Shannon Meador wanted more in her life. A passionate follower of Christ and lover of adventure, working a desk job in central Illinois just wasn’t cutting it, so she went in search of an exciting opportunity that would allow her to serve God.
“I wanted something more, something bigger, something crazier,” Meador says. “As soon as I viewed the World Race website, my search was over. I was called.” She applied on that same visit.
“My life isn’t mapped out by any means, but my life is always facing God and that’s all I need. When you make a plan you limit yourself to what God could be asking you.”
Meador is just one of more than 500 people who have joined the World Race, a program that sends participants seeking adventure, ministry and community across the globe to 11 countries in 11 months.
An Adventures in Missions program, the World Race has been around since 2006 and has planned more than 26 unique routes.
Kim Hillebrand, a World Race mobilizer, says the squads are sent to developing countries and work on a small budget, similar to that of the people who live there. Groups travel to countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and southeast Asia “to see what living in those countries is like.”
Each squad consists of 40-60 participants who work and travel together for 11 months. The squads are divided up into teams of six to seven people who will complete all of their projects together.
To participate in the program, racers must raise between $14,000 and $15,500—depending on their route. Each gets a support coach to help them through.
“We really truly believe that if God is calling them to the World Race, God is going to provide,” Hillebrand explains.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
