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JOIN US?

Our Plea

Here is my plea to you – an invitation, a challenge, and a commission from Jesus! If you’ve known the love of God – if you’ve tasted of His sweetness at all – will you serve Him by giving up your life for the sake of the lost, the poor, the oppressed and the hungry?

The Gospel Principle

The principle of the gospel is this: it brings life to the receiver and death to the giver - if the gospel brought death to Jesus Christ, why would we think that in ‘preaching the gospel’ it would be anything less for us? In fact, He says, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.’

Radical?

You might think that this is radical and might mean missing out on everything your friends enjoy, whether Christians or not. However, here is the paradox and the wonder! Jesus then adds, ‘Whoever wants to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for me will save it.’ We have much more fun when we really go for it and find out that we mostly only lose rubbish anyway!

Past helpers

In past seasons, many overseas friends have spent time here, working in our houses or in the streets amongst the poor. In the beginning, I was grateful if they gave one month as I had no help at all! Since then, some have given months or years to us.

More than a few have gone on to spend decades helping us to serve the poor in Hong Kong and beyond, learning one or two languages and living as pilgrims away from their home countries and their own people. For most helpers it’s been foundational for their faith and expression of Jesus, and for others, just some small steps in their lives.

2022 - A different season

We are now in a different season and are interested in training those who want to spend a lifetime bringing GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR and seeing those who have been reached healed and set free. We are eager at this time to find those who want to come and learn how to minister to the least, the unlovely, the hungry and the enslaved, until they come into freedom and wholeness and enjoy the love of Jesus. Therefore, we expect everyone who applies to be praying and have a desire to serve the poor throughout their lives, whatever that might look like. We will work with them on onward goals and specific plans to love the lost and poor in word and deed in different countries. We already see so many harassed and helpless around us, and they are really easy to reach. We need more workers. The poor do not need a church service or a course to come into the Kingdom – they just need those who will love them like Jesus did and we need people who are ready to stay long term to do this.

Training for long term service

  • We will train you in all the ways we’ve learned to minister with the poor - healing the sick, multiplying food, giving up sleep, weeping with those who weep and always, always expecting the signs of the Kingdom. We will share our homes, our goods and our food with you and hope you will go on to do this, too. We will apply for a visa for you to stay and work in Hong Kong, which is not transferrable to other employment.

  • Those who already fellowship with us will already have begun to learn to serve, pray and outreach to the poor. In recent years more and more are also spending some months away from their jobs to train in our houses.

    Some go on to lead those homes, others go back to full or part time work and serve alongside our teams in Hong Kong or overseas. Many live in local communities and share their homes with the teenagers or men or women who have been living with us and are on the next stage of their journeys.

What might a lifetime look like?

FOUNDATIONAL

You begin by spending several years in Hong Kong, visiting our other mission spots on short term trips, too. You learn a local language. You live in one of our homes and train in how to help those with life-threatening situations and who cannot free themselves from what has enslaved them.

You live downtown and practise reaching the local poor and their families by what you say and do, by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Holy Spirit. You practise trusting the Lord for all your daily needs and practise sharing what you have with those you live and work amongst.

THEN SOME OPTIONS…

  • I

    a) You join one of our existing fellowships and join the Mission Team, helping the poor and homeless and training other congregation members to go with you Or

    b) You lead a team doing the same thing.

    apply here

  • II

    a) You become part of a team to plant a group of new believers in an unreached part of Hong Kong Or

    b) You lead a team doing the same thing.

    apply here

  • III

    You join one of our existing teams in other countries. You may develop one of our farms. You may help in or lead a home for those rescued from slavery and the sex trade, including babies and children. You may help in one of our rehabilitation homes, similar to those in Hong Kong. You learn another language.

    apply here

  • IV

    You prepare to go to Asia or beyond with a team sent from us, including ex-addicts. You plant a new group from scratch in the most desperate cities or rural areas. 

    You may start with street boys, you may start with trafficked women, you may start with child soldiers, you may start with addicts, you may start with the homeless and oppressed. 

    You learn another language Or

    b) You lead a team doing the same thing.

    apply here

  • V

    You partner with another group, known to us beforehand, and invest your life full time in ministering with the poor with that group. You will share the skills you have learned here, especially in praying for those with hurts and addictions.

    There is no church in the world these days that will not have people with serious problems and they need those who have been equipped to train them how to help, otherwise they will send them away.

    apply here

  • VI

    You return to your home country, return to secular employment, and use the skills you have learnt here to begin a house fellowship, reaching the poor and the rich with Jesus’ love, also reaching those in your workplace.

    apply here

  • VII

    You respond to the worldwide refugee situation by opening homes or setting up camps for them.

    Apply Here

  • VIII

    Many other possibilities - especially if you can live in, or make tents…………..

    Apply here

Short Term Training

From time to time, we receive people already working with the poor locally or overseas who seek additional experience and training. Others come to gain work experience as part of further studies. We are happy to facilitate this. Overseas applicants will still need a visa. Training visas cannot be transferred to employment visas.

Teams

We occasionally welcome teams led by someone who has visited before and is known to us. This ensures that those on the team can be helpfully instructed beforehand and looked after whilst they are here, thus getting the most out of their stay and bringing the most to us.

Serving in Hong Kong

If you’re a Hong Konger - join our fellowship and you can help!

Hundreds of house group members also serve with our local mission teams, family programmes, and have the privilege of praying people off addictions, sometimes overnight. The possibilities and openings are endless! (e.g. We need lifeguards with up-to-date qualifications.)

Gap Year

You are the most useful and welcome of all helpers! Please come and help us!

We’ve had hundreds of ‘gappies’ who’ve come and helped over the years. They have served us wholeheartedly with enthusiasm and humour.

Long-term commitment and goals may not apply because at this stage young people may still be exploring and have studies planned.

We have had ongoing referrals from groups and schools who know us well but many come through the testimony of their friends.

The value of a gap year is that it is a short, fixed period in between, for instance, high school and college. Most young people are willing to ‘rough it’ for a while and are not that concerned about finding their ‘ministry’ or ‘calling’.

Several were not ‘believers’ when they came. They find that this short taste of ministering with the poor is foundational in determining their ongoing lifestyles.

Some have returned to serve full time with us after completing their studies.

  • • Outreach to communities who live in extreme poverty, learning how to share ‘good news’ with them

    • Crossing cultures

    • Healing

    • Setting the captives free

  • • How to be dependent on God and grow up in Jesus

    • How to work with the power of the Holy Spirit and use miraculous gifts

    • How to feed yourself and others spiritually

    • How to explore the Bible

    • How to practise walking it out

    • How to ‘live in community’ and prefer one another

  • • We hope you will come for up to one year, dependent on the need to attend interviews etc.

    • September/October is a good time to start…

  • • Wherever the need is

    • Maybe one of our rehabilitation homes

    • Maybe downtown amongst the poor

  • • Pay a short-term visit to one of our overseas teams, serving the poor

  • Let us know what you are doing now and what is your planned onward movement.

    Overseas applicants will need a training visa so please allow at least a month for process after we have accepted you.

    Write to help@ststephenssociety.com and we’ll get back to you.

We undertake to share what we have with you, including accommodation, meals, etc.

You may need to pray for some pocket money to share with others for travel etc. If you are living downtown with us, you are not required to contribute to household expenses, but our hope is that you would be willing to do this when you have the means.