Serve On The Field

Each year more than 3200 career and short-term volunteers give of their time and talent to serve with Mercy Ships on our ship, with a land-based team or in one of our national offices. Please feel free to contact us at the Mercy Ships Canada office if you have questions regarding volunteering with Mercy Ships.

Send an Email to Mercy Ships Canada or call toll-free 1-866-900-7447

Go to the Mercy Ships International website for current positions.

Canadians accepted to serve with Mercy Ships MUST read the IMPORTANT INFO FOR CANADIANS page to follow Canadian protocol and policies for fundraising, tax receipts, flights, etc.

Mercy Ships offers a wide variety of opportunities for those who want to volunteer for a short term. Each year, more than 1200 people use their holidays, summer vacations, sabbaticals, leaves of absence, Christmas or spring breaks, or some of their retirement time to help bring hope and healing to the poor through Mercy Ships.

To volunteer with Mercy Ships on a short-term basis (two weeks to one year), please fill out the application form and send to our International Operations Center in Garden Valley, TX.

To serve in a career capacity with Mercy Ships, (two years or longer) you must first successfully complete our requisite training program. At this time, most career positions are self-funded or non-salaried.

For information about the requisite Gateway three-month training program for career service, please contact the Mercy Ships International office by calling toll-free 1-800-424-7447.

Have you, your church, or another organization considered a mission trip?  Would you like to make a lasting impact, but you have only a limited amount of time available? Well, Mercy Teams is for you! We provide meaningful, customized, short-term field service opportunities for churches, schools, civic organizations and groups.  You can work alongside our state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, or with our ministry partners in Haiti.

It can be a daunting task to design, set up, and execute an effective field service for your own group. However, by partnering with Mercy Teams, everything is planned and put in place for you. And you will be in very capable hands! Mercy Teams is accredited by the United States Standards of Excellence (SOE). Only 31 organizations have received this coveted SOE certification. The requirements assure that each participant’s short-term mission experience will be professionally managed according to industry standards.

There are two types of teams. An Organized Team is composed of volunteers from one sponsoring location, such as a church, university, company or service club. An Open Team is made up of individuals, couples, or families who may not know each other previously, but they come together to form a mission team. 

Opportunities for service are currently available in West Africa and Haiti. Please go to the Mercy Teams page on our international website to check out the latest team activities and proposed trips.

For more information contact mercyteams[at]mercyships.org. 

Mercy Ships is a global charity following the 2000-year-old model of Jesus and serving people of all faiths. We welcome volunteers who have a willingness to serve and to put the needs of others above their own to demonstrate the love of God to the poor.

Certain factors, such as serious health issues, may contra-indicate service with Mercy Ships in field locations. Those who do not qualify to serve on the field or onboard a ship may find opportunity to serve in the International Operations Center or one of our national support offices.