Things You Might Want To Know

What Is Messenger?

Messenger is a summer long international mission and internship experience for Annex students. It is an opportunity for students to step out of their comfort zone, serve others and grow their faith. Messengers sign up without knowing where they will be going, what they will be doing or who their teammates will be. They trust God and the Messenger Committee to select their location, trip purpose and team. The Messenger Committee is composed of former Messengers as well as adults in our church with extensive missions experience. The Messenger Program began in 1989, and since then we have sent 341 students all over the world. We believe that Messenger is one of the most life-changing, transformative decisions any college student can make.​

What Is Our Vetting Process?

Paramount in our decision making process is the safety of our Messengers. We trust God to protect our students while abroad, and employ practiced safeguards and processes to minimize risks. Our committee considers not only the physical safety of the Messengers but also the emotional toll a trip can take. We aim to place students in positions that offer the most personal growth and outward impact, while simultaneously being safe. Every location considered by our committee must be approved by the University of Colorado (which provides insurance and emergency procedures) as well as being a 1 or 2 on the U.S. State Department travel advisory rating.​ Our committee is in direct communication with our mission group partners abroad and remain so throughout the entire process and trip.

List of Potential Locations

Cape Town, South Africa
​Oahu, Hi, U.S.A.
Sri Lanka 
Shiroles, Costa Rica
San Ignacio, Belize
Siete, Belize
​Namibia
​Kalamyo, Myanmar
Banyoles, Spain

Puerto Rico
Bangkok, Thailand
Manila, Phillipines
Marseille, France
Saskatoon, Canada
Vancouver, Canada
​Oman
​Albania
​Mexico City, Mexico

Note: During the application process all parents will be asked to mark which locations they are comfortable with their kids being sent, and locations they are not comfortable with.

Financial Matters

Messenger does require a financial investment. Not only does the trip cost money, but our students are sacrificing the ability to make money during their summer break. Despite these hurdles Messenger has thrived for over 30 years, and we believe this is because the experiences of a summer spent on Messenger far outweigh the financial cost. Messenger costs about $7000 per student, but the church raises and covers half of the cost, meaning each student is responsible for $3500. Most students successfully fundraise most if not all of this amount through different fundraising strategies. Part of our training process is coaching our Messengers on fundraising.