Questions?
Contact Jody Pratt
Volunteers in Mission Coordinator
[email protected]
616-292-4908
Your next trip begins here
Please contact Jody Pratt, VIM, Volunteers in Michigan Coordinator, [email protected].
To register a VIM team and request insurance
UMVIM-NCJ Webpage
UMVIM-NCJ Newsletters
Scholarships
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.
Getting started
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.
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
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.
Mission work happens in Michigan
Acme, Michigan
June 2, 2023
Training Events & Upcoming Opportunities
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
Trainer: Jody Pratt, [email protected]
*Watch for new Fall 2024 dates to be announced soon!
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]
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 1, 2024