CBU embarks on service projects around the world

Riverside, Calif. (May 12, 2026) — By the end of June, California Baptist University will have sent over 6,000 students on International Service Project (ISP) trips since they began in the late 1990s. 

In 1997, Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, president of CBU, initiated the program to further exemplify the university’s commitment to the Great Commission. This program sends groups of students, faculty and staff overseas to serve alongside missionaries for an upward of eight weeks. 

“The heart of International Service Projects is to help participants grow as great commission-Christians who follow Jesus into the world with Christlike character, cross-culture humility and a lifelong commitment to God’s global mission,” said Jacob Ravenscraft, dean of Spiritual Life. 

ISP offers two tracks for students — Immersion and Encounter. While both travel overseas and partner with field-workers, Encounter teams go for two to three weeks while Immersion teams spend up to eight weeks abroad. In the latter, all of these trips are student-led. 

This summer, 280 participants making up 35 teams will go to a total of 21 countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and North and South America. The first teams left April 30, and the last ones leave June 16. 

During CBU’s spring semester, teams learn various skills specific to their location and trip length. For example, the Southern Europe Immersion team learned to map out a city, identifying key locations within the community. They also learned about the culture they’re entering, basic language skills and heard stories from field-workers, said Allison Nordquist, an elementary education junior. 

Before each team departs, they meet at CBU’s Kugel, a granite globe that rotates, in the center of the Great Commission Plaza. Teams, along with friends and family, pray for the safety of those traveling and those they will meet and minister to on the trip.  

Gathering in this space and looking at the globe is a reminder of all who haven’t heard the Gospel yet, said Ravenscraft. Inscribed at the base of the Kugel is Matthew 28:19-20, which commands followers of Jesus to make disciples of all nations.  

“I’m praying that the Lord would open the hearts of the people we’re going to meet,” said Sarah Dever, a kinesiology and philosophy junior going to Southern Europe. “If seeds have already been planted in the people’s hearts, I’m praying that we can water those seeds.” 

For many students, this is their first time on a mission trip. While these trips minister to communities across the world, they also spark a calling in students' lives. 

“Students really discover more of God’s heart for the nations, and they come home more excited about what’s next for them,” said Noah McCarthy, an ISP leader going to Southern Europe.