Summer Missions
FAQ
GEneral Information
What is the ARM mission week like?
It’s a 4-day-5-night mission and discipleship experience in rural Alabama. Your team extends the love of Christ with home repair families and kids through home repair and day camp ministries. After a full day of service, your team gathers for evening worship led by our summer ministry team. We provide your meals and housing, coordinate your team’s home repair ministry, and serve alongside you with the day camp kids.
Who is ARM for?
ARM’s summer is especially designed around your church’s middle/high school students. We also host teams of adults, college groups, and inter-generational teams during the summer.
How does ARM equip our students for discipleship and ministry?
We focus our daily devotions and evening gatherings around inspiring and equipping your students for ministry back home. There are individual and team-based components: identifying passions, skills, talents, and developing a way for students to continue the mission with your church and community. Our hope is that your time with us is more than a trip; we hope it becomes a catalyst for developing missional leaders and lifestyles of service focused on glorifying God!
Where do rural Alabama teams serve?
Teams serve with home repair families and local children at
Tuskegee (serving Lee and Macon Counties). Tuskegee teams are hosted at a historic Methodist Church owned by ARM. Twin bunk beds are provided. Teams prepare their meals with assistance from the ARM intern staff. Your menus and ingredients are on site. Missioners shower in an on-site shower building.
What’s the basic schedule for the week?
Teams arrive on Sunday afternoon for tool and safety training, day camp orientation, making home visits, and getting to know our summer ministry interns. Monday through Thursday, breakfast begins at 7am, the work day is from 9-4, dinner at 6:00, and ends with worship from about 7:30p-8:30p. Teams depart on Friday morning by 9am.
Are there any free nights?
Each night is packed with opportunities to learn, worship, reflect and engage in the community. Free time is built into the schedule each day mainly in the late afternoon and after nightly events. Many teams choose to integrate some kind of fun trip on the Friday of their departure. Let us know if you need help on some ideas!
How does ARM help my team prepare and debrief once we depart?
We’ll help you prepare your team with a 2 session pre-mission Bible study. This is important to give your students and adult counselors the context facilitating our evening sessions and preparing their hearts and minds for their week of service. During your service with us, you’ll experience morning and lunch devotions and evening worship and reflection each night.
Home Repair Ministry
What kind of repairs will we do?
One of the goals of our home repair ministry is to restore a home to be safe, warm, dry, and beautiful. Repairs include roofing, porches and ramps, doors and windows, siding, floors, walls, weatherization, and basic plumbing or electrical repairs. If your team would rather not do roofing projects, just let us know! When you register, you’ll have the chance to tell us if any of your team members are especially skilled in the areas listed above.
What is the makeup of my home repair teams?
Your team divides into crews of 5-7 people for each home repair site. Each crew needs one construction knowledgeable adult.
Does my team need to bring construction-knowledgeable adults for home repair ministry? (YES!)
Yes. ARM’s college interns are responsible getting your tools and materials to your site and assisting you in understanding your project. In most cases, they DO NOT stay on site with you throughout the day as they are managing multiple sites.
What do you mean by construction knowledgeable?
This doesn’t need to be a licensed contractor or tradesman. Anyone with home renovation experience or someone comfortable with carpentry and using power tools can serve in this role.
What do we need to bring for each home
repair crew?
Since we serve at homes in remote locations, each crew needs its own, independent transportation that can carry 5-7 people. Each crew needs 2 adults (one of which is construction knowledgeable), a water cooler, an ice chest cooler (for lunches), a first aid kit, and a set of basic tools (if possible – see next question for details).
Do we have to provide our own tools?
We recommend that each of your home repair crews bring a set of basic toolsincluding a toolbox with assorted hand tools (wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, hammers, socket set, tape measure, pencils, work gloves) and 1 circular saw and 2 cordless drills. However, this is not a requirement so please just let us know if you won’t be able to provide tools. We do have our own tool supply and we will work with you to make sure you have all the tools you need to complete your home repair ministry.
SonShine Kids Day Camp Ministry
What is SonShine Kids Day Camp?
It’s like VBS on steroids! You’ll be cultivating a love for Jesus with a group of 30-35 kids ages 6-11 from the local community. Day camp is a 7 week experience for these kids and your team will
be serving with our mission interns to bring your week of day camp to life! You’ll do Bible lessons, crafts, games, music and dancing, educational activities, snacks, and more!
How does ARM help us plan for day camp ministry?
A planning packet and Bible curriculum for developing your team’s day camp ministry will be sent in March. This packet will include a 7 week Bible curriculum framework based on a common theme that ARM develops each year.
What is our role in planning for day camp?
our day camp crew’s planning and preparation are absolutely essential to a great week at day camp. Based upon the planning packet we send you, your crew will provide programming materials based on the activities you develop. Your team is responsible for planning and leading the Bible lesson and discussion, music/dance, arts & crafts, group games, and a snack each day.
You’ll use the Bible story, supporting scriptures, character traits, practical application questions, and more included in this framework to shape your week with our day camp. We love seeing your teams’ creativity shine at day camp!
Do we need to bring our own day camp materials?
Yes! Your team needs to bring any supplies and materials you’ll need for your activities at day camp. This includes snacks. At the beginning of the summer, we’ll put your team in touch with our day camp staff who can let you know what supplies we may have on hand already.
What is the ARM day camp staff’s role?
We’ll have 3-4 of our mission interns serving with you at day camp. Our interns serve all summer, providing continuity for the kids. They get to know the day camp parents, maintain the daily schedule and carry out any necessary discipline. While your team is leading an activity, they may be supporting you or working one on one with kids. The interns are responsible for leading a daily educational activity, reading time, taking the kids to lunch, and providing one of the snacks. During these parts of the day, your team can work one on one with kids or prepare for the next activity. Additionally, the interns handle all the administrative and logistical tasks. If a day camp crew is not scheduled to serve, the interns are responsible for the week to provide a continuous day camp experience.
Evening Events and Daily Discipleship
Do we need to plan our own worship services or Bible studies?
Not really. The ARM interns will develop worship services and devotions for your team based on our summer theme. Each day will begin with a morning devo, and each of your crews will facilitate a lunch devo on their lunch break prepared by our interns. Nightly events look a little different with each lasting about ninety minutes. It includes experiential worship, debriefiing of the day, and discussion focused on a Scriptural emphasis. Our intent is under-girding your team with spiritual disciplines, instilling a lifestyle of service and encouraging your team to extend this love and service back in your own community.