FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
ERC Missions
We offer evangelistic mission trips in which the student is actively engaged in preaching
the Good News. This mission trip is organized through the ERC directly.
Our summer mission trips are about three weeks long, including a day or two for travel
each way. We also have a mission trip during spring break with a day set aside for
traveling. The exact travel dates are listed on the home page.
A physical church? No. ERC Missions only organizes mission trips that consist of an
evangelistic series. So, you will be building God's church in another country, but
in a slightly different and more enduring way.
No. If you want to be a student missionary for an extended period of time you will
need to visit Student Missions.
When you pay through the Evangelistic Resource Center, you are paying for your part
of the site that you will be preaching at, the food you will be eating, the hotel,
and the plane ticket to and from the country.
Several organizations subsidize the cost of attending an ERC Missions trip through
Southern Adventist University. So you only have to pay a fraction of the cost thanks
to the generosity of our donors.
Unfortunately not. These trips are heavily subsidized by several organizations that
require that the participants must attend the university that is receiving the subsidy.
Preaching
The ERC will provide you with a USB drive with the sermon series on it. You will need
to bring a laptop with you or you can rent one from us for a small fee, which you
will use to preach your sermon. At the church you'll be preaching at, you
will connect your laptop to a projector to display your slides for your congregation to read as you preach. You will also be preaching with a translator, so a knowledge of the local language is not necessary.
will connect your laptop to a projector to display your slides for your congregation to read as you preach. You will also be preaching with a translator, so a knowledge of the local language is not necessary.
No. You will be preaching the evangelistic series provided by the ERC.
If you are attending the spring mission trip you will preach eight, and if you are
attending the summer trip you will preach 16. You will likely start preaching on the
Friday of the week that you arrive at your site and ending on the Sabbath before you
travel back to Atlanta. You will be preaching one sermon each evening except for Sabbath,
when you will be preaching two sermons, one in the morning during church service and
one in the evening. The list of what sermons are preached can be requested from the
ERC office (downstairs in Hackman Hall, room 104).
No. Everyone that goes on a mission trip through the Evangelistic Resource Center must use the sermon series with which we provide you.
Yes. Not only will you be receiving a copy of all the sermons, you can visit the Evangelistic
Resource Center and practice preaching any of the sermons in a designated sermon booth.
No. You will be using PowerPoint, so make sure you have the latest version! We have
set it up so that you view your sermon notes on your laptop in English, while the
sermon slides displayed are displayed in the local language of the country.
Yes. The sermon series uses different graphics and, occasionally, different illustrations
depending on your designated country. The core message is the same for all countries.
No. If you want to, you can preach in the local language without the assistance of
a translator. The sermons notes are also available in the local language, if that
is what you would prefer to use.
Travel
You will travel with your group from America to your assigned country and back. You
may leave with your group from campus (transportation is arranged) or you can meet
your group at the Atlanta airport.
No. The Evangelistic Resource Center buys the tickets for the entire group and the
price of the ticket is factored into the total cost of attending the mission trip.
No. The entire team travels on the same flight to and from America. No exceptions
can be made.
You will receive detailed information concerning this roughly two weeks prior to your
departure date.
While There
You will be staying in a safe hotel with the other people in your group. There are typically two students per room.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided at the hotel or at a restaurant near the hotel.
Dinner will typically be provided by your host church and arrangements will be made
upon your arrival. You may want to bring some of your favorite snacks from America
to supplement your diet.
Yes. The food will be cooked by someone hired by the local conference who will be
given specific instructions to make only vegetarian food. If you have any food allergies
or dietary preferences we will also do our best to accommodate those.
The main purpose of the mission trip is for evangelism, but there will be some time
set-aside for sightseeing. Remember though, you are going as an evangelist, not a
tourist.
Yes. Since the trips are heavily subsidized by sponsors (such as The Quiet Hour, etc.),
you will need to write a 250-500 word testimony about your experience before the campaign
ends. This should be submitted (with a few photos) to the Evangelistic Resource Center's
email at erc@southern.edu as soon as you arrive back to the States.