Why Do SMILE?

All SMILE placements have three distinctive elements to them: service, evangelism and discipleship.

Service

Our placements are never short on opportunities to serve local churches and people, often in very practical ways. This may mean admin, youth or children’s work, manual work, or many other things.

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

Discipleship is two-sided. First of all, there are opportunities to disciple believers through leading Christian Unions, helping at church Sunday schools, teaching students and one-to-one Bible reading etc. We also believe it is important for SMILERS themselves to be discipled during their time away. This is why we believe good team leaders and local overseers are very important.

Benefits of a SMILE Placement

  • Serve God and support the work of long term mission partners, rather than just having a gap year “experience”.
  • Everything is organised for you! From pre-departure training, to how to get there, to debriefing, we take care of everything for you.
  • 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.
  • You’ll have the support and care of local Christians while you encounter another country and culture.
  • A full-time person will be on call in emergencies, looking after you and everything from the UK end.