Short-Term Missions Trips

Austin Ridge provides a number of opportunities to participate in short-term trips throughout the year. These trips are selected with the express intent of helping our church family see cross-cultural missions work firsthand. All trip participants are selected through an application process.

Please note: due to the travel limitations surrounding COVID-19, Austin Ridge is slowly starting to offer short-term trip opportunities. Below are the upcoming trips and contact information if you are interested. Stay tuned for updates as we hope to be able to provide more opportunities!

France

Marseille, France: Young Adults

Trip Dates: May 19-27, 2023
Trip Leader: Carly Arnett
Trip Cost: $2,700
Apply Here

This short-term opportunity is a great chance to work with our trip partner, House of Hope, who does outreach and discipleship among Muslims in the port city of Marseilles, France. You will have opportunities to interact with North African refugees and better understand how to engage with those from a Muslim background. The team will also help with construction projects on the property grounds such as replacing a broken garage door, basement clean up, shelf installation, and window replacement. We hope you will return from this experience with a better understanding of Islam as well as a passion to engage in relationships with Muslims here at home. This trip is suited for those with a heart to serve and a desire to learn more about Islam. 

If you have any questions about this trip, please reach out directly to Carly Arnett.

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic: Summer Family Trip

Trip Dates: June 3-10, 2023
Trip Leader: Jeff Rutter
Trip Cost: $2,200 per person

Join us this summer for a short-term family trip to the Dominican Republic serving our ministry partner, Makarios, whose mission is to cultivate a cycle of hope and opportunity while breaking the cycle of poverty in the Dominican Republic through Christ-centered education, community programs, and relationships that empower. Our teams typically spend the days helping facilitate vacation bible school activities and soccer camps as well as participate in community visits and relief projects. This is a great opportunity to introduce your family to cross-cultural missions work firsthand. Children welcome, ages 8 & up.

Click here to register.

Uganda

Pader, Uganda: CDP Sponsor trip

Trip Dates: July 1-12, 2023
Trip Leader: Christy Ivie
Trip Cost: $4,500 per person

This is our first sponsor trip in partnership with Africa Renewal: Pader Child Development Program in Pader, Uganda. If you sponsor a child through this program, we’d love to have you join us on this short-term trip to Pader. You will meet your sponsored child through a home visit, participate in their daily routines such as school, healthcare, soccer games, family discipleship and worship at Pader Community Church. At the end of the trip, the team will debrief and attend a 2 night Safari at Murchison Falls National Park.

Click here to register

Registration deadline is April 17, 2023

The Women of Pader

Trip Dates: Varies by season
Trip Leader: Holly Williamson
Trip Cost: approx. $3,500

Ridge member, Holly Williamson, first visited Pader in 2013 and was drawn to the isolated, lonely, poor, and untrusting women she met there. She felt led by God to help these women improve their bead-making skills and create income for their families by selling hand-made jewelry. Holly travels to Pader three times each year - spring, summer, and fall - and is always looking for other women who would like to travel with her. The results of these trips has been seen in the number of Pader women involved in this project (growing from 30-100 in the last 3 years), and seeing their self-esteem grow as they understand God's love for them and are able to provide food and school fees for their children. If you have questions, please reach out to Holly.

Holly typically takes three trips per year to Pader, so if you're interested in learning more, please email her for more details on this ministry opportunity.

LOCAL

San Antonio, Texas: Ridge Students

Trip Dates: July 2-7, 2023
Trip Leader: Carly Arnett
Trip Cost: $465 per person

We are so excited to take a group of middle schoolers on a mission trip this summer! We will be partnering with Blueprint Ministries which restores homes for low-income individuals and families living in substandard housing. They exist to share Christ's love, hope, and grace, serve the elderly, physically disabled, and low-income homeowners of San Antonio by restoring substandard housing, and provide servant leadership opportunities for youth and adult volunteers as they restore homes. Click here for the Blueprint FAQ.

Click here to register.