is working to get more students on trips with their new mobilization campaign, promoting student involvement in Lighthouse trips.
For J-term 2026, TWO will send out five Lighthouse trips to Uganda, Honduras, Spain, Southeast Asia and Kosovo to serve in different areas and meet the needs of different ministry partners.
“The goal is to get students who aren't necessarily mission hearted,” Delana Geiger, a TWO cabinet co-director, said. “Maybe they don't even know what their passion is yet, but to get them out into the world, into a place where they can see God in a new light, … maybe their heart will be turned to missions, but maybe not, but also just getting students of all backgrounds, all majors, just out into the world and serving God.”
These trips are not just designed to foster student growth, but to help others.
Hannah Laughery, intern for Lighthouse and spring break mission trips, said that on these trips, the TWO prepares students to come alongside existing ministries in a way that helps rather than hurts.
“You’re not going to be there for a long time,” Laughery said. “(We want to) come along and help people around us, but also not go there just so we can (say) ‘Oh, I have all the answers,’ because that’s not true. It’s coming alongside what the ministry partners are doing.”
Kiplangat Cheruiyot “Chip” Bii, the director of Taylor World Outreach, said that these trips do three things: help students learn alongside peers in training and team building in the fall, be immersed in a new culture and learn what God is doing there and be a part of that – and the cherry on top are the credits students can earn.
Bii said that they want people on the trips that are ready for the commitment and informed about the decision because training starts at the beginning of fall semester. It takes intentional preparation, sacrificial participation and thoughtful reflection after the trip concludes.
“We want to encourage students to prayerfully consider (going),” Bii said. “We're not just signing people up – it's a discernment process. We want students to prayerfully consider these trips, which rely on high commitments.”
Sierra Rupp, the other TWO cabinet co-director, said that there is not an economic barrier to students that wish to participate.
Since teams do collective fundraising, the Lighthouse trips are not a financial burden on individual students. However, every student in the group will send out 85 letters asking partners for support, whether that be with financial assistance or prayer.
“We've never had to have students pay out of pocket, because the Lord has always provided the monetary donations,” Rupp said.
But Lighthouse trips are not just free opportunities to travel.
The department is working toward being in the same position as it was prior to Covid-19. At that point, more students wanted to go.
Geiger said that since the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, fewer students are signing up for trips because they have exhibited more fear.
In the future, TWO hopes to have a waiting list again so that the people going on these trips are doing so with the right motivations and are willing to work harder to make it happen.
For students who want to learn more, there will be an information session on Tuesday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. in Cornwall. The application window will likely open this week, and be available until the end of April.
