Selection day – If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to a selection day (usually held at Methodist Church House, London).
Placement matching – If you are selected to participate, we will send your profile to our partner churches who will decide if they have an opportunity that matches your skills, competencies, interests and experience.
Fundraising/home support – If a placement is found, we will support you to fundraise and galvanise support for your encounter. We will also advise on bursary support where required.
Training – You’ll be required to complete comprehensive training before departure. This is delivered online in collaboration with Cliff College. Volunteers choose when to complete this within a specific time frame before departure.
Briefing – You'll attend a full country briefing with the Global Relationships team where you will learn in depth about the country and specific context you will be travelling to.
Go on placement – You’ll depart to partner with a church in the world, contributing to their mission and ministry for 3–12 months.
Return home – Arrive back to the UK. Reconnect with family, friends and your wider community.
Debriefing – Our experienced team will be able to guide you through processing and reflecting on your experience. This is likely to be an immediate debrief (a few weeks after you return) followed by a longer-term debrief, around six months post-return.
Inspire and share – Once you’ve settled back into the UK, inspire others in your church, circuit and beyond! This might be through talking at services or events, writing a reflective blog and even connecting with teams in Britain working on issues of justice or Church growth. We also love to engage past Encounter Worldwide volunteers with the selection and briefing of our new ones.