Back to United World Mission
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Donor Login
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Donor Login
  • Contact
  • Back to UWM
  • About
  • México
  • España

FAQs

Check out these Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our Story
  • Programs
  • Participants
  • FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a typical day for an Avance participant look like?

It’s hard to nail down a typical day, since our participants serve in different churches and local ministries with varied needs and schedules. Each participant is expected to contribute 20+ hours of service to their ministry placement through formal ministry events or informal opportunities (coffee, tapas, hiking, etc.). Spain is very relational so ministry must balance the formal and informal opportunities. On top of these ministry hours, all participants share the following weekly rhythms:

   Sunday: Worship at assigned church and time with Spanish family and friends

   Monday: Weekly fellowship meeting with our multicultural sponsoring team, SEPAL

   Tuesday – Saturday:  Spanish language and culture classes, serve in ministries, relational ministry (intentional time with people), participate in youth group or ministry studies

   Thursday: Weekly Avance fellowship and training in the mornings

   Friday: Day of rest (this may vary due to Spanish class schedule and ministry schedules)

What will the church placement be like?

Each placement will be different depending on the needs of the church you’re placed in. As an interdenominational organization we partner with a wide variety of evangelical churches with different styles and forms of worship. We attempt to place you within a congregation that you will be comfortable in spiritually and doctrinally, while also challenged to learn from serving the church in a different context.

How are the host families selected?

We interview families who are a part of the churches that Avance works with and go through a process to make sure they are suitable hosts for our participants. We seek families who are involved with the church, and in some cases, the pastor’s family may host our participants. Furthermore, when possible, we aim to place female participants with families who have daughters and males with families who have sons.

In Spain it is not always easy to find a willing host family. In this case we will look for placement with local Christian college students or other young Spanish adults. We value an intergenerational placement for the breadth of learning and exposure to the culture.

Avance España only requires three months of living with a host family, though we strongly recommend six months. After three months we will work out a plan with the apprentice as to an appropriate living situation based on the goals of the program and needs of the apprentice.

How do you decide which ministry I’ll be placed at?

We place our apprentices so that they can serve our local partner ministries led by local leaders. What one apprentice does may vary to another. We hope to match gifts and desires of the apprentice with the needs and vision of the ministry. In most cases apprentices will serve a local church and is likely to dedicate some hours to a secondary partner ministry and/or get involved in a relational ministry that might be: a sports group, music group, local gym, etc. One of our apprentices got to know people at a dance class and another while taking Flamenco guitar lessons.

Is it OK if I don't speak Spanish?

Although it is important to speak the language to be able to communicate with the locals, it’s ok if you do not know Spanish before coming to Avance, however it is recommended that you come with a B1 level (low intermediate) of speaking Spanish. During the course of the year, we expect our participants to improve 2 levels and be speaking at a C1 level. All participants will be placed in classes according to their level. We expect our participants to dedicate themselves to learning the language and ministering within the language.

What are Spanish classes like?

We work with a local language school in an urban neighborhood called Learn Spanish Away, run by a Spanish church leader. He has designed language and culture courses tailored for missionaries in the Spanish context. In this way, classes provide you with unique language and contextual awareness for ministry not found in other language schools in Granada. Classes are usually private or small, depending on and tailored towards the learning needs of the participant.

What do the program costs cover?

Salary is based on a similar salary of a full-time Spanish Christian worker. As an apprenticeship program, we have a fee that covers materials, visits, events, and conferences. Finally, since Spain is such a relational place, and discipleship is so relational, we require ample ministry funds to be able to invite people out for a coffee or small food (yummy tapas!!!), deepening face-time. Also, since language acquisition is a requirement, ministry funds cover language school fees.

What is ministry in Spain like?

SEPAL España director, Jesús Londoño, calls Spain a pioneering field. With less than 1% of the population of Protestant Evangelicals, there is much work to be done with little resources. It is the perfect field to come in organically and lend a hand to participate in what God is doing in mostly grassroots ministries. We have heard that it takes, on average, about 10 years for a Spaniard without much of a faithful background to acknowledge Christ. In these ten years, one common denominator is having evangelical friends throughout. Might you be one of these friends for a year or two? Ministry is relational and requires a lot of face-time. This means times of sharing coffee or tapas asking about life and sharing yours.

Stay Engaged

Our Flourishing newsletter provides updates on the advance of God's Kingdom.
Submit your email address below to receive this bi-monthly newsletter.

Join with our missionaries in prayer.
Submit your email address below to receive a monthly prayer guide.

Questions? Call (704) 357-3355

UWM

© 2020 United World Mission | 205 Regency Executive Park Dr., Suite 430, Charlotte, NC 28217 | Website by Rethink Creative | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

ecfa.org missionexus.org excellenceingiving
You have selected 0 opportunities. Inquire
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.ACCEPTReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.