Applications for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 service years are open now on a rolling basis, with a priority deadline of January 15, and a final deadline of February 1 of the prospective year. Those who apply before the priority deadline will have their placements considered first.

Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) is a one-year, international service-learning and faith-formation opportunity in churches and social service ministries for young adults, ages 21-35.

Young adults serve alongside Lutheran companion church bodies and organizations in one of four country programs around the world, being shaped by the witness of our global neighbors in a cross-cultural journey of faith. Current country programs are projected to be: Argentina & Uruguay, Central Europe, Mexico, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Cambodia.

Areas of service include, but are not limited to, health and human rights, congregational ministry, education, environmental justice, and professional support & communications. All site placements provide opportunities for young adults to confront issues of wealth and poverty, racial privilege, gender privilege, economic disparity, and globalization, all through the lens of faith.

All applicants will receive a response by early March of their prospective year. Country specific interviews will take place mid-March of your prospective year with specific country assignments announced at the mandatory Discernment-Interview-Placement (DIP) event which takes place mid-to-late March of your prospective year (these dates are subject to change).

WHAT IS YAGM?

YAGM is about relationships. Even before service, or mission, or cross-cultural immersion – it is about residing with your kin around the world and witnessing together the movement of God in that setting. It’s a chance for you to live and serve in an international context. It’s an opportunity to use your gifts and skills alongside others. It’s a year to live and work in community. It’s a year to accompany your host community and to learn from them.

It is also about challenging yourself. It’s about getting to know yourself better – both as an individual and as part of a global community of faith. It’s about growing in your experience of God and your faith so much that witnessing something different than you are used to feels like a blessing, rather than an afront to your norms. It’s about forming relationships and deepening your global awareness and understanding.

In the end, the experience becomes more important than the tasks accomplished. Your placement is only an entry point to the larger realities of culture and society and what you will gain from this year.

YAGM volunteers serve under the values of Accompaniment. Accompaniment seeks to do the exact opposite of Colonial Christianity in every possible way. We go to listen, instead of to preach; we go to be instead of to do things for someone; we go to be converted into an experience of God that is bigger than we ever knew, and we yearn to uplift the voice of our neighbor, and never to diminish it.

“It’s an exercise in patience, trust, dependence, and grace. In the midst of great weakness and vulnerability, I am learning to receive instead of give, to be instead of do, to celebrate the gifts, and to live in deep gratitude.” (YAGM Alum, Mexico)

For more information on the Young Adults in Global Mission program, please visit https://www.elca.org/yagm.

A college degree is not required for entry into the Young Adults in Global Mission program. However, some country programs do require a college degree for visa acquisition. Please visit the individual country program pages via the link above for more information. Also feel free to reach out to us with questions.

The ELCA is committed to diversity; individuals from historically underrepresented cultural groups are especially encouraged to apply.

Terms and Conditions: Applicants must be ages 21-35 on or before the first day of the Discernment Interview Placement event in March of your prospective year. Married applicants must each fill out an application and be married before March of your prospective year. The YAGM program provides roundtrip travel to and from the country of service, all domestic (U.S. based) events, full room and board, transportation to and from in-country retreats, basic international travelers' health insurance, a mental health support program, and a modest, monthly stipend meant to allow volunteers to live at an economic level similar to that of their local community. Student loans are often deferrable, as long as they are federally guaranteed and not through a private loan company. The program provides support and guidance in the loan deferment process.

Posting updated on 5/28/2024.