About Ministry and Service
| "I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly." John 10:10 |
Azusa Pacific University's ministry and service opportunities launch students on a trajectory toward a lifetime of outreach. In keeping with its 100-year mission to prepare leaders who understand the privilege and necessity of service, APU sponsors numerous local and global programs preparing leaders who are culturally sensitive and proficient in diverse settings.
Locally, students change lives through ministries such as tutoring underprivileged children, visiting weekly with unwed teen mothers, and clearing paths on local mountain trails. Farther from campus, Mexico Outreach participants build on 35 years of cooperation with Mexican churches painting schools, erecting churches, and leading Vacation Bible Schools in parks and neighborhoods throughout Mexicali and Ensenada. Through Focus International, students serve in India, Kenya, Thailand, and many other ministry sites around the globe, learning about different cultures and broadening their experience of God in the world.
The service component of the APU experience assumes an understanding that growing faith is active faith, and active faith involves working alongside others to demonstrate the good news of God's inclusive, empowering love. A student's service may correlate with his or her academic preparation for a chosen profession, or it may be an opportunity to branch out into something altogether different.
The Office of Ministry and Service (M.A.S.) encourages students along this path, providing a catalyst and support to them as they serve others and experience the "more abundant life" that Jesus professed and modeled (John 10:10). Students' involvement in these ministry opportunities satisfies the graduation requirement of 120 credits of ministry and service.
