Dates listed for the following opportunities may not reflect current travel restrictions or general health recommendations for your country, due to COVID-19.
 Dates listed for the following opportunities may not reflect current travel restrictions or general health recommendations for your country, due to COVID-19.
The Florence STEP (Short Term Exposure Program) is a unique opportunity for individuals to serve God in Florence, SC, USA at the OM Ships International campus. It is ideal for those with little, or no, missions experience and those looking to improve their English. Our desire is that participants learn and grow in their Christian walk and have their eyes and hearts opened to what God is doing through OM Ships. It also provides an environment to increase the participant's cultural intelligence and to gain a better understanding about missions and church mobilization. We hope that each participant will leave with a better understanding of ministry and the part they have to play.
During this 2-3 month program participants will:
Participants will serve daily at the OM Ships Ministry Center. The team receive, sort, pack and ship Bibles and other Christian literature that will be sold in the Logos Hope Book fair, via the internet or to book stores around the world.
Participants will be involved in practical service from Mondays – Fridays from 8:00am – 4pm. They will also be fully involved in OM team life including weekly team devotions, prayer meetings and other occasional team events.
Participants will join the Thursday Missions& Mobilization Awareness class where they will learn to be more effective in multicultural environments.
Participants have opportunities for growth through shared cross-cultural living arrangements, they should expect to share a house or apartment, bedroom (not a bed) and bathroom with others of the same gender. Houses and apartments are fully equipped . Evenings and weekends are usually free but there are many opportunities for church involvement and social activities.
Participants should come with a love for Jesus and a desire to serve Him in a practical way. They need to be sufficiently fit to be on their feet all day every day and, preferably, able to lift boxes of books. They should be able to take care of themselves without supervision.
We will provide onsite accommodation in one of our guesthouses or apartments. Single men and women are accommodated in separate houses. Couples and Families will be accommodated together.
Participants will be responsible to purchase and prepare their own meals. Each guesthouse has a fully equipped kitchen. They will be given a monthly allowance to cover their food and fuel costs.
Participants need to arrange their travel to and from Florence, SC. The best airport for arrival is Florence, SC or Columbia, SC. Participants will be met on arrival at the airport. Participants should bring their national driver’s license with them if they have one. An international Driver’s license is only needed if their license is not in English. Approved drivers will be given shared access to one of the OM team vehicles for local use.
Participants need to be in good health and able to be on their feet all day every day in order to serve in our Ministry Center (Literature). If that is an issue we will work to determine another more suitable role prior to their acceptance.
We are unable to sponsor visas for participants so the program is open to Americans, Canadians and nationals of US Visa Waiver Countries http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html#citizen ), or people who already have a US visa. The program is limited to a max of 90 days for those entering the US under the Visa Waiver program. On arrival in the USA participants must not say they are coming to work as we will not be paying them. They are coming to volunteer with us and experience the USA.
We can take participants at any time, for any length of time, depending on their individual situation.
Cost – US$500/month/person.
Couples are welcome if both spouses are planning to engage with the ministry.
We are unable to have families unless the children are either home-schooled or on vacation. There would need to be a willingness for the whole family to engage with the ministry to some extent.