Trips
Customized Trips for Your Group
Tell us your goals and we can match them with existing needs. You choose where you’ll go, when you’ll go, and how you’ll serve.
MERGE trip facilitators will help you plan the logistics of your mission trip, train your team, and be on-site throughout your trip. Our staff is bilingual, experienced, and has an ongoing relationship with the ministries you’ll be serving.
Where in the World
These are some of the locations around the world that have opportunities for MERGE trips:
North America – Mexico, US (including Alaska)
Central America – Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
South America – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay
Caribbean – Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica
Europe – Estonia, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden
Africa – Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Asia – India, Japan, Taiwan
How to Get Started
- Contact Dale Lusk at MERGE to discuss your team’s best options.
- Confirm which country you will visit and dates you will travel.
- Your trip facilitator will then contact you to help plan ministry ideas, housing, and more
- Mail your $250 deposit to: MERGE, c/o Serve Globally, 8303 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631
- You will be emailed a packet of MERGE forms for your team to fill out and send back before your trip
You Will Be Responsible for
- Your team’s airline tickets to and from country of service
- Fundraising for your team
- Gathering MERGE forms and sending them in before your trip
Disaster Response Trips
Merge is sponsoring Disaster Response and Rebuilding trips for Covenant Churches in partnership with Love Mercy Do Justice.
Here are the latest disaster response opportunities:
DICKINSON, TEXAS - Home rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey is still in process in the South Bay area of Houston. Housing will be provided at a church in the area. There will be some tools and all construction supplies available. Teams need to provide their own construction supervision. Work will focus on installing drywall, mudding and taping, installing floors/carpet, some electrical and plumbing work is possible, trim, painting, etc. It is best if teams can provide their own tools. Cost is $30 for registration fees. Food is on your own.
NEW BERN, NORTH CAROLINA - Home rebuilding after Hurricane Florence is in process on the North Carolina coast. Housing will be provided at a church in the area. There will be some tools and all construction supplies available. It is helpful for teams to provide their own construction supervision. Work will focus on installing drywall, mudding and taping, installing floors/carpet, some electrical and plumbing work is possible, trim, painting, etc. It is best if teams can provide some tools. Cost is $30 for registration fees + $100 donation per person to the local rebuilding agency. Most food is provided for.
SLOAN, IOWA & MEAD, NEBRASKA - Home rebuilding after the Midwest flooding is in process in Iowa and Nebraska. Housing will be provided at a Covenant Church. There will be some tools and all construction supplies available. Teams need to provide their own construction supervision. Work will focus on installing drywall, mudding and taping, installing floors/carpet, some electrical and plumbing work is possible, trim, painting, etc. It is best if teams can provide their own tools. Cost is $30 for registration fees + a $25 per person per full-day donation to help cover food and housing costs. Van transportation from a local airport can be provided at low cost.
EAGLE RIVER, ALASKA - Home rebuilding, after an earthquake hit the area last November. Housing will be at the Covenant Church in Eagle River, AK. There will be some tools and all construction supplies available. Teams need to provide their own construction supervision. Work will focus on installing drywall, mudding and taping, trim, painting, and foundation work (if the team has those skills). Cost is $30 for registration fees + a $25 per person per full-day donation to help cover food and housing costs. Local transportation options are still being worked out.
SEEDs
SEEDs are pre-planned trips for individuals, couples, families, and small groups. This is a great way to get to know new people while working with them on the field.
Please contact Dale Lusk at dale.lusk@covchurch.org or 956-458-9568 for more information.
Trip Offerings
Patzicia, Guatemala
July 6-14, 2019
Join the Midsouth Conference for its annual Merge trip to Patzicia, Guatemala. Located about 1 1/2 hours west of Guatemala City, Patzicia is a town of 25,000 inhabitants with numerous villages, called aldeas, in the surrounding agricultural areas.
The focus of this trip will include health seminars and clinics in schools and rural villages, home construction for low-income families, after-school Bible and educational programs for children of low-income families, participation in regular church functions, cultural exchanges, home visits and more.
Cost is $510 per person plus flight to Guatemala City.
Southwest Sweden
August 6-16, 2019
Partner with the Covenant churches in reaching out to families and children in Southwest Sweden. Various churches and communities will be offering VBS-style programs to families in areas near Malmö, Lund, and Sösdala. The Swedish Covenant Church has invited our North American churches to assist them in this outreach. The Swedish church is new at this type of ministry and have asked for both people with experience in children's ministry and people with outgoing personalities to help out.
Cost is $500 per person plus flight to Copenhagen, Denmark.
FUNDRAISING
Following the call to missions involves the whole community. Let others share in your joy and support your MERGE mission trip.
Ideas:
- Have a MERGE Mission Sunday. Ask for your church for support.
- Host bake sales, dinners, or work days where the proceeds benefit missions and you ask for sponsors.
- Encourage potential supporters to buy Top of the Lake Coffee
Top of the Lake Coffee
Support: MERGE receives a generous portion of the proceeds from each package purchased.
Give Back: Your freshly roasted coffee is purchased from individual farmers or local cooperatives at better than the commodity index price for coffee, providing meaningful economic impact for their families and communities.
Build: Your group receives the difference to support mission experiences or other youth ministry projects.
Contact us
Dale Lusk:
dale.lusk@covchurch.org
(956) 458-9568
MERGE:
merge@covchurch.org
(773) 907-3351
8303 W. Higgins Rd.
Chicago, IL 60631