Meaningful ministry
Take on real, supervised responsibilities that contribute to the team’s ministry and the local church.
Missionary Apprenticeships
Go Deeper.
Serve Longer.
Discover What’s Next.
Meaningful missionary service. Cross-cultural training. A team to walk with you. Spend one to two years learning, serving, and discerning your long-term calling.
02 Why Apprentice?
Time to put down roots.
Space to grow.
Move beyond a first glimpse of missionary life. Learn the language, share everyday life, and contribute to the ongoing work of a field team—while discerning what faithful service could look like for you. Our one-year Missionary Apprenticeship can also serve as a great gap year opportunity for college students and recent graduates who want to explore whether God might be calling them to long-term cross-cultural ministry.
Apprenticeship is for individuals, couples, and families at different life stages. It can help you discern longer-term service or provide a supported first term when you are already pursuing a career missionary commitment. A previous internship is not required. Field apprenticeship is a recommended first-term arrangement for new missionaries of any age: learn the language and culture, contribute to meaningful ministry, and serve under experienced missionaries with supervision, mentorship, and ongoing training.
Substantial training
Connect biblical and cross-cultural learning with the people, questions, and experiences of field life.
Personal mentorship
Learn alongside experienced missionaries who help you reflect, grow, and receive feedback.
Mutual discernment
Evaluate your calling and readiness with your church, field team, and To Every Tribe.
The whole pathway—including onboarding and pre-training, the initial field experience, and preparation period at home—normally fits within one to two years.
03 Your Apprenticeship Journey
One pathway.
Seven thoughtful steps.
A one- to two-year apprenticeship, with room for preparation, honest evaluation, and sustained service. Select a stage to explore it.
Connect, Apply, and PrepareBegin with a conversation.
Explore appropriate fields with a mobilizer, involve your local church, and complete the application and preparation process. Bring your questions about calling, experience, and readiness.
Three-Week In-Person Onboarding & Pre-TrainingBuild a foundation for field life.
Receive To Every Tribe orientation and foundational cross-cultural missionary training. Prepare to enter a new community with humility, practical skills, and a clear understanding of the team’s mission.
Six-Week Field ExperienceMeet the people. Share the life.
Join your prospective field team, experience the location and ministry, and begin language and culture learning. Start the three-month Mission Blueprint Cohort while receiving field supervision and coaching.
Return Home and EvaluateDiscern the fit together.
Debrief and assess readiness. You, the field team, and To Every Tribe evaluate whether the longer assignment is appropriate, with your sending church involved in discernment.
Continue Online Training and Raise SupportPrepare for sustained service.
Finish the online cohort and receive support-development coaching while raising the financial support required for extended service. Approximately two months is a planning estimate, not a guaranteed timeline.
Return to Field for Extended ServiceGo deeper in learning and ministry.
Approved apprentices return to their field team for sustained ministry, language and culture learning, ongoing online training, and supervised responsibilities shaped by the field’s needs.
Final Evaluation and Next StepsDiscern your next faithful step.
Reflect on your development with the team and your church. Discern a possible career commitment, continued service after a first term, further training, or another next step. Continued placement involves mutual discernment and approval.
04 Experience the Field First
Begin with six weeks
alongside the team.
Experience your prospective field before committing to the longer assignment. Get to know the team, the community, and the realities of daily life.
Begin language and culture learning, participate in supervised ministry, and start the three-month Mission Blueprint Cohort with coaching and support.
Then pause and discern.
Return home for debriefing and a readiness assessment. You, the field team, and To Every Tribe consider the fit together. Continuing to extended service is a shared decision, not an automatic next step.
05 Three-Week Onboarding & Pre-Training
Prepare to enter
as a learner.
Three weeks of in-person onboarding and pre-training are part of apprenticeship preparation. This introduces To Every Tribe life and foundational cross-cultural missionary essentials, with guidance from the Training Department.
Know the Mission
Explore TET’s vision and values, leadership, finances, reporting relationships, sending churches, Regional Approach, and Eight Phases.
Learn to Cross Cultures
Practice cultural humility, language learning, communication, checking assumptions, careful observation, and faithful contextualization.
Prepare for Missionary Life
Develop habits of spiritual maturity, teamwork, realistic expectations, biblical conflict resolution, resilience, support raising, and field preparation.
06 Life as an Apprentice
Learn the language.
Share the life.
Serve the work.
An illustrative rhythm, shaped by your field team and local ministry. Learning, relationships, rest, and supervised service belong together.
Mornings / Language & culture
Protect time to listen, practice language, observe everyday life, and learn from local people.
Afternoons / Field ministry
Contribute to the team’s ongoing work through responsibilities matched to your development and the field’s needs.
Scheduled / Training & mentoring
Make room for cohort learning, ongoing online training, coaching, prayer, and reflection with your supervisor.
07 Learn While You Serve
Keep growing.
Keep putting it into practice.
The three-month Mission Blueprint Cohort begins during your six-week field experience and continues after you return home. Finish the cohort while preparing for extended service.
Ongoing missionary training continues during extended service through To Every Tribe’s online training platform, connecting learning with real ministry.
Explore the Mission Blueprint Cohort01
Biblical Foundations
02
Language Acquisition
03
Culture and Contextualization
04
Church Planting
05
Team and Character
06
Missionary Development
08 Never Serving Alone
Sent by a church.
Serving with a team.
Field supervision
Serve under field leadership with clear responsibilities, feedback, and accountability.
Coaching & mentoring
Process what you are learning with experienced missionaries and receive guidance for your next steps.
Your sending church
Keep your church involved in prayer, discernment, encouragement, and accountability throughout the journey.
09 Find Your Field
Explore where you
could serve.
Explore apprenticeship roles and talk with a mission mentor about fit. These apprenticeship descriptions have been reviewed. A listed role does not confirm a 2027 placement, start date, or available space.
10 apprenticeship roles
Goroka, Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea
Ministry Apprentice (Youth Focus)
This role is designed for a new missionary seeking on-field mentorship from veteran workers.
Apprenticeship option · Confirm placement details
Explore the RoleNo roles match your search.
Clear your filters or talk with a mobilizer about your interests.
Talk with a mission mentorHave another field in mind? Let’s explore it together. Internship locations are not automatically apprenticeship openings.
Talk with a mission mentor10 Financial Preparation
Prepare the support
that sustains the work.
Support-funded salary and approved expenses, with an individualized budget.
Salary begins during the initial six-week field experience at the rate established in the apprentice’s individual support budget.
Salary continues during the preparation and support-raising period at home, provided sufficient support funds are available.
Raise the approved costs and salary for the initial six-week stage before departure. Extended-service support is raised later.
Full approved monthly support and remaining one-time costs must be raised before returning for extended service.
Approximately two months at home is a planning estimate; actual timing depends on readiness and support.
11 Who Is This For?
A teachable spirit.
A willingness to stay.
This pathway is for people exploring sustained cross-cultural service who want to learn, contribute, and discern with others.
Bring your questions about experience, household needs, and readiness to a mobilizer. Eligibility and field-specific qualifications are confirmed through the application process.
Talk with a mission mentor- A desire to grow in biblical faithfulness and spiritual maturity
- Humility to learn language and culture from others
- Willingness to serve under supervision and receive feedback
- Commitment to teamwork, relationships, and the local church
- Readiness to complete training and prepare financial support
12 Where Could This Lead?
A clearer sense of
your next faithful step.
At the end of the apprenticeship, evaluate your development with your field team and church. Consider your language and cultural growth, character, teamwork, ministry contribution, and readiness for what comes next.
If you entered to discern your calling, career missionary service may be a next step. If you began with a career commitment, evaluate your first term and prepare for continued service with your church and team. Further training or another next step may also be appropriate; continued placement involves mutual discernment and approval.
13 Frequently Asked Questions
Good questions.
Honest answers.
How long is the apprenticeship?
The whole pathway—including onboarding and pre-training, the initial field experience, and preparation period at home—normally fits within one to two years.
When does the Mission Blueprint Cohort begin?
The three-month cohort begins during the six-week field experience. It continues after you return home and is completed during your preparation for extended service.
Is the six-week experience the whole apprenticeship?
No. It introduces you to your prospective field and team. After returning home for debriefing and mutual evaluation, approved candidates complete training and raise support before returning for extended service.
Does the field experience guarantee a longer placement?
No. You, the field team, and To Every Tribe evaluate readiness and fit together before approving extended service.
Will I receive training and mentoring?
Yes. The pathway includes three-week in-person onboarding and pre-training, the Mission Blueprint Cohort, field supervision and coaching, and ongoing online training during extended service.
What does it cost?
Support-funded salary and approved expenses, with an individualized budget. Raise the approved costs and salary for the initial six-week stage before departure. Extended-service support is raised later. Full approved monthly support and remaining one-time costs must be raised before returning for extended service.
How long will support raising take?
Approximately two months at home is a planning estimate, not a guarantee. Your preparation period depends on support development, readiness, and approval for your assignment.
Who can apply?
Applicants must be 18 or older and have local-church endorsement and ongoing church involvement. Previous local-church ministry experience is preferred, with readiness assessed individually. Applicant profiles vary by assignment; review the individual role and discern fit with the receiving team.
Where would I live, and who would supervise me?
Housing follows the receiving field’s career-role arrangements, subject to availability. A regular mentoring schedule is agreed with the supervisor before placement. Your designated supervisor and household arrangements are confirmed before placement.
Is this the same as an internship or gap year?
An internship offers a shorter opportunity to learn, serve, and discern. Apprenticeship provides one to two years of supervised learning and service and can also serve as a gap year for college students or recent graduates. Gap year is an application of apprenticeship, not a separate program.
How do I get started?
Talk with a mobilizer. Explore your questions, involve your church, and discuss field fit before entering the application process.
Do I need to complete an internship first?
No. A separate internship is not required. Discern the appropriate preparation and field placement with your church, To Every Tribe, and the receiving team.
Can apprenticeship be my first term as a career missionary?
Field apprenticeship is a recommended first-term arrangement for new missionaries of any age: learn the language and culture, contribute to meaningful ministry, and serve under experienced missionaries with supervision, mentorship, and ongoing training. You can enter with a career commitment while continuing to learn and serve under experienced supervision.
Let’s discern together
Could this be your next step?
Could a field apprenticeship be your next step? Share your story and explore supervised service, preparation, and placement with a mission mentor.
Talk With a Mission MentorNo commitment required. Just a conversation.