Making an Impact!

Written by Rob Marsden

Published

Nearing the 20th anniversary of Oakes camps, it is a good time to reflect on the gap year programme which has made this possible. Each year, God has provided a team of young adults to faithfully share Jesus on camps at The Oakes. In total, over 250 individuals have helped us fulfil our mission statement in this way!

Today, we still rely upon God to provide a group of Christians to spend some or all of their gap year with us to serve Jesus, share Jesus and grow in Jesus …

Serve Jesus

The Oakes is a big place providing many opportunities for the team to serve Jesus – not just on camps! We need people to help with outdoor jobs such as pruning, repairing and leaf blowing. There are also many housekeeping tasks helping to maintain the high quality of service and cleanliness throughout the building. We also need to keep producing amazing food for the campers – where would the Oakes be without friendship, fun and… food?!

Leaf blowing

Share Jesus

With its activities and games, The Oakes is a brilliant place to enjoy the best holiday ever. And through the Main Event and follow up Dorm Times the team share the good news of Jesus in a fun, engaging and relevant way. We ensure the team are equipped to share Jesus with young people no matter their age or background. On the backs of their shirts it says “How can they hear?” (Romans 10:14) constantly reminding us that people will not hear about Jesus unless someone tells them!

Dorm Time

Grow in Jesus

From the start of a team member’s time with us, we strongly encourage a year of growth through Bible-reading and prayer in personal quiet times and we support each team member with a one-to-one mentor. We start every work day with team devotions, have our own Mighty Oakes home group, and schedule in 18 study days over the year. Study days focus on understanding the Bible, equipping the team to teach the Bible, and providing practical support in our gospel ministry sessions.

Study day

A new name …

Each year, The Oakes makes a huge impact in the lives of young people on camp. So at the start of the 20th anniversary year of The Oakes it is fitting to give our gap year programme a name that sums it all up – Impact!

Would you like to invest in a year or part of a year that will make an impact by sharing the gospel? Find out more / apply online here.

  • Praise God that he provides servant-hearted individuals committed to sharing Jesus.
  • Praise God for the impact the team have made over the past twenty years.
  • Pray for God to raise up new team members for our 2019-20 Impact programme.
  • Pray for the team to continue to make an impact long after their time with us.

Oakes News (July 2019)

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