Volunteering at Ashburnham

Volunteer Programme

Do you believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you want to serve God?
Do you want to grow in your faith?
Are you passionate about prayer?
Are you between 18-27 years old?
Do you think you can live in an international community?


Yes? Why not spend 6 – 12 months as an Ashburnham volunteer!

We are looking for people who want to live for God and serve Him in every area of their lives. There are numerous reasons why people want to come to Ashburnham. However, the primary reason for coming should be to experience the spiritual atmosphere of Ashburnham Place and to grow in personal faith and spiritual understanding. To live in a Christian community with people from many different nations, cultures and denominations is challenging. It is not always easy and needs a lot of humility, patience and prayer. However, it is an enormous privilege to live and serve alongside God’s people from around the world and be stretched in knowing God more clearly and following Jesus more closely.


What is Ashburnham Place?
Ashburnham Christian Trust was started almost fifty years ago. It established the present Ashburnham Place as a Christian prayer and conference centre to provide a place for church groups and Christian organisations to come for conferences, training sessions and holidays. However, the centre is also used by non-Christian groups for business meetings and conferences. We provide accommodation, food, service and sometimes even the programme to make sure that everyone has the best time possible. As a community of Christians, we serve God by serving His Church and sharing His blessings with everyone who comes to Ashburnham Place whether they know Him or not.


Where is Ashburnham Place?
Ashburnham Place is in the south-east of England. It is south of London in the county of East Sussex. The nearest town is Battle, which is about 10km drive away. The coast is roughly 15km drive away.


How many volunteers are there?
Currently, we have between 40-50 volunteers from 18 different countries. Volunteers come from Brazil, Germany, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Spain and many other nations.


What do volunteers do here?
There are several roles in which the volunteers are involved:

  1. The Volunteer Discipleship Programme (VDP). Every volunteer spends ½ day each week learning about the Bible, Christian life-skills, prayer and many other topics. We offer a number of different courses and each volunteer must choose two each term. The discipleship programme has two distinctives. First, teaching on prayer and the experience of praying. Secondly, opportunities for assignments in local churches and schools. So, if you have creative gifts in dance, drama or music, you will be able to use these both in Ashburnham and in the locality. The VDP also includes mentoring groups and review meetings. These are for encouragement and to challenge people concerning their spiritual lives. The VDP is compulsory: if volunteers continually miss their VDP sessions, they will be asked to leave.
     
  2. The Ashburnham Continuous Prayer Initiative. Volunteers are involved in worship and prayer for a minimum of 5 hours a week. These times will include Scripture praying and praying for issues in the news, global concerns, and local and world evangelization.
     
  3. The Conference Centre. Every volunteer works in one of three teams: the house team, the kitchen team and the dining room team. The kitchen team help prepare food and do the washing up. The dining room team serve the food and clean the dining rooms and conference rooms. Volunteers have the opportunity to change teams every 2-4 months. Each team is run by members of the permanent staff. Volunteers are not expected to have any qualifications or experience before they come to Ashburnham. Volunteers work 6-7 hours per day for 4½ days a week and have two full days off each week.
     
  4. Fun and fellowship! We organise events, parties and outings for the volunteers and there is plenty of time to spend time with friends and have fun!


What do volunteers do in their free time?
There are always lots of things going on at Ashburnham! In addition, there is a computer room, a gym, table tennis table, pool table, a basketball area and a football pitch. There are also 3 lakes for swimming and boating, plus lots of woodlands for walking or watching local wildlife. Many volunteers choose to go out on their days off to visit the local towns of Hastings or Eastbourne. Some travel further to London, Brighton or beyond!


What about going to church?
For most of the community, Ashburnham is our spiritual home – our church. We meet every Sunday evening for a celebration and to listen to God’s Word. You will be expected to attend these services as part of your life in the Ashburnham community. During the week we also take time on Monday mornings for worship, prayer and Holy Communion. In addition, there are also other optional prayer and worship meetings happening through the week that you will be very welcome to attend.


Can I improve my English?
We offer free informal English classes for volunteers of one hour per week. These sessions are compulsory. However, we do not offer any professional classes and if improving your English is the only reason to come to England then Ashburnham is not the right place for you. As part of any application, you need to fill out an English Language Evaluation form. You do not have to have a perfect score on this – we are simply trying to assess your level of English to the best of our abilities. If we feel your level of English will make it difficult for you to adapt to all the volunteer roles and responsibilities, we will ask you to consider taking some English lessons at home before applying again. If, on arrival, we find you have misled us about your English Language Evaluation form – by using language tools such as dictionaries, translating devices, etc, or you have received assistance – we will ask you to leave.


Where will I stay?
Volunteers stay in shared ‘houses’ of between 8 and 12 people. We try to mix nationalities and languages as much as possible to help volunteers to get to know each other and to learn from each other.


‘What about money?
All food and accommodation is provided free of charge and you will get weekly pocket money of currently £25 (approximately 27 EURO). There is also a leaving gift; plus, we provide free internet, laundry and lifts to the nearest train station.’


When can I come?
We have four set arrival and departure dates each year: in the beginning of January, after Easter, in the end of June, and the beginning of September. Please contact us for exact dates for when you want to come. Please note that you can only apply for either 6, 9 or 12 months with the exception of the summer when we also take people for just 2 – 3 months. Please note that we have limited the numbers of places for each country. Therefore we recommend you apply early!

There is a promotional video which gives an overview of the life of a volunteer in Ashburnham Place. Click here to watch the video.


How do I apply?

  1. Download the APPLICATION PACK
  2. Complete the application form as detailed as you can.
  3. Take the medical form to your doctor and ask him/her to fill it in.
  4. Take one of the reference forms to your pastor and the other to a second Christian leader or mentor and ask them to fill them in.
  5. Complete the English Language Evaluation form, following the instructions on the form.
  6. When all the forms are complete you can send them to us. You can find the contact details on the forms or below.
  7. We prefer to be in touch with you be email. Please make sure that you give us an email address if at all possible. You will hear from us usually within a week to explain the selection process.


Any more questions?
You probably have a lot more questions! Please feel free to contact us at: volunteers@ashburnham.org.uk.


Contact Address:
Volunteers Department
Ashburnham Christian Trust
Ashburnham Place
Battle
East Sussex
TN33 9NF