Immersion Trips

Over the course of several months, teams grow in authentic community, preparing their hearts and minds to take a servant-hearted, learning posture in a cross-cultural context in need of the hope of Christ. You can expect your immersive experience to expand your worldview, deepen your Christian faith and ignite a sense of personal calling and purpose.

We invite you to include an immersion trip as part of your Hope College experience and to explore your spiritual gifts and God-given passions in a variety of settings.

Applications open October 15, 2025.

Locations

Domestic Spring Break Trips 

Anchorage, Alaska(1st gen students)

Theme: NATIVE CULTURE AND CHALLENGES

Experience an immersive trip to Anchorage, Alaska, focused on Alaska Native culture and community. Engage with Indigenous traditions and explore the socioeconomic challenges facing local communities, such as education and homelessness. Through hands-on service and learning opportunities, participants will build connections and foster understanding, promoting collaboration and support within this vibrant community.

Atlanta, Georgia

Theme: REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND OUTREACH

The Atlanta suburb of Clarkston, where the Send Relief Ministry Center is located, is one of the most diverse communities in America. Known as the “Ellis Island of the South,” nearly 70% of the population is foreign-born, representing more than 50 countries with more than 100 distinct ethnic groups — all living within 1.4 square miles. This provides tremendous opportunities for churches and individuals to invest in the residents of this unique community. 

This trip is an immersive experience at the Send Relief Ministry Center, allowing you to engage in refugee ministry as well as various outreach projects throughout the Atlanta metro area. You will also receive training and equipping to learn how to better serve the international and refugee community in your city.

 

New Bern, North Carolina

Theme: Disaster Response 

World Renew is responding to disasters around the world. Hurricane Florence was a unique storm in 2018. It made landfall, swung south and then circled back to the areas it had already hit. The town of New Bern in eastern North Carolina and several surrounding counties received more than 12 hours of sustained, hurricane-force winds during the storm. With over 4,000 homes in New Bern and more than 10,500 households registered for assistance with FEMA, the need for work teams to assist families who were uninsured or underinsured will go on for years. You can demonstrate God’s love in a real and tangible way by serving with World Renew in the New Bern community working on home restoration projects.

Nashville, Tennessee

Theme: Urban Ministry 

Center for Student Missions (CSM) is bringing hope to the ever-growing city of Nashville. Throughout the week, your group will gain a deeper understanding of Nashville — seeing the city through the Lord’s eyes, exploring its history and engaging with the current challenges its people face. Expect to be pushed out of your comfort zone in order to learn more about social justice issues, meet the people of Nashville where they are at and experience the Lord's heart for all people.

CSM works alongside over 30 different organizations in the Nashville area, including homeless ministries, after school programs, urban gardens, food distribution centers and more. As you participate in serving and learning alongside these organizations, your understanding of urban ministry, particularly in Nashville, will be broadened as you bring the hope of Christ into each space.

Austin, Texas

Theme: HOPE FOR THE Homeless

Mobile Loaves and Fishes Ministry offers students a firsthand experience of the power of community. During this trip, you will stay at Community First! Village — a 27-acre master-planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for the chronically homeless in central Texas. You will learn about the micro-enterprise opportunities that enable formerly homeless men and women to earn a dignified income, develop new skills and cultivate enduring relationships as they take part in a restorative journey home. You will have your heart, mind, and hands engaged in learning the meaning of “home” as you interact with and serve the people of this community.

 

International Spring Break Trips

Nassau, Bahamas

Theme: immersed in Prayer

Wanting to dive deeper in your prayer life with God? This trip is hosted by Trinity City of Praise (TCP) Church and Pastor Gail V. McKinney Johnson. TCP and Pastor Gail are radical in their hearts for prayer and believe that God’s revelation through prayer is rooted in his word and leads his people to the spaces and places they are called. During the week in Nassau, you will dive deep into different practices of prayer in the Bahamian church and be challenged in your own relationship with God. Expect to come back from this trip with a deepened heart for talking with your Heavenly Father and exposure to diverse prayer disciplines that can be applied to your daily life at Hope and beyond.

Bogotá, Colombia

Theme: Children and Poverty

Come lock arms with Project Hope, a ministry that maintains strong relationships with local orphanages and programs for vulnerable children in Bogotá, Colombia. Your team will spend time at a local orphanage sharing the love of Jesus, work with kids at the Project Hope Community Centers, experience the beautiful city of Bogotá and spend meaningful time in one of Bogotá’s poorest communities. As you invest in the lives of these children, you can expect to be changed and return home as a stronger advocate for vulnerable children and families in need. 

Speaking Spanish is a strong benefit on this trip, but it is not required.

Zagreb, Croatia

Theme: UNIVERSITY GOSPEL OUTREACH

This spring break immersion trip invites Hope College students to partner with local Cru staff in Zagreb for a week of relational ministry, cultural exploration and gospel-centered outreach in a country where many know religion by tradition, but few know Jesus personally. Your team will experience hands-on evangelism, training and spiritual reflection guided by the experienced missionary team at the University of Zagreb. Croatian students are deeply curious about spiritual matters and eager to talk with fellow students — especially over coffee! This trip is perfect for those who want to be stretched and equipped to share their faith in a global context.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

THeme: Community and Church development

Come partner with TIME Missions, an organization that partners with national pastors and churches to change lives and bring hope to local communities in the Dominican Republic. Your team will come alongside TIME Missions staff to build a chapel for a local community in need and host a medical outreach unit for community members. This trip will allow students to build relationships with community members and to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a tangible way.

This trip will provide a great opportunity for students to practice Spanish; however, eager English speakers are welcome.

Mandeville, Jamaica

Theme: IMMERSION IN JamaicaN Deaf CULTURE

The Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf exists to reach, teach, and nurture the Deaf of Jamaica through four distinct campuses on the island.

Join this L.I.F.E. team at the Jamaica Deaf Village, where you will:

• Learn from other cultures and perspectives
• Invest in the ongoing work God is already doing
• Fellowship with students and build relationships
• Encourage the staff who are engaged in long-term ministry and be encouraged during your short-term mission visit

The centrally located Jamaica Deaf Village is a place where Deaf can live with their families, work and grow in Christian community. CCCD supports this through discipleship, employment, vocational training and church community. On this trip, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the Jamaican Deaf culture and get hands-on as you learn and serve alongside the JDV community through various campus improvement projects. You will also have the opportunity to visit CCCD’s K–12 schools and bring the love of Christ to the students.

 

Montego Bay, JamaicaAll Greeks

Theme: BUILDING COMMUNITY, EXPANDING POTENTIAL

The Caribbean Christian Centre for the Deaf (CCCD) exists to reach, teach and nurture the Deaf of Jamaica through four distinct campuses on the island. The Montego Bay campus is home to the Center for Adult Deaf Education (CADE) — the only one of its kind in the Caribbean. Through the CADE program, CCCD strives to nourish the next generation of Deaf Christian leaders by instilling students with a firm foundation of education, language skills, vocational mentoring and encouragement in their faith journey. Your team will have the opportunity to interact with students and invest in the Montego Bay campus through various hands-on projects.

This trip also provides a unique opportunity to grow in your faith and relationship with others from Greek organizations.

Summer Trips

Málaga, Spain (May)

Theme: REFUGEE EMPOWERMENT AND COMMUNITY SUPPORTS

Located on the Strait of Gibraltar, a connecting point from Europe to Africa, Málaga is a primary place of entry for asylum seekers to enter Spain and find refuge. During this trip, you will partner with Project Miklat, a ministry that seeks to support the deep spiritual and practical needs of refugees entering Spain. Many of these refugees are coming from areas that are considered unreached with the gospel of Christ, including North Africa, the Middle East and Ukraine, among others. 

The trauma of leaving home, country, career and often family is devastating. But there is hope through Jesus. Come lock arms with Project Miklat in meeting the tangible needs of this vulnerable community, such as providing access to food, clothing and education, while also bringing the light for Jesus to those in need of hope and gaining valuable exposure to refugee ministry.

“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.” —Psalm 96:3

More Information

Some trips may have high demand, so we may follow up with you about trip placement after you sign up. Ask and listen for how God would lead you. We are excited about what He is going to do!

Please note the following:

• All students are required to attend monthly team meetings starting in November
• You are ultimately responsible for the total cost of the trip; fundraising information will be available
• Costs do NOT include immunizations or passports

If your only reason for not registering is financial, you may apply for financial assistance to help with the cost.

Apply for an Immersion Trip Scholarship 

Standards of Excellence

In keeping with the seven Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission, Hope College is committed to the following:

• God-centeredness
• Empowering partnerships
• Mutual design
• Comprehensive administration
• Qualified leadership
• Appropriate training
• Thorough follow through