the benefits of smile

Our programme not only seeks to change the lives of the people our Smilers are sent to, but also to change the lives of the Smilers themselves. 

Some of the reasons to volunteer with Smile include:

You get to serve God and support the work of long term missionaries rather than just having a gap year “experience” 

You have the support and care of local Christians whilst you encounter another country and culture – the value of this should not be underestimated. 

It is a planned gap year or project. Everything is organised for you from where to go to debriefing when you get back. 

You have a full time person looking after you and everything from the UK end. The SMILE coordinator will be on call in emergencies and you will have someone keeping your family and loved ones informed. The coordinator will also checking up on the political situation, be in regular contact with volunteers and praying for you. 

At Crosslinks we’re committed to meeting Jesus’ challenge to take the Gospel, the good news about Jesus, to all people. Smile is our short term programme for 18-30 year olds. It combines travel and the experience of a totally different culture with serving God and having a taste of overseas mission work.

We send out groups, pairs and individuals to serve the Lord, by serving local churches and people around the world. We offer a variety of different placements in a variety of different countries. We believe there are three key areas to mission, and therefore, to every Smile placement.

service

Our placements are never short of opportunities to serve local churches and people, often in very practical ways.

evangelism

Romans 10:17 explains that faith in God can only come through hearing the Word of Christ. This means that our trips must have an element of proclaiming the good news about Jesus, whether that be leading Christian assemblies in school or organising a beach mission (or anything else!).

discipleship

This is two-sided. First of all, there are opportunities to disciple believers through leading Christian Unions, helping at church Sunday schools and one to one Bible reading. But also, we believe it is important for Smilers to be discipled during their time away, hence the importance of team leaders.

God's Word to God's World

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Copyright 2008 Crosslinks
Registered at 251 Lewisham Way, London SE4 1XF. England
Charity number 24 99 86