Faith Beyond the Pews Work Camp
Overview
In 2007, Servants started a new ministry in York County, Pennsylvania, called Home Helps. Our ministry uses all volunteers to provide essential home maintenance and repair services to homeowners who, for whatever reason, cannot do the work themselves and cannot pay professionals to do the work for them. We focus on critical health and safety risks as our priorities. In recent years, God has enabled us to serve about 120 homeowners annually. Our heart is to help those who have nowhere else to turn. Our mission is always to be an extension of Christ’s love for our community.
 |
In 2007, Servants was asked to assist with a well-established event in the Red Lion and Eastern School Districts. The founders of Faith Beyond the Pews Work Camp, mostly retired community residents, realized they would like to keep their legacy going and invited Servants to participate in the event. FBTP brings multiple groups of volunteers together to serve our neighbors in need. It is a local “Mission Trip” where volunteers can do everything as if they traveled to a distant location; however, they can enjoy their hot showers and sleep in their beds at night. |
Cost
Servants do not charge a fee to participate in this work camp. We do, however, rely on donations to offset our costs. The average price of materials per Home is $750. This is dependent on the project and varies greatly. We also incur costs for food and drinks for the volunteers. As a volunteer, it would be greatly appreciated if you could donate to these costs. A suggested donation of $50 per person would be an incredible blessing for our work camps.
Host Facility
We will be utilizing Chapel Church as our host facility this year. Chapel Church is at 3050 Cape Horn Road, Red Lion, PA 17356. We will meet in the Parish Hall, which is behind the church. They have graciously offered their site again for this year’s camp and will be the base of operations for all meals and material distributions.
Food/Meals
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for volunteers during the week. Breakfast and evening meals are provided and served by area churches throughout the week. Lunch materials will be provided at the host facility; however, team members are responsible for packing their lunches to take to the job site. We try to offer a nutritious variety each day. The Friday evening celebration includes a dinner where the homeowners, volunteers, and their families can fellowship. This event is usually very memorable, and we encourage you to put it in your schedule.
Staffing/Project Planning
Servants will provide oversight for the projects. We will arrange for all necessary materials to be on the job site for the work to proceed. It is our job to make serving easy for you. The result may not be easy, but the process should be! Any personal tools you can bring would be helpful and appreciated. Please have them marked with your name.
Work Plans
We will be working on various types of projects. Work could involve drywall, painting, roofing, flooring, yard work, and other minor construction/maintenance tasks. We will do our best, with God’s help, to place you on a project where your “gifts and talents” can be best utilized. We ask for your patience and flexibility. We remind you that “sharing the love of Jesus Christ” is our primary mission.
Possible Workday Schedule
7:00 Arrive, pack lunches, and fellowship together
7:15 Devotions
7:30 Breakfast, finish packing lunches
8:00 Work Projects
12:00-1:00 Lunch
4:00 Wrap up on site
4:30 Return to Host Facility (communicate job status and material needs to Project Manager)
4:45 Devotions/Debriefing
5:00 Dinner
Friday Night Celebration Dinner gathers at 5 PM with dinner at 5:30 PM.
Devotionals
We strive to make this a spiritual journey for the volunteers and the homeowners. We encourage you to participate in all of the devotions. If you feel called to lead any requests, please let Steve know about this desire.
Work Site Dress
We require closed-toed shoes or boots, knee-length shorts or jeans, long-sleeve shirts (recommended-not required), and modest tops. You will be performing construction-type work and should dress appropriately for safety.
Ages
At Servants, we believe that God calls and uses people of any age to serve Him and His people in need. We highly encourage youth at least 14 years old to serve and to encourage their friends to serve, also. A ratio of 1 adult to 5 youth has worked well and allows excellent mentoring between youth and adult leaders, especially skilled adult leaders.
We welcome youth younger than 14 years; however, we ask that they serve with a parent or, at a minimum, work beside a youth group leader on a 1 to 1 ratio. There is no upper age limit (or excuses) to serve Christ by serving others.
**A mandatory orientation meeting is on Sunday night before the event.
To make our work camps successful and rewarding to homeowners and volunteers, we will be capping our registrations at 100 volunteers.
Due to the massive amount of planning that goes into a work camp, you must have your volunteer application to participate. We can no longer make exceptions because we want you and our homeowners to have a good experience.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. “