Thank you for your interest in applying to serve globally for two years through GoCorps!
Our application process is simple and streamlined. It’s designed to help you and us discern if now is the right time for you to go and, if so, what position is the best fit. The application process will include the following steps:
The Process
- Begin the process of discernment by filling out the online application here.
- Meet on Zoom for a personalized coaching session to help you choose the best placement.
- Invite five people to fill out a reference form on your behalf.
- Complete additional interviews and assessments specific to your location and position while meeting with a GoCorps Coach and working through a process of discernment.
- Meet with and get to know your potential team leader.
- We’ll communicate a hiring decision and then you decide if you want to accept our offer.
Eligibility Quiz
Want to find out if you're eligible to apply for a GoCorps placement this year? Just take our short, 5 question, quiz to get your eligibility results.
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to apply for a GoCorps placement, you must: 1. Be between the ages of 21-30 2. Have either: A. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university OR B. Work and/or education experience that equip you for the track of service you area applying for 3. Be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident.
GoCorps accepts applicants from all academic majors, programs, and professional backgrounds and experiences.
No, you do not need to have a degree to be eligible for a GoCorps placement. If you do not have a degree, you must be at least 20 years old and have work and/or education experience that equips you for the track of service you are applying for.
You don't have to be a graduating university senior to apply. GoCorps is a pathway designed for singles in their 20s. University graduates or those with a combination of work experience and/or education equivalent to a university degree between the ages of 20-29 may apply.
Absolutely. We invite all recent grads (21-29 years old) to apply. Working professionals and graduate students are strongly encouraged to apply.
GoCorps is for young adults in their 20s.
Yes! If you are married (or soon to be married) and you do not have any children, you can be Goers with GoCorps. All of our sending partners require that married couples are married for one year before moving overseas. That means, the best time to apply for a GoCorps placement is in the year after your wedding. (Note: you do not have to be married for a year before you apply. Just before you go.) If you have already been married for more than a year and are in your twenties and are interested in serving through GoCorps, we invite you to apply right away.
For all of our GoCorps positions, you don’t have to be an American citizen to work with GoCorps, but you do have to have a work permit or work visa to work legally in the United States. Even though you’d be based outside of the USA for your two years of service, you would technically be employed by an American NGO. Our partnering organizations are NOT able to secure or sponsor a work visa for you, so potential applicants should ensure they have this in place before they apply.
For each of the GoCorps tracks of service, your motivation, commitment to service, passion for Christ and a posture of humility are the primary requirements. Previous missions and cross cultural experience or Christian service is helpful, but not required. Teamwork, flexibility, and a positive attitude are all important for success overseas. GoCorps offers thirteen different tracks through which you could use your gifts and abilities to serve globally: -Agriculture/Environment -Business -Community Development -Compassion/Justice -Engineering/IT -Languages/Linguistics -Media/Arts -Medical -Ministry -Sports -Teaching -University Outreach -Youth Development
If you are interested in going overseas for a couple years to serve among the global and spiritual poor, then we encourage you to apply. Filling out an application is not a commitment to go. Instead, it is an affirmation that you are open and interested in seeing if serving overseas may be your next step.
The application and interview process is designed to help both you and us discern if serving overseas is a good fit for you in this next season of life. Going overseas and serving in missions is not easy and requires preparation and readiness in a variety of areas. We believe wholeheartedly that the application process with GoCorps will be a very helpful experience to you, either confirming your readiness and calling to serve globally as your next step, or helping you understand other potential next steps.
Yes. GoCorps goers raise their own financial support. Goers receive professional training on how to raise support during the GoCorps Orientation Week and coaching throughout the time they are raising the funds for their placement overseas. By following the GoCorps fundraising process, most goers have their full funding within twelve weeks!
Note: For many people, this is the main deterrent that keeps them from pursuing the type of overseas placements that we list with GoCorps. We completely understand that many of you have questions either to your ability to raise this amount of money or your desire to enter the fundraising process. It is normal to have to have the feelings you're feeling. We simply offer you two things to consider:
1. Of all of the goers we've sent in the past nine years, most have had the same feelings you're feeling, but by the end of the process, most have found that the fundraising process was an exciting, faith-building, call-confirming experience that they would not trade!
2. GoCorps places a high priority on giving all of our goers the best training, materials and coaching available to ensure that their fundraising process will be successful and quick!
Finally - we implore you not to let an aversion to fundraising be the reason why you don't pursue a placement with GoCorps. If you are excited about the idea of serving globally while making a difference and using your degree or a skill-set you have, then don't let fundraising be the reason you don't apply.
There are three steps to the application process:
1. Applicants complete an online application and recommendations. Application deadlines are March 1 for Fall Launch dates and June 1 for Winter launch dates.
2. Applicants participate in further assessment and phone/Skype interview(s). This process takes about 8-10 weeks from start to finish.
3. Applicants that are accepted and given placement assignments are required to attend GoCorps Orientation Week (GoWeek) in the last week of May for Fall launch dates or early September for Winter launch dates.
Our goal is to complete the selection process within 8-10 weeks of receiving the application. This means that two months after we receive an application, the applicant should know if he or she has been offered an overseas placement, placed on the alternate list or not accepted. However, due to the nature of overseas placements, there may be some instances when it may take longer than 8-10 weeks.
All interviews are conducted virtually via Skype or by phone, and most are one-on-one with a team leader or organization representative. An interview generally lasts about 45 minutes. The timing depends on the person interviewing you and how you respond to the questions. The questions will focus on things that will help us determine your commitment to Christ and Biblical truth, interest and willingness to serve in an overseas, team-based service program, flexibility and adaptability, collaboration and accountability and your personal goals. You should respond to the interview questions sincerely and honestly.
The deadlines are March 1 for Fall launch dates and June 1 for Winter launch dates. However, applications are accepted on a rolling basis. So if you’re ready to apply, we recommend applying earlier. You will begin the selection process as soon as you submit an application and are generally notified if you are accepted within 8-10 weeks from that date. The earlier you apply, the earlier you know if you are accepted.
The application is completely online. The application is quite comprehensive because it is designed to help determine if serving overseas through GoCorps is a good fit for you this year. You should expect the application to take you around 3-7 hours to complete. However, you can create an online log-in for our application, which enables you to save your progress and come back to it until it is completed.
Try not to get overwhelmed or stalled in the application process. Keep plugging through and work hard on each stage of the process. It's a lot of work, but we'll be with you from application to overseas. We'll help you get from here to there!
We seek individuals who have a strong Christ-centered world view, demonstrated leadership and achievement in spiritual, academic, professional, extracurricular, or volunteer settings.
GoCorps is not affiliated with a specific denomination. We accept applications from all evangelical backgrounds and our goers have come from a wide variety of denominations, including non-denominational. Please check out our Statement of Faith to see more about what we believe.
First and foremost, all of our sending partners are evangelical Christian mission organizations that are in full agreement with our statement of faith. After this criteria, our process for selecting sending partners starts with looking for organizations that have a strong commitment to reaching the least reached and have a history and reputation of effective ministry, staff and organizational health. As we come into contact with potential partners, first we assess their specific vision and heart for recent grads and for the role of mid-termers; those that make two year commitments that may or may not stay longer. Then we talk about specific teams and locations that might be a fit for recruitment. We partner with organizations that have a strong commitment to developing the Goers and have experience and a desire to work with twenty-somethings. In the process, we go through a series of conversations to determine their readiness to receive new applicants for their mid-term options.
The selection of the specific teams and team leaders that we partner with is just as important to the selection of our organizations. We have ten key criteria that we look for, with the most important being who the team leader is, their giftedness and experience in leadership and on the field.
You will have the opportunity to serve in some of the least reached places of the world, learn skill sets that include language acquisition, cultural sensitivity, leadership development, multi-cultural teamwork and living missionally. Further benefits of GoCorps service include: >> An expedited process to go from application to overseas in less than seven months (versus the average of 18-24 months) >> A single application form that works for all partnering organizations >> Student debt assistance of $5,000
GoCorps is a partnership of leading missions organizations that recruits, trains and sends recent university grads of all majors to serve two year global service placements. GoCorps is a on-ramp to the nations through which recent grads in their 20s can apply and be on the field in six months. Throughout the application and acceptance process, GoCorps coaches assist applicants to determine readiness and which GoCorps’ placement is the best fit. GoCorps is designed to help 20-somethings connect with a strategic overseas placement among the least reached in a way that will use their specific degree, passions and skill-sets.
The world needs a new kind of missionary and 20-somethings are uniquely positioned to answer the call. GoCorps exists to invite a new generation to find their place in God’s global work. Our vision is for it to be the norm for 20-somethings to invest the first two years of their career in God's global work.
Absolutely. All Goers participate in GoCorps Orientation Week (GoWeek) as their first step toward going overseas after they've received their overseas placement assignment. This is where you will receive training in raising your funds and your sending team. You will also receive additional location and track specific training through your sending organization. Once on the field, each GoCorps Goer will receive ongoing training throughout their two years of service.
In some ways, GoCorps is a like a Christian alternative to the Peace Corps. GoCorps is similar to the Peace Corps in that we are recruiting young leaders to serve globally among the poor. Both agencies are committed to service, offering challenging and rewarding full-time service assignments overseas. While Peace Corps volunteers serve for two years in humanitarian positions, GoCorps Goers are placed to serve with teams of other believers for Christian service. GoCorps assignments are full-time for two years with the opportunity to renew after the two years.
In most cases, it is possible for GoCorps goers to host visitors (family and/or friends) while they are serving.
In our first ten years, GoCorps focused on overcoming six barriers that kept young adults of all majors and career interests from involvement in global missions. Currently, GoCorps is seeking to identify and address barriers that are keeping young adults of all backgrounds, including cultural, ethnic and economic, from involvement in global missions. Learn more about our efforts in equity, diversity and inclusion here - https://gocorps.org/EDI