Dublin Ireland

Since the time of St. Patrick, Ireland has strongly identified with the Christian faith and the Catholic Church. Recent decades, however, have seen a major shift. Ireland now has one of the highest rates of “convinced atheists” per capita of any English-speaking country. Even those who’d check “Christian” on a census form are increasingly unlikely to have any real personal connection with faith or church.

While church attendance has fallen significantly in Ireland since the 1970s, other rates such as drug addiction and suicide have climbed to among the highest in Europe. Amid all the hopelessness, we see light in the small percentage of Christ-following, disciple-making believers who are active in Dublin. Will you come shine your light here, too?

When you serve in Ireland with Group International Mission Trips, you’ll work alongside local people who are making a difference. As you experience a culture that has largely renounced Jesus, you’ll discover why everyone needs him desperately. And in the process, your own faith will grow.

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How You’ll Serve

Opportunities to serve the people of Ireland are extensive and diverse. The goal is to address and meet practical needs while building relationships and sharing the gospel. As the people of Dublin become more and more disillusioned with “religion,” our mission is simply to bring people closer to Jesus. 
Our projects, coordinated by local groups, involve many different types of service. Here are examples of the types of projects you might be involved with:

• An evening outreach to homeless people and addicts, with referrals to a Christian rehabilitation program
• Preparing and serving food at a homeless outreach
• Ministry to inner-city children and families, including after-school care, a Bible program, and summer camps
• Ministry to working families, including small-group discipleship and summer camps
• Outreach to families whose children have special needs
• Outreach to retirees, including spiritual discussion along with tea and coffee
• Various work projects in different environments
• Camp ministry serving people from all parts of the city
• Retreats for recovering addicts
• Music ministry
• VBS
• Prayer-walking through the city

Our Partners

We lean on local experts in churches and nonprofits to point us to places we can help most. We work primarily with missionaries whose hearts were touched while spending time in Dublin in 2014. In a short period of time, they saw the strong contrast between the beautiful old churches and the sense of despair among the people walking around them. This challenged their notion of Ireland as a Christian nation, and they heard Jesus calling them to become involved.

Dorine is a mental-health professional with an emphasis on children, families, and addiction. She’s drawn to hopeless, hurting, and overlooked people. Ben is a musician, woodworker, and small-group leader with a heart for God’s Word. The couple have four children—Becca, David, Maya, and Ezekiel.

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