The Mission Africa GAP programme is for anyone who is over 18 at the beginning of their placement. There is no upper age limit as long as your doctor allows you to travel and live in Africa! It is open to couples and families to participate or even groups of friends. The only essential requirement is that participants are committed Christians who are called by God to serve Him in Africa!

What is the purpose of Mission Africa GAP?

The Mission Africa GAP program aims to:

1. •Develop relationships and opportunities for partnership between African and Western Christians.
   

2. •Work in partnership with the local church in Africa, with the aim of learning from them, assisting and encouraging them.
   

3. •Bring all who are involved in the ministry of GAP into a deeper commitment to Christ and Christian Mission.
   
   

Times and Duration

We have 2 start points for our GAP programme during the year, either in January / February or August / September. Exact dates are dependent upon flight availability.

The duration of your GAP placement can be from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 1 year. It is usually not possible to go on a GAP placement for a shorter duration than 6 months. Unless you are going to serve in a administrative or specialist training capacity in which case we are able to be more flexible and you can serve for a minimum of 3 months.

The nature of the programme means that we want GAP members to build real relationships with the people and the ministries they are working with. The longer GAP members go for, the stronger these relationships will be and the greater the impact the GAP member will make to the ministry.

What it costs:

You should budget on approximately £3750 for 6 months and £5500 for a year.  This will cover key costs such as Airfare, Medical and Travel Insurance, Visa and Immigration expenses, Internal transfers in Africa, accommodation, your monthly living allowance (about £175 depending on where you are living to pay for food and living expenses), and the cost of orientation and administration. A full breakdown of costs will be provided.

You should also allow £100 - 150 that you will have to pay for medical expenses, your vaccinations and antimalarials.

[Costs might increase slightly as the application process progresses because of the increasing cost of travelling to and living in Africa. Once we know your dates of travelling we will be able to give you an exact final cost]

Orientation and Debriefing

In order for our GAP members to get the most from their experience in Africa we insist that they attend our orientation weekend before travelling to Africa. The purpose of orientation is to explain what living in Africa will be like, to highlight the cultural differences and how to cope with them. We also give you travel advice as well as health and safety training. For many people, this is their first time in Africa and we don’t want them going unprepared; but even if you have been before there is still a lot of information you will learn at orientation.

The orientations are held twice each year and last for a week, they are usually at the end of June and the middle of October. The cost of this orientation is included in your gap costs.

After GAP members return, we don’t just forget about them; we want to help them understand their experiences, to show them how to build on what they have learned and to help them in understanding what God has planned for their future. This is the purpose of our debrief programme, which initially is a weekend group debrief but is also ongoing individual communication between Mission Africa staff and the GAP member.

Pastoral Care & Supervision

When in Africa our GAP members are not just abandoned and expected to look after themselves although they do have a large degree of independence. They are placed close to long term missionaries who will provide in-country orientation, show you around, teach you how to drive ‘African style’, show you where to shop, how to greet, introduce to you people you’ll be working with etc. Throughout the placement there will also be a person who you can turn to when problems arise. They are close at hand to help you and guide you through your GAP experience. Mission Africa office staff will also be looking after you from the UK, with regular contact by email to help you with your GAP experience.

Accommodation and living in Africa

Mission Africa provide all GAP members with a house to live in, sometimes it is shared with others and sometimes it’s an apartment or house in a compound with other missionaries. It will be quite basic, but more importantly it will be safe, clean and comfortable with electric and running water (usually). You will have to shop, cook, clean and do laundry for yourself, but generally this is part of the experience that people enjoy, particularly the interactions at African markets.

Responsibilities

When in Africa, GAP members are responsible for what they do each day. You are placed within ministries by Mission Africa, but what you do each day is decided by talking to the African staff in that ministry and seeing where they can make the most use of your gifts and skills. You’ll soon get into a routine each week, it won’t always be doing the same thing every day. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to travel within your country and to visit other ministries.