We believe that God has sent out all of His people on mission (John 20:21).

• Austin
• Memphis
• Dominican Republic
• Haiti
• North Africa
• Turkey

We love to equip missional communities to go and serve on mission together among the people to which God has called them.

The majority of trips are scheduled during the winter break, spring break, and summer break seasons to take advantage of school vacation periods; however, we offer trips throughout the year.

The majority of the group trips are from 8 days up to 2 weeks.  There are some longer opportunities for groups during the summer. We also offer semester long opportunities upon request.

You do not have to be a partner or regular attender at TASCC, but we may give preference to partners. For non-partners, we will rely on your references, so you must be part of a community that can provide them.

Most teams at TASCC vary from 5 to 12 people.

• For “family trips” – the minimum age for team members is 6 years old.
• For “youth trips” – the minimum age for team members is 13 years old with parental supervision and 16 years old without parental supervision.
• For “college trips” – the minimum age for team members is 17 years old with signed parental/guardian consent and 18 years old without signed parental/guardian consent.
• For “church wide trips” – the minimum age for team members is 13 years old with signed parental/guardian consent and 18 years old without signed parental/guardian consent.

To begin the application process for a trip, visit austinstone.org/signups/trips and fill out your basic contact info.  You will then receive an email with your own personal link to the online application.

You will need your passport information (if you have a passport already), your medical insurance information, and the names and email addresses of a personal and a spiritual reference contact.

If you need to pause during the application process at any time, click “next” at the bottom of your application and all of your information will be saved online until you return to the application by using the link provided in your email.

In most cases, the applications will be reviewed and processed for a trip four months before the scheduled trip date.  You will be notified by email if you have or have not been accepted for a particular trip.

Teams are led by partners at TASCC who have displayed leadership skills and have previous experience with international work. Each of these leaders have been approved by the Make Disciples staff.

Email us to discuss the process for potential team leaders.

We are flexible with the length of many of our opportunities. Please contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to discuss this if you are interested.

We understand that you may feel called to another people group than those with which we are currently engaged.  If you would like to take a team somewhere other than where we have advertised, please email us to discuss this option.

We purchase supplemental travel insurance for all of the team members that travel on our international trips. However, this is only a supplemental policy and you are required to supply proof of basic coverage to participate in our short term trips.

• Prayer – Praying for God’s kingdom to advance is often a first step toward becoming personally involved in God’s work among the nations. Prayer leads to participation. When we pray, God has a way changing our hearts to desire what He desires. People who engage in this kingdom response often catch God’s passion for the world to know about Jesus.
• Passports – If you do not have a passport, the process can take 10-12 weeks so it is a good idea to get one now.  If you do have a passport, check to make sure it does not expire within 6 months of your travel date as this is a requirement for travel. Visit the U.S. Department of State site for more information. If you need a passport and are applying within 3 months of your trip date, we strongly recommend that you rush your passport to ensure that you receive it in time.
• Immunizations – Only a few countries that we visit have required vaccinations, but it is a good idea to make sure you keep current with your basics.  Visit http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentVaccinations.aspx for information regarding travel vaccinations. If you need a travel clinic, see the list below for a few options here in Austin.
  • Austin Diagnostic Clinic (512) 901-4486
  • Austin Diagnostic Clinic South (512) 460-3408
  • Austin Regional Clinic (512) 836-5472
  • Austin Travel Medicine (512) 459-0301
  • ProMed (512) 336-2727

• Research – There are many ways that you can begin learning today about the people that God might call you to walk with in the future.  Check out joshuaproject.net to get started.
• Local Involvement – look for opportunities to get involved here in Austin before or after you go with us – austinstone.org/serve

Attendance at training is necessary for the equipping and bonding of a team.  If the trainings or trip dates conflict with your schedule, you should consider joining a team at a later date.

We must remember that we act as ambassadors of Christ and his Church when we walk with others and that we must be especially aware of our actions when we cross cultures.  Please look at the Team Member Expectations document to see a list of expectations for short term team members from TASCC.

We have taken every precaution possible to mitigate unnecessary risks involved with our short term trips.  We continually monitor the personal, social, political, and environmental factors that might heighten the security issues of our teams and consider the security of our teams very important. However, we cannot guarantee complete safety because Jesus Christ has not promised us safety during our time on this Earth.

Team members and family are provided with contact information in the event of an emergency either here in the U.S. or abroad. We also have contingency plans for each location should the need arise.

Each team member has the opportunity to personally contribute and raise his or her own financial support in order to go on a short-term mission trip. While this task may seem difficult, it is a unique opportunity to see God provide in ways that will strengthen the faith of those going on the trip. Each person will be equipped and trained in how to raise support. This is typically done through writing letters and asking people to contribute toward the trip.

We have found that team members that send out support letters in a timely manner usually are able to raise the full amount of the support necessary to participate in a short term trip.  If a team member is in need of extra support, they can Download this Short Term Support Application and fill it out. Send the completed form to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).  We review these requests on a case by case basis.

Due to IRS regulations, all donations belong to the church, not to an individual team member or a team and are non-refundable. We generally allocate any extra team member funds to supplement other teammates that might be in need. Any extra funds would then be used for other ministry efforts in the area. You may download our Short Term Financial Agreement to read these specific policies in more detail.

If any team member must cancel prior to the date of the trip, he or she will be financially responsible for any amount of funds that have been spent on his or her behalf in the arrangement of the trip.  Any remaining funds raised by the individual will be retained for up to 12 months for a future trip.

Yes! We partner with many organizations to send out cross cultural workers all over the world.

The term “missionary” is loaded with diverse meanings, depending on the context in which it is used. Therefore, to avoid misunderstanding, we use the term “cross cultural worker” to describe those among us sent out to the nations on mission with God.

All over the world! We have Austin Stone partners serving among people groups in places like East Asia, Central Asia, Latin America, South Africa, Germany, Russia, North Africa, and so on.

We love sending out cross cultural workers! We have a few steps that we ask all those sent out from The Austin Stone to fulfill:

• Find a team or organization to send you. We do not send “independent” people who have no team or organization that they are working with. Use this list or others to search a list of organizations with which you can partner.
• Interview with Make Disciples Staff. We want to get to know you! Therefore, we require that you have a one hour interview with one of our Make Disciples staff. To set up this interview, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
• Set up your Advocacy Team. An advocacy, or “A” team, is group of individuals (typically 6-12) who take the responsibility to coordinate our church’s support and encouragement of our cross cultural workers (single, couple, or family) and to serve as their representatives to the Austin Stone church body. What we always tell people is that the difference between your network of friends and your Advocacy Team is that your Advocacy Team will actually pray for you! Download this document to find out more about an Advocacy Team.
• Prayer Commissioning Service. Based on the Biblical example to us given in Acts 13:1-3, we require that your Advocacy Team organize and conduct a prayer commissioning service for you. This service can take many forms. Our Make Disciples staff will coach your Advocacy Team leader about the when/why/how of the prayer commissioning service.

Your ministry organization will determine how the length of your assignment.

This is determined by your mission organization. The vast majority of cross cultural workers raise support for their ministry, but some also work a full time job that pays their wages.

Email us for a current list of mission organizations.

We love to financially support our partners in the mission to which God has called them! We financially support our partners and regular attenders.

Download our Long Term Support Application and fill it out. Email the completed form to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Sometimes. We treat each support application individually and make the best decision that we can based on the mission to which God has called the applicant.