Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work and live among people from cultures that are totally different from your own? Philadelphia’s short-term outreaches offer Christians a life-changing ministry adventure in Africa.

Short-Term Outreaches

What is a Short-term Outreach?

Short-term outreaches are evangelical projects ranging from a few days up to three months undertaken by groups of Christian volunteers. The aim of these outreaches is to support the full-time work in the mission field and at the same time give home-base Christians the opportunity to minister cross-culturally.

Depending on the nature and goals of a specific outreach, activities may focus on evangelism, children’s or youth ministry, leadership training or practical/technical work.
Teams usually depart from Pretoria or Johannesburg (when flying).

LEFT: A team planning the day’s program in camp during a short-term outreach in Zimbabwe.

What do we do on a Short-term Outreach?

Depending on the specific goals and area of an outreach, activities may vary from conventional preaching, film-shows, bible and literature distribution, personal testimonies, dramas and mimes, puppet-shows, street evangelism, sport tournaments and leadership seminars to practical work such as building projects.

LEFT: Team-members Juan Nieuwoudt (left) and Buks Grobler (sitting) during the very effective “Sticky Chair”-drama in a remote village on the East Coast of Madagascar in April 2005.

Of course, the team member’s own experience, training, ministry passion, spiritual gifts, and background can help determine certain activities during an outreach.

Who can join a Short-term Outreach?

Christians, who can testify to being born-again into a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, can apply to join an outreach.

Although individuals with specialized skills and ministry experience is utilized for specific tasks (e.g. teaching, leadership development etc), no previous training or experience is generally required. However, due to the specific and sometimes extreme challenges of some outreaches (such as penetrating deep into the remote mountains of Madagascar’s East Coast by foot), specific requirements (such as physical fitness) may apply to be considered for some outreaches.

In general however, apart from knowing Christ personally, the following “assets” or abilities are what we looking for in team-members:

• Having a heart or burden for those who do not know the love and salvation that Jesus Christ offers;
• Being willing to adapt to different and sometimes very difficult circumstances (physically, mentally and even spiritually)!
• Being willing to sacrifice personal luxuries (often including hot water, soft beds and what most people regard as a “good meal”);
• Having a “servant-attitude” towards other people (both Christians and non-Christians);
• Being part of a congregation, home-cell or other group that can provide prayer-support to the individual and team before, during and after the outreach;
• Being in generally good health and physical condition (for all outreaches) and sometimes being extremely fit (for specific deep-penetration outreaches to remote areas);
• Taking responsibility to provide or raise the necessary finances to cover own membership-fees and other expenses for an outreach.

LEFT: The annual “Gospel Volleyball Tournament” held on the shores of Lake Malawi during the June/July outreach to Malawi and aimed at reaching young people, have become very popular locally.

Dates for next Short-term Outreaches:

MADAGASCAR:

11 – 25 March 2006 COMPLETED

2 - 9 September 2006 COMPLETED

10 - 24 March 2007 COMPLETED

30 June - 7 July 2007 COMPLETED

29 March - 12 April 2008COMPLETED

16 - 23 August 2008

MALAWI:

24 March - 5 April 2007COMPLETED

23 June – 8 July 2007 POSTPONED

17 - 24 February 2008COMPLETED

ZIMBABWE:

24 - 30 January 2006COMPLETED

12 - 19 August 2006 COMPLETED

11 - 18 Novemeber 2007 COMPLETED

22 - 29 June 2008

MOZAMBIQUE:

24 June - 3 July 2006 COMPLETED

22 September - 1 October 2007 POSTPONED

NOTE: These dates are for annual team-outreaches to the various mission fields and my change. Information on shorter or longer visits/outreaches for various other purposes will be provided on request.

For more information on outreaches or to apply to join one, contact Philadelphia's Head Office:
outreach@philadelphiaproject.co.za

Recent Outreach Reports:
Madagascar 2006
Madagascar 2005
Malawi 2004
Malawi 2005