- About
- Admissions
- Academics
- Life at Taylor
Lighthouse trips go far beyond the academics of regular study abroad experiences. The J-term Lighthouse program enables students to gain unforgettable, life-changing experiences while learning and serving abroad.
Our students study the cultural, historical, social, and religious aspects of a host country and are equipped to carry out ministry among the local people. They gain experience in cross-cultural outreach, develop their leadership potential, seek justice, grow spiritually, and put their passion for God into action.
And while each Lighthouse service trip is different, from evangelizing in the streets to helping build houses, every team’s goals are the same. We want to enter other cultures as humble servant-leaders, embody the core values in the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Missions, serve as lights of God’s love and compassion, and become beacons of deeper faith and understanding others who serve in these communities.
Without outside support from Taylor University friends, family, and alumni, Lighthouse trips wouldn’t be possible. The support you provide through praying and giving can go beyond the boundaries of the discipleship we pursue through our trips. If you feel led to support Lighthouse missions financially, you can donate to the Lighthouse program online.
Read more about the trips you can support.
Health & Community Development
Taylor students will be working alongside missionaries serving in medical professions and teaching English in local schools.
This is a new location for Lighthouse.
Refugee Empowerment
This Taylor group will be working in the community resource center, serving refugees on the island of Lesvos.
Human Trafficking Intervention
Taylor students on this trip will be involved with developing sustainable solutions to interception of human trafficking and empowerment of survivors, as well as other justice operations.
Island Stays & Faith Sharing
Partnering with the SEA tribes, the Taylor team will be exposed to Island stays and will engage in conversation and share their faith and stories with individuals as they live with host families.
Apologetics & Faith Sharing
Taking a class in contemporary Christian beliefs, students will be immersed in apologetics and the practice of persuasion to the natives of the Basque country in Spain.
Community Development
The Uganda Team will be strategically addressing major issues, like illiteracy, hunger, malnutrition, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, child mortality, and injustice in a local Ugandan community.
We are also grateful for the long-term partnerships with our host families, host ministries, and organizations founded or run by Taylor graduates. Several partners have been to campus to share their stories personally with students in chapel and other venues, such as:
Approximately 80-100 Taylor students share in a diverse set of trips each year. Teams have served in areas such as Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Nepal, The Czech Republic, Peru, and Southeast Asia where the dominant worldviews include Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Animism, and Atheism. The Basque region of Spain has recently been added as a new Lighthouse destination.
Every day was filled with eye-opening experiences, new opportunities to serve, and increased growth among the people and within our team. Luke Rutan, Ethiopia Lighthouse Team
Once you go through the application process and are accepted onto a team, you will be enrolled in a one-credit fall course, which helps prepare you—along with your faculty sponsors and fellow students—for your trip. Students receive three credits during J-term for the on-field service-learning course, which fulfills the general education cross-cultural requirement.
Read student stories from last J-term’s trips on the Lighthouse blog, check out our Taylor World Outreach Facebook page in January for trip updates, or follow Taylor World Outreach on Instagram.
If you have any questions or concerns about Lighthouse missions, please email lighthouse@taylor.edu.