Frequently Asked Questions
Question: I read the FAQ's I don't know if they really answer what my dad wanted to know... He was just kind of wanting to know specifically if there were going to be certain jobs that we would get ...I think he was just concerned about my safety (like if we'd be out on fishing boats or something I don't know, I think he thought that was dangerous). And he just wanted to make sure that I'd make enough money to pay for college next year because I have to pay half and then my parents pay half (they haven't let any of us kids take out loans so as to keep us from going into debt).
A majority of the students on the Delta Project will work at a Wal-Mart type of jobs. The jobs we work are not glamorous, and by nature they are not dangerous. This summer guys will work at gift shops, lumber stores, Fred Meyer (the Wal-Mart of Alaska), and at restaurants. Because of the limited hours we are willing to work this summer, employers in the tourism and fishing industry are not willing to hire us. Typically the tourism and fishing jobs require you to work six or seven days a week from morning until late evening. On the Delta Project the 32-hour work week is on the days of Monday-Thursday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Many jobs available to you this summer will pay around $10 per hour. We cannot guarantee your wage. That is up to the employer, and the job you take for the summer. However a majority of the students on past projects have received around $10 per hour---depending on the job you can receive more, and you can receive less.
A student working at $10 per hour for 32 hours a week will receive $320 per week before taxes.
We recommend that you raise your support if you are on the Delta Project this summer to cover your Project expense and personal expenses. You are going to Alaska as a missionary. You will spend your summer reaching out to people. Your job site is not just a place to make money so you can stay in school, it will be a place where you believe God to use you in the lives of your co-workers and employers. If you raise your support you'll be able to take the income you make this summer home to use for your college expenses.
You may raise support to cover your Project expense of $2700. In addition, you may raise support to cover the cost of your trip up and back from Juneau. Also, you may raise support to cover your personal expenses during the summer of up to $1100.
Question: Is everyone required to work a paying job this summer?
No. If a guy is in a position where he does not need to earn cash this summer, he does not have to work a paying job. However, all students are required to work 32 hours every week during the days of Monday-Thursday. Students who choose not to work a paying job will go to work in for local ministry on job sites like the Salvation Army to work with kids, volunteering with Love, Inc a ministry that helps people in need in Juneau, or working under the ministry of a local church. If a student desires to work a volunteer service job, they must first demonstrate they have sufficient cash on hand at the beginning of the summer to pay their expenses during the summer. The $2700 Project fee does not cover food, or personal expenses. Support can be raised to cover the $2700 cost of the Project, travel expenses to Juneau, and daily per diem of up to $1100 for the summer. If a student starts a job and makes a commitment to spend the summer working for an employer, he may not quit the job half-way through the summer and switch over to a volunteer service job.
The majority of the students on our Project will work paying jobs to earn cash for their summer personal and school expenses. However, we want to leave the door open for students who are in a position financially to treat the summer like an International Summer Project where a student does not work a paying job and does not earn cash during the summer. Regardless if a student works a paying job or volunteers this summer we are going to Juneau as missionaries to the lost and hurting---to will believe God to use us in the lives of our co-workers and people around us.
Question: Will the Juneau Men's Project be co-ed?
No. We are a men's project. All of the students on the Juneau Men's Project are men. From the beginning of our Project in 2004, each summer we've always had women on our staff----the wives of our staff men. As men we need women in our lives. There is a level of dysfunction that will take place in our lives and on our Project if we did not have women around us for 11 weeks. We are not looking for guys to come on the Delta Project who want to get away from women for the summer. We want men who are willing to serve and be a blessing to the women God brings into their lives. This summer we have no staff wives on our Project but will have 2 to 5 amazing women on our staff who will give leadership to the Juneau Project---an outreach to high school and college students. Our staff women will disciple, train, and mentor students from Juneau, and will be with our project each day as we share our faith and believe God for launching movements in Juneau.
Question: How will we share our faith this summer? What will that look like?
One of the primary values on this project is evangelism. We realize that some may come to this project with plenty of experience or perhaps very little in telling others about what Jesus Christ has done for us all. We desire are men who show up willing to take radical risks for others to hear the Good News. To paraphrase the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 5, men on this project who know what it is to fear the Lord will try to persuade others as Christ’s ambassadors to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and have eternal life in heaven. We want to infect the communities of Southeast Alaska with the gospel lived and the gospel spoken. In other words, we want to not only speak the gospel and the truth of who Jesus Christ is; we want to live it as well by loving each other and reaching out to love the lost into a relationship with Christ.
What will this look like? It will first of all only happen through the Holy Spirit working in and through us, and through prayer, faith and action. Just as Jesus could do nothing by himself, “he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does,” (John 5) we will trust by faith that through prayer and the Holy Spirit, God will reveal to us what He is doing in Southeast Alaska and we will do the same. We will be risking much and putting our hearts on the line by entering into other people’s lives and investing in them. Student’s greatest opportunities to share their faith in Christ will likely come through the relationships they will have with their co-workers. We want to truly befriend our co-workers not just solicit the gospel to them. Their trust in us will open the door for Christ’s love, kindness, forgiveness and redemption to become clear to them.
We also want to show the entire community of Juneau and other communities in the area that God truly loves them and Christ died for them to forgive their sins and reconcile them to God. In addition to the close relationships with individuals, we want to proclaim the Gospel loud and clear for everyone. We are working on putting together several big projects and opportunities for the name of Jesus Christ to be spread in amazing ways. These will require a unified Body of Christ in Juneau, and we are working to unite churches and other groups—even non-Christians—to come together to serve the community so that Christ will be glorified.
In summary, by the Holy Spirit’s power and through prayer, faith, and undaunted courage and boldness we will be taking the initiative to share the gospel with our co-workers and other friends, the community at large in radical God-glorifying ways, and to anyone that God presents to us with an opportunity to lead them closer to a relationship with Christ. All training will be provided. All that is required is a heart willing to fall more in love with Jesus and share that love with others regardless of obstacles or personal fears.
Question: I am interested in the upcoming summer project to Alaska. God has laid Alaska on my heart for some reason and I would like to find out more information such as the activities we would do there, jobs, outreach, etc.
That’s awesome that God has laid Alaska on your heart. I can tell you it is an amazing place—God has used Alaska and the people there to bless and change my life and allow me to be a blessing to others in His name. There is no other place like Southeast Alaska!
The Juneau Project is like most stateside projects in that you can get a job, and on this project you can also choose to volunteer in the community (you have to work a job or volunteer 32 hours a week). You are allowed to work Monday through Thursday. There are great jobs available in Juneau which is a cruise ship and tourist destination. In the past guys have worked at gift shops downtown, lumber supply and hardware stores, Fred Meyer (the equivalent of Wal-Mart), restaurants, tour operators, etc. There is usually no problem finding a job in Juneau during the summer and the great thing is that most jobs pay at least $9-10 per hour which makes it equivalent to working 40 hours a week at most jobs in the lower 48 states.
The reason we limit students to 32 hours a week Monday through Thursday is because we have so much other stuff to do! This summer will be like no other—we will really be serving the community in some radical ways. We will also be going to Native American villages and islands to serve those communities. Our project is officially a men’s project, but there will be some amazing women of God serving along side us and interacting with us throughout the summer. Our goal is to trust God and by faith launch dozens of movements of Christ-centered people across the city which will continue long after we leave.
This project will challenge you wherever you are at spiritually—in evangelism, discipleship, being authentic, entering into the lives of other men, servant-leadership, taking risks for God’s glory. There will also be other great challenges—we’re in Alaska. There are dozens of trails and mountains, you will get to experience being on the water many times and seeing all kinds of ocean wildlife, the fishing is world class, and you’ll probably get to see a brown bear or two. During our Manhood Development and Action Group times is when we will experience much of what Alaska has to offer. You don’t have to be avid at any of these things to enjoy this project—just come with an open heart, mind, and a strong pair of legs.
One of our values on this project is to never be alone—spiritually and physically. This is why we strongly encourage guys that want to apply to recruit someone else from their campus to come with them. This would be especially important for you if are from a campus not located in the Midwest. We don’t want you to go home without someone to share these memories with and experience life together after being on this project.
Question: What is the best way to get to Juneau? Is it better to drive or to fly?
There are two ways to arrive in Juneau; by air or by sea. Juneau is surrounded by ice fields and glaciers and there are no roads leading to Juneau. There are 10-15 flights that arrive in Juneau each day from Seattle and Anchorage via Alaska Airline. Roundtrip tickets from the Midwest generally will run you between $600-$750.
If you are driving to Juneau, you'll want to book passage in advance for your vehicle on the four-hour ferry that runs between Skagway, Alaska and Juneau once each day.
Students who drive to Alaska will experience what is for many a once-in-a-lifetime experience of driving the Alaska Highway (ALCAN). Typically the drive takes around 56 hours of driving time from the Midwest. Every single Juneau Men's Project alumni who has driven to Alaska lists the drive up to Juneau as one of the highlights of their summer. It's absolutely amazing.
Drivers who bring their vehicles to Juneau and use them during the Project will receive a $150 discount from their $2700 Project fee, and for the most part will not pay for gas during the Summer Project. The city borough of Juneau is located on a 40 mile narrow stretch of land carved out from the mountains that in many places drop into the sea. Our Project housing is on the campus of the University of Alaska - Southeast, located around 15 miles from downtown, and 5 miles from the nearest grocery store. A city bus runs once each hour near the campus that students without vehicles can take to get to work.
In March we will connect Delta Project students with each other. Each project participant is responsible for arranging their own transportation and arriving in Juneau on May 23, 2007 anytime before midnight. Project registration will take place on the morning of May 24th.
Question: Do I need a passport?
If you are flying to Juneau from the lower 48 you do not need a passport. If you are driving to Juneau, starting on January 2007 you will need a passport. It's impossible to drive to Alaska without driving through Canada. Our U.S. government now requires every person entering the USA to have a passport. For information on applying for a U.S. passport click here.
Question: My school does not get out until May 25th. Does that disqualify me from being able to apply if cannot arrive by the 23rd?
Absolutely not, however you need to know that on the 24-26th of May our Project training and orientation will take place that will contain critical information for you to know in order to have a successful summer. One option is to talk to your professors in advance to arrange to take the finals scheduled on Thursday or Friday early.
We want students on the Delta Project who are some of the top emerging leaders on their campuses in the country who have the desire to take what they've learn during the Summer Project back to their campuses to launch movements. If through coming on this project will result in eternity being impacted by your returning to your campus after the summer to launch movements that reach people, and if you need to arrive a day late, drop us an email and let's work out the details.
Question: Why is the project this year called the Delta Project?
The term "Delta" originates from the Allied Signals Book. Signals are sent as letters and/or numbers, which have meanings by themselves sometimes or in certain combinations. The widely known alphabet from Alpha Bravo to Yankee Zulu is used for spelling things out over voice links, and the term analogy alphabet is used.
In 2004 the first Juneau Men's Project named the Alpha Project, began a legacy by seeing college men come together in Juneau, Alaska for the purpose of building a foundation to walk with God and be ambassadors for Christ for a lifetime. Lives in Juneau were impacted for eternity, but that was only the beginning. The years of 2005 and 2006 brought the Bravo and Charlie Projects to Juneau. Our 2007 Project is our 4th Project----named Delta representing 4th letter in the alphabet.
Subsequent years will bring the Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, and Zulu Projects to Juneau.
Question: I really feel like God is leading me to apply to the Juneau Summer Project. I just had a few questions about the application process. Is there a deadline for applications? Are applications viewed on a first come first serve basis or are they all viewed equally if they are submitted by the first deadline?
We will accept applications for our Summer Project until our project is full. Typically our project is full by mid-February.
The deadlines for hearing back after we receive applications are as follows:
12/10 - First application deadline. (Students will hear back by 1/28)
1/24 - Second application deadline. (Students will hear back by 2/28)
2/24 - Third application deadline. (Students will hear back by 3/28) Students can still apply after the third deadline.
Students must have everything, including references, submitted in order to meet a deadline.
We process each application individually and look for students who are a good fit for our Project, and we look for guys who we sense the project would be a good fit for them personally.
Students who submit their applications and have their references completed by the deadline dates above will receive an answer one way or the other by the dates listed above. Students applying by the first deadline of December 10th have much greater chance of receiving a slot on our Project. By the 2nd deadline we typically have many more applications that we receive than we have slots on our Project.
Question: I have been checking out different summer projects and I feel that the Lord may be leading me in the direction of the Juneau Project. My question for you is, how do I get a job there if I decide to go? Are there any rules on when you can work or could you have a nine to five job? Can you try to set something up before you actually get there? The reason I ask these things is that I would consider trying to find some type of summer internship at an engineering firm, but I would need to have it planned out well in advance. Or it would also be fun to try and set up another job at something unique to the location (e.g. helper on a fishing boat). What do most students typically do to find summer jobs? I am just curious to see how this would all work out.
I'm glad you are considering going on a Summer Project and it's great to hear God might be leading you in the direction of applying for our Juneau Summer Project. If you sense God is leading you be a part of our Juneau Summer Project this summer, I encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We have only 35 slots on our project this summer for students, and will most-likely have over 100 guys apply. The best way to receive a slot is to apply early.
In Juneau you will find numerous opportunities for employment this summer. The days students on our Project are free to work are Monday-Thursday. On those days you may work as many hours as you desire, but you'll need to be home no later than 6:00-6:30 p.m. (The commute time between our Project housing and most of the jobs in Juneau is 15-35 minutes).
No doubt there could be numerous opportunities for doing an internship this summer with a firm, but you'll need to line this up in advance and make sure your employer is ok with you working only on the days of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
There are endless jobs to work in the tourism and fishing industry in Juneau. This past year we had guys working as rafting guides and took tourists on rafting trips each day they worked. However, on the 2007 Delta Project we have reduced the number of working days to four, and this will most-likely cut out opportunities to work in the tourism and fishing industry.
In Juneau the cruise boats come arrive in port every day of the week and bring over one million tourists to Juneau each summer. Many of the jobs relating to the tourism industry require their employers to work as many 80-90 hours a week. This is a great way for a college student to make a lot of money. However the reason we are going to Juneau this summer is not to make a lot of money. Students on the Delta Project at a minimum receive over $10 per hour at the job they work. For the most part the jobs we work will not be glamorous. In past years we've worked at tee shirt and gift shops downtown, lumber yards, and in stocking shelves in grocery stores where we are surround by numerous people that we can step into their lives each day while we work.
The majority of the students on the Delta Project will work 32 hours a week and through making a minimum of $10 per hour, will receive a gross income of $320 per week. The Delta students who choose to work ten weeks this summer at a minimum of $10 per hour will have a gross income of $3200. I cannot specifically speak for other Summer Projects around the USA, but for the most part students on other projects work 40 hours a week at minimum wage or slightly above the minimum wage. If a student on another project worked 40 hours at $7 per hour their gross income would be $320 per week.
Each student on the Juneau Summer Project is responsible for securing their own job. We've had three Summer Projects in Juneau in past years and have very positive reputation in the community. This past year one employer offered to hire everyone on our project at slightly less than $11 per hour. In the months leading up to the Delta Project, we will post the contact information for employers who contact us to ask for employees from our Project. You are free to line up a job in advance, or secure a job when you arrive in Juneau. If there is a specific job you want, I suggest doing a Google search for employers in Juneau and contacting the employer in advance.
Question: I am interested in going on a summer project this summer. Most students from my campus go to Ocean City, NJ or Myrtle Beach for their summer projects; however I feel that is not the case for me. When I read about the Men's Project in Juneau I get really excited and yearn to go. However, when I express this excitement to go to Alaska with peers and some staff they encourage me to go to Ocean City instead. Many students are able to describe to me in detail what the summer project is like and I'm told why I should go there. Discipleship and training are a major aspect of Ocean City, which is something I feel I might be interested in.
I know the two projects have different ministry focus; Juneau is "College Campus/Launching spiritual movements" where as Ocean City is "Beach/Resort community". My question for you is what can I expect from a summer project in Juneau? Will the project be mostly focused on others and people within the community, will I have the opportunity to be discipled and taught? Will I be challenged and trained by staff and to what degree? I've read both of the websites describing the projects; it was enough to get me very interested, but not enough to clear up all of my questions.
I'm so glad you are thinking, praying, and out going on a Summer Project. Not for a second will I try to talk to out of going on the Myrtle Beach or New Jersey Summer Projects. Both are incredible opportunities to invest your summer. I've been on the staff of the Myrtle Beach project twice and loved every second of being there. In addition, the director of Myrtle Beach is a great friend of mine.
The 32 student men on the Juneau Summer Project-Delta Project will have a summer where they are equipped to be missional Christ-centered laborers. How that sorts out is that each student and staff will be involved in both sharing Christ around them, and experiencing launching movements in the community that will be reaching people and impacting lives long after the summer is over.
Students on the Delta Project will be personally discipled in the context of the group of men around them. Each student will live with 4 other students and one Delta staff person in an apartment on the University of Alaska-Southeast campus. These living groups will be our Action Groups where a staff person will both live and step into the lives of the men in the group.
Students on the Delta Project will be available to work on Monday-Thursday with Project activities taking place each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings. Half of the Friday and Saturday's will be times for the Action Groups to be together to hike and camp in the wilderness, or up a mountain to spend time together. Personal discipleship will take place in the context of the Action Group. The other half of the Friday-Saturday weekends will be spent with your Action Group serving in a remote Native American island community or sharing Christ in the community of Juneau on an Extreme Makeover weekend where we pull together many of the churches in Juneau to both serve and impact the community for Christ.
Our Delta Schedule each week is as follows:
Monday evening: Delta Project meeting and training
Tuesday evening: Manhood Development
Wednesday evening: Juneau Project outreach meeting
Thursday evening: Action Group meeting
Friday: Juneau Project Outreach/Wilderness time with Action Group
Saturday: Community Outreach/Wilderness time with Action Group
Sunday: Church/Free afternoon and evenings
The Delta Project will be constantly reaching out to others to share our faith, and launch Life Transformational Group movements. Our goal is to see 35 movements launched this summer. Discipleship will take place in the context of our Action Groups with a Delta staff person who lives with each student and steps into his life. Delta students will be constantly challenged, and the relationships of the 40 men on the Project in many cases result in deep friendships will last a life-time.