Questions?
Contact Jody Pratt
Volunteers in Mission Coordinator
[email protected]
616-292-4908
To register a VIM team and request insurance
UMVIM-NCJ Webpage
UMVIM-NCJ Newsletters
Scholarships
*To qualify for VIM first-time scholarships, a team must have at minimum, one trained adult. It is highly recommended for VIM Mission Journeys. Michigan VIM trainer: Jody Pratt, [email protected]
First-time scholarship participants are eligible for NCJ trip insurance reimbursements.
Download the scholarship criteria.
Donations are welcome for first-time international missioners ($150) and clergy grants ($500).
MI Volunteers Scholarship/Grant Fund
Information: Jody Pratt, MI VIM: [email protected]
SEEKING A WAY TO SERVE
Volunteers in Michigan serve under the North Central Jurisdiction Volunteers in Mission programs. VIM pairs mission opportunities that match your skills and mission needs with the right training to make your ministry a success. VIM offers both short term local mission opportunities and international projects.
VIM works with both individuals and church groups, both experienced teams and those just getting started. We launch teams that focus on everything from relationship building to construction, even medical and wellness. VIM services all ages and all levels of experience. Your first call is to our Volunteer Coordinator who can guide you to the appropriate training and trips. This is critical to the safety and success of every team. VIM works with federal agencies and insurance providers to secure national and international healthcare and emergencies.
UPCOMING MISSION TRIPS
Peru 2024 Healthcare Mission
Satipo, Peru
August 31 to September 10, 2024
Recruiting volunteers in the health care field and for general assistance.
Cost: $1,500 plus airfare
Max participants: TBD
Deadline: Apply by March 1, 2024 or when
filled (Maximum of 12 participants)
For more information or to apply: Contact Jody Pratt: prattgji09gmail.com
Looking for a Michigan Mission?
Sites currently open for volunteers:
- Cass Community (inner-city Detroit)
Contact Sue Pethoud, [email protected] - Motown Mission (inner-city Detroit)
Motown is reorganizing- please contact director email for information: Carl Gladstone, [email protected] - GCCP/Newberry (rural-poverty Newberry)
Contact Randy Hildebrant, [email protected] - East Winds UMC District Mission work
East Winds Coordinator of Applied Missions, Rev Carol Blair Blouse [email protected]
DISCOVERY Peru 2025
North Central Jurisdiction
The North Central Jurisdiction Volunteers in Mission offers DISCOVERY Journeys for Young Adults aged 18 to 35 in a variety of locations around the world.
When: December 28, 2024 to January 9, 2025
Where: The Lima area, Peru. (New Year in Lima) Participants will experience project work with Peruvian youth and young adults. Once the team is assembled, more specific experiences and projects will be determined by the team’s interests as they grow their leadership skills and cross-cultural relationships.
Participants: Maximum of 10. Three adults and two Peruvian young adults/translators will be accompanying the group.
Important dates:
8/14/24 – Application and deposit deadline.
9/24-12/24 - Two to three Zoom meetings as participants interact and plan.
12/27/24 - Travel day. *Departures from the U.S. will vary by location.
12/28/24 - Lima site orientation.
12/29/24 - 1/7/25 - Mission Journey travel and experiences.
1/9/25 – Return to the U.S.
Cost: $1,500 for food/lodging, internal travel, insurance, project work (includes $100 deposit with application). Upon landing in Lima, all expenses are covered. **Airfare is extra. Rates will vary from $700 to $1000 depending on location.
Team leaders: Steve Blake, Wisconsin Conference, and Jody Pratt, Michigan Conference.
Applications and Questions: Jody Pratt, [email protected]
*Deadline: August 15, 2024 to submit the application and deposit.
TRAINING EVENTS
Michigan Conference Early Response Team (ERT) Basic Training
Volunteer Blitz and Early Response Team (ERT) Basic Training
April 15-19, 2024
Metro Detroit
Read this article to learn more.
-
- Option 1: Join the volunteer blitz sponsored by After the Storm and help survivors from the historic 2021 Detroit flood restore their homes by cleaning up yards, removing debris, or painting. Sign up for a 4-hour shift on Thursday, April 18, or Friday, April 19. No experience is needed. You must be at least 18 years old. Click here to learn more and register.
- Option 2: Help install steps and handrails that were damaged by flooding, along with other minor repairs. Basic carpentry experience is needed. Sign up for Tuesday, April 16, or Wednesday, April 17. Learn more and schedule a time to serve by emailing Cheryl Tipton, After the Storm’s Resource Coordinator, at [email protected].
- Option 3: Be ready to respond to disaster by becoming an UMCOR-certified Early Response Team (ERT) member. The basic training begins at 3 pm on Monday, April 15, and concludes at noon on Wednesday, April 17. The training will include a classroom portion and hands-on training with After the Storm.
- April 1 is the deadline to register.
- Space is limited to 20 participants, with a minimum of 10.
- Host: Cass Community UMC in Detroit; classroom training at the church
- Cost: $50, which includes all meals, lodging for two nights, and materials
- Register: Contact Jody Pratt, ERT trainer, at [email protected] to receive the full schedule and learn more.
Volunteer in Mission Team Leader/Team Training
Volunteers looking to lead or work with a team for a domestic or international experience are encouraged to attend for certification. Michigan lnternational teams are eligible scholarships for first time mission journey participants who complete the training.
Trainer: Jody Pratt, [email protected]
Check back soon for Fall 2024 dates.
VIM STORIES OF MI UMS IN ACTION
Rice Packing at Annual Conference 2023
Packing meals forMidwest Distribution Center during 2023 Annual conference (Acme, MI). 5,000 meals were assembled in about 90 minutes by volunteers of all ages before the official start of the 2023 conference.
Mission at Middleville UMC
Sturgis First UMC Adult Mission Trip 2023
Eleven adults traveled to Steubenville, OH to work with the Joshua Urban Ministries. On the weeklong trip, they replaced a privacy fence and painted a dormer on one house, painted a large wall of another house, continued the demolition of a former grocery store, participated in a large food distribution, and partially cleaned and painted the interior of a house that was firebombed. The group stayed in a former convent house that the ministry owns. It has several rooms with bunk beds and bathrooms with showers upstairs and locker-like rooms in the basement. It has an operational kitchen, dining room and sitting rooms. This location and work seem better suited to youth mission trips however, the team was able to be in ministry in this location and was able to share the love of Christ with all they encountered.
Learn about the historic 2021 Detroit flood
The 100 Year Flood documentary follows a West Ohio ERT team into Detroit to see the flood damage and its impact on aging infrastructure. A 4-session Bible study accompanies the documentary and asks, Will people change the ways they live to reduce the likelihood of events like this for their neighbors in Detroit and around the world?
Last Updated on March 20, 2024