Well, sort of! If you were secretly hoping to take a stab at a new grapheme structure, aka language, you have come to the right place!

But if you mean learning a new language to fluency so you can join a philosophy club (for ministry purposes of course), then no. The program will start off with a few months of language learning so you can function well in your role. Growing to fluency in your spare time is still on the table if you really do love philosophy.

Have you ever been to one of those fancy seafood restaurants where the menu often says “market price” on it? It’s sort of like that sometimes in the journey of serving overseas. We could give you a ballpark price, but the better answer is that it will likely change based on many factors throughout the process.

You may find that LAUNCH is more expensive than other 2-year programs. There are several reasons for this. One, Europe can be an expensive place to live and do ministry. Another reason is that GEM wants to make sure you are setup for success in all areas of your life, even your future finances, so our fundraising requirements could be higher than others because of this.

Can fundraising really be made easier? Yes! It certainly can! GEM has a great program with fantastic staff to help you through the fundraising process.

The LAUNCH program is a full-time role. It’s for those who are passionate to see the kingdom come. It’s for people who want to gain real experience and develop into lifelong disciples and disciple-makers.

Day-to-day life will look like more than setting up for events or doing the dishes, although you will probably get your hands dirty. Your responsibilities will provide real ministry skill development to set you up for a career in ministry. Day-to-day life in LAUNCH is about developing into a capable ministry professional. Joining LAUNCH means you will bring your devotion to see your context radically transformed as you serve.

Before we answer this question, let’s start by reflecting on what this program is for. This program is for someone passionate about giving a longer season of life to ministry. It’s also for those who want to pursue ministry life for the rest of their lives, and use the LAUNCH experience on their resume, or turn pro in Europe.

That said, there will be opportunities for time off, rest, and recuperation. These opportunities are given for you to be successful in ministry, and avoid burnout, so we do want to value your service and energy level with our policies.

Vacation time and visiting family, or family visiting you, will be handled with your field leader, just like any other role with certain time frames that are more suitable for vacation than others.

We’re committed to helping you experience what life really feels and looks like living overseas. Living overseas can be a joy and a challenge of a lifetime, but those who do rarely want to take it back because of the catalytic experience offers.

We are also committed to providing you professional and spiritual development so you can thrive and produce real ministry fruit. Serving in a new culture and context for an extended period of time almost guarantees that your life will never be the same.  

We’re also committed to providing you professional-level ministry experiences that go beyond sweeping the floors, although you may do some of that too! GEM is committed to giving you exciting (and sometimes—many times—exhausting) opportunities for you to be a living sacrifice and pour your life out for the kingdom in Europe.

If you have served with GEM's Ten2 Project, or done other short-term mission trips, this is quite different. It’s different in length of time, which changes a lot of factors.

Because of the significant time you will be giving to the LAUNCH program, your communication with your field leader will certainly be more robust. It looks more like being on the same team than it does receiving orders from them. It will look more like setting strategy together, than coming in to execute what’s already been laid out for you.

Your field leader has your back and wants to see you succeed and thrive in ministry. Therefore, they want to give you direction, guidance, and oversight to ultimately see Europe transformed hand-in-hand.