CORE GOALS OF THE S.P.E. EXPERIENCE
Thank you for your interest in MorningStar Ministries’ Stay.Pray.Engage. (S.P.E.) program. We are delighted to have you join us for a year of loving Jesus and serving together in kingdom family.
We love connecting with mission-minded people from around the world who want to share their work experience and skills in exchange for housing and meals, in this spiritually rich, prophetic environment.
We encourage you to come with a flexible mindset, ready to jump in wherever needed. Often the Lord opens unexpected doors through flexibility and willingness to serve anywhere. We take your work preferences into prayerful consideration, in view of your work experience, skills and maturity, and the ministry needs.
A list of departments and job descriptions can be found HERE.
All jobs listed are in the Ft. Mill, SC location.
ARRIVAL
As a new member of the Stay.Pray.Engage. family, you will receive an orientation to help you settle into your home and responsibilities. We will discuss goals and expectations to help you maximize your season with S.P.E. You will be introduced to others on the S.P.E. team, leaders, your work responsibilities, relevant rules and guidelines, and resources for spiritual growth and development. The spiritual objective for your first 30 days is to join a local Connect Group for spiritual family, growth, discipleship, and ministry. You will be given information about local groups to prayerfully consider where the Lord would have you settle for the next months.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Accommodations are for single men, women, or married couples. The Stay.Pray.Engage. program is not designed to include children or pets.
You will room with a same-gender volunteer from any number of countries around the world. This can be an enriching and rewarding experience, but can also be challenging! We encourage you to embrace this excellent opportunity to grow in character, resilience, and ability to relate to others from different backgrounds.
Rooms are simple, with basic furnishings, bed, refrigerator and microwave provided. You are responsible for your own bedding and towels (we are happy to help with these when extras are available).
MEALS
A simple breakfast and a hot dinner are provided six days per week. We highly encourage eating together as S.P.E. family, to cultivate spiritually meaningful relationships. Takeout boxes are also available. Participants may also purchase personal groceries at local grocery stores and prepare meals for themselves as desired.
TYPICAL WORK ASSIGNMENTS
The Stay.Pray.Engage. team is integral to the groundwork of MorningStar’s ministry. Work assignments range from housekeeping and janitorial positions, operating the call center, cooking, administrative roles, IT/web support, teaching, and many tasks in between. Jobs can be both mentally and physically demanding. It is important that you be prepared for hard work and a changing environment. Your supervisor, team coordinator, and program director are here to help you navigate your position in this environment. As a work-exchange program, you are investing in the ministry in return for food, housing, and the opportunity for spiritual growth. We are also investing into you. While we highly encourage participation in fellowship and community, it is important that you be prepared to maintain your S.P.E. commitments ahead of outside jobs or social opportunities. Much character development comes through maintaining consistency and reliability.
SPIRITUAL TRAINING/DISCIPLING
You will gain from this program according to what you invest into it. We encourage you to be intentional about the use of your time and your purpose here.
Stay. Pray. Engage. is designed to provide you with enriching spiritual participation in the MorningStar community. Your team coordinator will support you in exploring spiritual growth and community resources. It is your responsibility to make the most of the opportunities provided. These include fellowship, ministry and outreach through Connect Groups, ministry teams, school and university activities, prayer meetings, and other events. Rather than eliminating the challenges and demands of life, our goal is to support you in developing character, consistency, resilience, and connection to the heart of God in the midst of these experiences.
As stated previously, your spiritual objective within the first 30 days is to join a local Connect Group. There are many to choose from, each having a unique focus and purpose. We encourage you to prayerfully review the links below and ask the Holy Spirit to direct you to the one(s) He would have you become a part of. We strongly encourage you to find a community where you can settle in and dig deep spiritually. Openness and vulnerability in kingdom family paves the way for strong spiritual foundations and deep relationships with God and others.
http://morningstarfortmill.com/profile/connect/
http://morningstarfortmill.com/profile/community/
We encourage you to explore all the opportunities MorningStar has to offer. However, we request that you limit the first month to finding your Connect Group and settling into your home and work responsibilities. This makes the transition easier and prevents you from getting overwhelmed early in the journey. We also encourage frequent participation in Sunday morning services and Wednesday Prophetic Worship Nights, to receive what MorningStar carries and catch our vision. At a minimum, we request that you attend at least one Sunday service and one Wednesday service each month.
FINANCES
MorningStar firmly believes in promoting personal financial responsibility. We cover the costs of housing, utilities, WiFi, and 2 meals six days per week, as well as free access to conferences. You are responsible for additional costs such as transportation, any additional food, and personal needs. We expect each participant to provide for their needs with savings, other income sources, or donations. We do not specify a minimum amount to be in place before starting the program. Participants are required to sign a statement that they understand that their financial needs are their own responsibility.
Participants are absolutely not to ask other S.P.E. participants, MorningStar staff or leadership, MSU students, or hotel guests for support. We approve of fundraising outside of MorningStar, and we provide an accounting facility for individuals who desire to raise support. Tax-exempt receipts are made available to donors. Information on how the accounting system works can be requested by contacting us at stayprayengage.org. Donations are limited to a maximum of $1,500 per month per volunteer. Because the largest basic living needs are provided, we do not believe these costs should exceed $1,500 per month.
ADDITIONAL WORK/ SELF SUPPORT
Stay.Pray.Engage. participants are required to be financially stable. We recommend using savings or support in order to fully invest in your season here. Taking outside work can limit your ability to participate in other aspects of the MorningStar community and diminish the benefits of the program for you. However, on a case-by-case basis we allow S.P.E. participants to take additional jobs to supplement their financial support. Your commitment to the program must take priority over additional work, and you will need to get approval from your supervisors and the program director prior to taking on outside commitments. In order to remain in the Stay.Pray.Engage. program you must be able to fulfill your work hours and responsibilities each week. Failure to complete your hours within a one-month period due to mismanagement of time is grounds for dismissal from the program.
We want to see you thrive in S.P.E. and will seek to support you in making wise decisions in this regard.
REMOVAL FROM THE PROGRAM
It is our goal to provide an opportunity for you to experience a life-changing experience with MorningStar Ministries. It is not always possible for us or you to judge the “fit” for you and this program until you have been on-site and engaged in the program for a period of time. To assist in this process, there is a thirty-day review for all participants to determine whether you and the Stay.Pray.Engage program are indeed a good fit. There is also an ongoing assessment of spiritual maturity, character, and participation in work assignments. We expect each person to show high standards and a good attitude. If at any time after the thirty days it is judged that there is a need for a participant to be removed, he or she will be given a reasonable notice to leave the program and will be provided with exit counseling. The supervisor will work with our team to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Grounds for immediate removal include persons that become a danger to themselves or others, exhibit immoral behavior or insubordination, or significantly violate policy and procedures. Failure to meet your weekly commitments for 1 month can result in discharge from the program. We believe this is important for the benefit of all who live and work at MorningStar.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OFFERED DURING STAY.PRAY.ENGAGE. PARTICIPATION:
- Free registration for MorningStar conferences held in Fort Mill, SC.
- Free unlimited MSTV.
- A weekend retreat to Moravian Falls with your S.P.E. team (currently on hold)