Frequently asked questions…

If you are a first-time Trinity Bible College and Graduate School student, then you are able to apply for Pack Your Bags. Click here to begin the application process. You will be asked to fill out a survey asking you a variety of questions from religious beliefs to personal preferences. This will help us better understand what track would be the best fit for you. After you complete the application, you will hear from one of us soon. From there, the most adventurous year of your life is about to begin!

No, you would not be overseas for eight months. Our international trip is a four to five-week trip to your destination immediately followed by a 1-2 week tour of Israel or other biblical location. To break it down, this is what your traveling schedule with Pack Your Bags will look like: 

Fall Semester:

Team Building Trip: All Pack Your Bags teams will go to a campground for a team-building trip. This trip gives you an opportunity to get to know your teammates, leaders, and peers better before the year really takes off. There are friendly competitions, bonding games, challenges, and many s'mores to be eaten. 

Reservation Trip: Each Pack Your Bags team will do ministry on a Native American Reservation during the fall. On this trip, we learn how to best serve this community, work together, meet new friends, and engage in a variety of ministry opportunities.

Inner City Trip: Pack Your Bags takes on Chicago/Milwaukee! PYB wants to offer our students as many cultural experiences as possible, and this trip gives our students a look at inner-city life and ministry. We explore the great city of Chicago and enjoy all its ethnic and cultural diversity followed by a few days of learning and ministering with City on a Hill, an amazing ministry based in Milwaukee. 

Spring Semester:

International Trip: After returning from Christmas break, students will come back to campus and have a short time to prepare for the longest trip of the year. Each team will fly out to their international destination and begin their unbelievable experience. Each trip is unique and will be packed with life-changing and incredible experiences and opportunities.

Holy Land Trip: After your time there is up, each team will fly straight to Israel. After hugging all your friends and swapping adventure stories, you will travel around the Holy Land, walking where Jesus walked and where so much of scripture took place. This trip will forever change the way you read the Bible, and truly impact your faith (the endless plates of hummus and falafel are a huge perk too…). During times of political unrest or potential military conflict in Israel, we may opt for a different location of biblical significance in the Mediterranean. Past trips have included Turkey, Greece, and Egypt.

Missouri Trip: Once you arrive back in the states, you will have a few weeks to get over some mild jet-lag and get ready to hit the road again! You will travel to Missouri, with stops in Kansas City, Springfield, MO, and Lake of the Ozarks. We will have various ministry opportunities to share about our travels, tour, and sit down with various departments at Assemblies of God World Missions, Project Rescue, and Convoy of Hope and end at a campground making s’mores once again. 

Move-in is the third weekend in August. Housing is not available before this date unless you qualify for “pre-move in” status. Graduation is the first weekend in May.

Since Pack Your Bags is a program with curriculum and classes through Trinity Bible College and Graduate School, it will follow the traditional academic calendar, which can be found by clicking here.

Once we have received all application items, you will be notified by mail of your acceptance status within two weeks. Since slots are limited for specific tracks, we advise completing the application process swiftly, as Pack Your Bags operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

Yes, that is an incredible bonus for choosing to do Pack Your Bags! Since we are a program that is offered through Trinity Bible College and Graduate School, PYB is able to offer our students accredited college credits. Also, because Trinity is accredited, you may apply for FAFSA and other student-aid options towards your PYB application. There is no other program that can offer this to their students! Learn more about all of our credit options here.

Pack Your Bags students can receive up to two Preview Day ($500) or College Days ($500) scholarships. They can also receive the Early Bird Registration ($250) scholarship. Another scholarship available to students is the Presidential Scholarship, where a student can have up to 90% of their tuition paid. PYB students are eligible for all other Trinity institutional scholarships that meet course load requirements.  Students may also bring in outside scholarships to go toward the cost of Pack Your Bags. We encourage you to seek out scholarships through your district, churches, and organizations. Students may also apply for financial aid through FAFSA as well as fundraise for the travel portion of their tuition costs. Click here for more information about scholarships.

A traditional, full-time job is not recommended due to the travel schedule and workload during the course of the year. However, we do encourage Pack Your Bags students to apply for on-campus and work-study jobs. Students in previous years have been able to use these funds to offset PYB costs, as well as applying for scholarships and FAFSA.

The short answer is: no unless you are already in a relationship before applying for Pack Your Bags. The longer answer: the main goal of Pack Your Bags is giving students a year devoted to discipleship, personal growth, hands-on ministry, and learning opportunities. We try to remove as many distractions as possible, so Pack Your Bags students commit to and sign a commitment choosing to not begin any new dating relationships during their year.

By doing this, Pack Your Bags offers a unique atmosphere where our students can solely focus on discovering who they are as an individual and begin to develop the groundwork in a solid relationship with Jesus Christ. Once all our international travels and ministry opportunities are complete we lift this part of the covenant and encourage students to include their mentors in navigating new relationships. If you plan on doing PYB  and are already in a committed relationship just let us know on your application and we’ll include this in your mentoring meetings. 

We suggest our students consider bringing the following to best succeed throughout the year:

• A laptop: It is highly recommended that students have their own laptop because of some online coursework for our trips.

• A passport: Apply now!

• A durable suitcase/travel bag: With the amount of traveling PYB does over the course of the year, having a reliable travel bag will help you best succeed over the year!

• A “ready-to-grow” attitude: Pack Your Bags will put you in many stretching situations designed to help you grow (one-on-one discipleship, speaking in front of crowds, a high ropes course, etc.) but this will only be a life-changing year if you take on a positive and “ready-to-grow” attitude. 

While on base at Trinity Bible College and Graduate School, students live in dormitories with 1-2 PYB roommates. Room and board for the entire year are included in the cost of the program. On trips, there are different types of living quarters: hotels, hostels, dorms, apartments, and maybe even a tent or two. 

It depends on the credit option that you choose. If you would like to see the classes and credits required for each degree at Trinity, you may browse Trinity's Academic Catalog.