What We Do at CSM

HERE'S WHAT YOUR GROUP WILL DO
First, you live in the city--experiencing firsthand the sights, sounds, smells, and textures of urban life. Our housing options vary from city to city, but each of them are located in the heart of their respective city. You also eat at local ethnic restaurants and cafes. You'll discover the delights of Salvadorian, Middle Eastern, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, African-American, Cajun, and other cuisine.

Second, you learn about the city --what it's really like (positives as well as negatives), who lives there, the unique issues and problems that city dwellers face, and most importantly, what God is doing to foster and further His Kingdom in the city, through the indigenous local churches, homeless shelters, neighborhood centers, and other organizations that operate on the front lines of urban ministry.

Third, you become part of the solutions for the city --by offering your time, energy and sweat as you support these indigenous "ministry sites." CSM plugs you into a variety of hands-on ministry opportunities to ensure that your time in the city is spent supplying substantive help to God's people in the city.

HERE'S WHERE YOU'LL SERVE
Ministry opportunities include: Rehabilitating apartments for low-income residents; serving food and building relationships with hungry men, women and children at soup kitchens and homeless shelters; planning and conducting weekend and week-long Backyard Bible Clubs for inner-city children; joining inmates for worship and Bible study in a prison chapel service; delivering meals to impoverished shut-ins; joining street savy urban Christians in evangelistic outreach into their local neighborhoods; worshipping with African-American, Latino, and other believers of color in their local churches; and much more. For examples of CSM ministry sites, check out the listings in our City Profiles.

All of our "ministry sites" are indigenous to their communities. CSM has no ministries of its own; rather, we support what God is doing through His people who have been called to full-time ministery in the inner-city.

HERE'S WHAT WE DO FOR YOU
CSM supplies your group with a City Host-one of our full-time or intern staff who has been trained to handle both the logistics of your trip and provide you with a guide and mentor who will help you and your group process what you're experiencing. This enables you and your leadership to participate in your trip as fully as your students. The only activity we encourage you to lead is the morning devotional time with your group.

HERE'S THE RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT
First, your personal walk with Christ will change. As your heart is broken by the things that break the heart of God, you'll experience His love for you and presence in your life in powerful and new ways. You'll be confronted with God's call on you as a disciple of Jesus Christ, and you'll be sparked to re-examine your life priorities in light of what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus in a hurting world.

Second, your life back home will change. You'll return to your home community with new eyes - sensitized to see the ethnic diversity and pockets of poverty and need that escaped your notice previously. You'll also return home with a new vision for how your faith can impact your home and family life, relationships at school and work, and your community at large.

Third, your future direction will change. Many young people and adults have returned from a CSM trip and changed their school major, job, and/or career plans. "I'm switching my major from music to liberal studies," one student wrote. "God is calling me to become a public school teacher in the inner-city." While not everyone is necessarily called into missions or urban ministry, it's virtually certain that your future decisions will be impacted by what God has shown you through your time in the city. Which is great! That's one of the reasons we do what we do. You can find out more about how God has used CSM to impact the lives of young people and adults by checking out our what youth leaders and students say or our CSM Urban Update Blog!

HERE'S THE COST
CSM provides you with housing, three meals a day, the full-time services of a City Host, a pre-trip training course, a post-trip follow-up course, and much more for a cost that you pay to CSM (check out the Costs). As you can imagine, this doesn't cover everything! CSM also raises additional financial support to meet its overall obligations. Need help calculating the total cost? Click here.

HERE'S WHEN YOU CAN SCHEDULE A TRIP
All of CSM's sites are open throughout the year (except for September). A weekend, long weekend, four days, up to seven days- whatever works for your group. Just call our home office for available dates. Spring break dates and some summer dates fill up quickly, so get your reservation form in early!

HERE'S HOW TO FIND OUT MORE
It's easy! Phone our home office at 949-248-8200 or email our home office staff at info at csm.org