REDDING, Calif.—In its 25^th year since a relaunch of student-led mission teams, Simpson University is preparing to send four teams overseas for summer service.

The WorldSERVE teams join a completed spring break team that traveled to Chicago to help the Family Empowerment Center work with urban youth in an after-school program. The summer teams will go to India, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand.

About 30 students are participating this year in WorldSERVE, the university’s yearlong discipleship program that includes a short-term service trip.

Simpson University was founded as Simpson Bible Institute in 1921 and has educated thousands of students who have participated in mission trips—many of them going on to full-time missionary work. The university’s longstanding motto is “Gateway to World Service.”

In 1994, a relaunch of student-led mission teams began, continuing today as WorldSERVE. For the past quarter-century, Simpson has sent more than 1,700 students on trips to nearly 30 percent of the world. Teams partner with mission organizations to help in churches, camps, orphanages, youth programs, and more.

Teams have also helped serve in the wake of national and international disasters, including in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2006 and in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew hit in 2016.

Below is a synopsis of the summer WorldSERVE trips, which take place in May and early June:

India: Students from the Betty M. Dean School of Nursing will spend time with children from spiritually and physically impoverished families and will travel to a village to work with a pastor’s ministry.

Philippines: This team will partner with a new Christian & Missionary Alliance Envision site in Manila, helping mentor, educate and train at-risk young people.

Taiwan: These students will help serve a ministry coffee shop in downtown Taipei that is working toward starting a church among area youth.

Thailand: This team will seek to build relationships with other university students and partner with long-term workers to teach English, lead a youth retreat, and more.

Students who serve on teams raise their own support, through fundraisers held on campus and in the local community, as well as through generous donations from family and friends. Qualifying students can receive a Summer Ministry Award from Simpson University to apply toward next year’s tuition.

For Simpson graduates who go on to full-time missionary service, a fund created by former board member Rod Samuelson and his wife, Dianna, is available to help with student loan debt that can hinder or delay the start of mission work. Learn more at simpsonu.edu/tributescholarships (scroll down to “Samuelson”).

Learn more about WorldSERVE giving opportunities at http://simpsonu.edu/Pages/About/Support/Giving-Opportunities/Student-Missions.htm.

Photo by Chyna Xiong / Simpson University 2019 WorldSERVE students traveled to Chicago over spring break and will serve in India, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand during the summer.

###

Simpson University, founded in 1921, moved to Redding almost 30 years ago and will celebrate its centennial in 2021. In addition to offering 25 majors in its traditional undergraduate program, the university has graduated almost 4,000 North State adults from its ASPIRE degree-completion program, and nearly 3,000 from its School of Education. It has a highly ranked School of Nursing, a seminary, and master’s programs in counseling psychology and organizational leadership.

Simpson is launching new athletics programs in track and field, swimming and diving, women’s wrestling, and men’s volleyball, as well as a bass fishing team. The university is also working to better serve transfer students from community colleges through its commitment to Associate Degree for Transfer agreements, and it is offering new scholarships.

Learn more about Simpson University at simpsonu.edu. Follow university news at simpsonunews.com.