Sending a team from church
Whilst many of our volunteers come out as individuals from a number of churches, we also have a number of camps that are run by a team from one church in the UK. The advantages of having a team from one church are considerable. It means that the mission trip is a team event, it builds up and encourages the UK church and can be the beginning of a relationship between two churches.Please contact us if you would be interested in sending a team from your church.
Next summer will be different as we are only running one camp and therefore please see below for answers relating to both 2019 and 2020 opportunities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Planning 2019
- What are the 2019 dates?
The dates for the ACORNCAMPS “Big Meet” camp are 6th - 14th July 2019; more information can be found here. - Can we consider bringing a group for Summer 2019?
No. Due to the unique nature of the joint camp there will be no opportunity to bring out a new team from a church. Team spaces will be limited, and for those who have been before. However, it would be an excellent opportunity for one or maximum two key leaders to visit the camp, and even maybe take part.
Planning ahead to 2020
About the Team
- How many people would you need?
This depends on the Hungarian church, and how many teenagers they are expecting. Usually the team size is from 5-10 people. - What mix of people would be best? In terms of age / gender?
ACORNCAMPS sees the value in having a varied team in terms of age, experience and gender. It is important that all team members are able to function well together, and work with youth. We have had some 16-18yrs team members, and others over 60 years old. The important thing is that they are experienced and able to work with young people in a cross-cultural setting. Click here for further information. - What skills would the team members need?
The team are expected to run various aspects of the week’s programme for the youth. This includes talks, English lessons and activities. Click here for more information about team members ("References"/"Information for Referees"). - What would the team be doing?
Each short-term mission team partners with a Hungarian church and what they do depends on the church. In some places they put on a whole English youth camp in liaison with the church. On others, the UK team work together with the Hungarians who run more of the programme. In each camp member/s of the UK team will give Bible talks and model expository preaching. Click here for more information about what the camps are like. - Would we need to have a 'designated team leader at our end'? What would they be responsible for?
If the camp is running for the first-time and no-one from the UK church has previous experience of working with ACORNCAMPS then we would provide a Team leader. We would then look for the church to have a programme leader and a speaker. There is help and support provided for both of those roles.
About Practicalities
- What orientation / debriefing would the team get?
We hold a compulsory training day or weekend in Sheffield for all short-term volunteers. Click here for more information. At the end of camp we have a short debriefing time and this is followed up by a feedback form. Guidance is also given to church leaders to help follow up personally with members from their church. We hope to develop this area more in the future. - What costs do you envisage for the team?
All the financial information can be found here. - Would you organise food and accommodation?
All food and accommodation is organised by ACORNCAMPS or the partner church and is included in the price. - Is there scope for multiple teams to go out over the summer period?
Yes. There is no reason why a single church cannot send out more than one team to serve on short-term mission. This could either be simultaneously, i.e. two teams flying out and back on the same dates, but serving with different partner churches; or this could be over two different weeks. Please note: mission weeks do not run on consecutive weeks. Dates are here.
Thinking Bigger
- Can we bring youth members or just 'team' members?
To date we have not run a joint youth camp, but we have talked about it on a number of occasions. We'd be happy to consider this. - Is there scope for teams to go at other times during the year?
The main work of ACORNCAMPS are the summer mission trips. However, we also run Winter/Spring events with our partner churches which are either a weekend or day event(s). We welcome existing/potential team members on all these events. - Do you see this developing as a partnership where the church can send a team every year?
Yes, very much so. We see the value in building on relationships between churches year upon year.