Mercy Team

 We provide meaningful, customized, short-term field service opportunities for individuals, churches, schools, families and/or civic organizations. Planning, setting up, and executing an effective field service can be daunting. However, if you partner with Mercy Teams, we will handle all of the details and preparation for you or your team.

Mercy Teams is accredited by the United States Standards of Excellence (SOE). Only 23 organizations have received this coveted SOE certification. The requirements assure that each participant’s short term field experience will be professionally managed according to industry standards.

Field Service Opportunities

Join an Open Mercy Team!

                                                           - Oct 1-11, 2011 to Puerto Cortes, Honduras
                                                           - Oct 21-30, 2011 to the Africa Mercy, Sierra Leone
                                                         Or click on the locations below for more opportunities

We offer three types of teams:

Organized Teams are composed of volunteers from one sponsoring location, such as a church, university, or service club.  

Open Teams are made up of individuals, couples, or families who may not know each other previously, but they come together to form a mission team.

Disaster Response Teams are one of the core program components of Mercy Ships. Our Mercy Team field team coordinators and team leaders organize volunteer teams as second-responders to these catastrophic events whenever there is a need.

Teams can be either a Medical team or a Non-Medical team. Medical Teams offer basic health care and community health education, treatment, and development. Non-Medical Teams usually undertake such projects as working at a children’s home, painting schools, helping in disaster recovery, or building a clinic. All of the teams have the opportunity to use their skills and share the love of God in action regardless of the skill they possess. You have been blessed with a talent, and we will work with you to help mobilize your skills in action for the forgotten poor. We need people with a willingness to serve and an ability to stay flexible. Teams always serve and partner with local Host Receivers who provide first-hand experience and knowledge for the projects you have been assigned to perform.

Currently, we have opportunities in East and West Africa, Haiti, Central America, and the United States. There is also the opportunity to work alongside the Africa Mercy (the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world) on her Field Service in West Africa. Call for available dates for any of these teams.

Mercy Teams will customize a Field Service for your particular needs within reason. Please check with the Mercy Teams Director for more information.

As you anticipate your Field Service, we ask you to remain AFT—adaptable, flexible, and teachable. This will ensure a successful and satisfying experience for you.

How Is a Team Organized?

Mercy Teams Field Service coordinators and team leaders request a minimum of 10-12 weeks for team-building and preparation. This allows time to receive applications, do a risk assessment, handle any visa/passport/fee-processing issues, communicate with the host receiver, and prepare the project. It also provides an opportunity to address spiritual and cultural issues.

All team members are required to have completed applications received in our offices at least two months in advance of the trip date. Mercy Teams offers two levels of service.

Both levels normally include a day of sight-seeing and market opportunities, allowing you to more fully experience the culture.

Level One:

Accommodations are in a secure and comfortable hotel with air-conditioning. Single team members share rooms with same gender members, but married couples usually have their own rooms. Meals are served in established restaurants. Safe drinking water is always available.

Level Two:

Accommodations are usually at the host organization’s facilities. Meals are shared together in a cafeteria-style arrangement with host staff. Menus are usually local dishes, prepared by employed workers. Safe drinking water is always available. Sleeping quarters may be dorm-style bunks, where men are housed in one dorm and women are housed in another dorm.

Special Guidelines for Youth

If a participant under the age of 18 desires to serve on a Field Service without a parent or guardian, the team leader has the authority to accept or decline. This determination will be made after the application process and after an interview by the Mercy Teams Director.

If the team is primarily a youth team under the age of 18, one adult is required for every four minors. These adults would be from the sending entity, and at least one or all adults would be required to be the legal guardian(s).

Mercy Teams • phone: (903) 939-7111 • email: mercyteams@mercyships.org