ADVENT 2024 Application

I. Eligibility Criteria

  1. Applicants must be willing to submit to the leadership of program leaders, team leaders, and local church leadership.
  2. Applicants must be willing to uphold the twofold goal of Advent, which is:
    • (1) to promote the practice of conversational English within the classroom, and
    • (2) to introduce the Gospel message to student participants in the program.
  3. Team members unaccompanied by adults are required to be at least 15 years of age. Those under 15 must be accompanied at all times during the missions program by a responsible adult who will play a disciplinary or enforcement role should behavioral or disciplinary issues arise.
    • The adult must explicitly understand and agree to this arrangement to qualify as the adult responsible for the team member in question, and will be placed in the same team with his or her charge for the duration of the mission program. An adult can be responsible for multiple team members.
    • An example of such an adult could be an adult team member from the same church, a family friend, a team pastor, etc. The adult should be old enough to serve in a disciplinary role should the need arise.
  4. All applicants must attend Boot Camp in order to attend any other part of the missions trip.

II. Steps to Apply

1. Prepare Application Materials

To make your application process smooth, please prepare the following before beginning the actual application:

  • Liability Release Form – please download and print the form, sign where required, and upload it to the device you will use to apply.
  • Photo and Video Consent Form – please download and print the form, sign where required, and upload it to the device you will use to apply.
  • Recommendations – Know whom you will ask to be your recommendation reference and notify them accordingly. The reference of one pastor is mandatory, but you may also include the information of another mentor as a second reference to further your application. If you do not know a pastor who can be your reference, the recommendation of your mentor will suffice. Have the contact information (email and phone number) ready.
  • Testimony – You will be asked to share your testimony of how you came to know Jesus. We want to know how the gospel has affected your life, and it should describe what your life was like before Jesus (if applicable), how you encountered Him, and how He’s changed you. It will be a text submission, but it is much easier to write your testimony out somewhere else (document, notes app, etc.) and then paste it into the application.

Step 2: Fill Out the Application

The form includes an auto-save function if you are logged into your Google account. However, it is highly encouraged to finish the application in one sitting for greatest efficiency and to prevent loss of work. Preparing the necessary application materials beforehand as encouraged would help.

Note that it is possible to edit your application form after submission. You will receive an email confirming the submission of your application, with a copy of your application and a link to edit your application information if necessary. If you note a mistake on your application, please edit your application.

Step 3: Recommendation Form(s)

After you’ve sent in your application form, please ask your recommendation reference(s) to fill out the recommendation form that will be emailed to them. Provide them with the full name that you used on your application. (Ex.: If your English name is Bill, but your legal name is your Chinese name, please tell your recommendation reference to use the name you wrote down on your application.) This will help us find your information easily for our records.

Please note that if your pastoral reference does not turn in a recommendation form on your behalf, your application is incomplete.

  • If your pastor does not turn in your recommendation form by the early-bird deadline, you will still be considered as having submitted your form by the early-bird deadline. Your application will be considered on time as long as your own application has been submitted by the deadline.
  • For the regular deadline, the same applies: recommendation forms may be submitted after the deadline.
  • However, please note that your application cannot be completely screened until the recommendation form is submitted, so there will be delay in your receiving confirmation of your acceptance.

Step 4: Interview

Once you finish your application, we will be in contact with you to arrange an informal online interview, likely through Zoom. There is no need to dress up, prepare answers, or be nervous, as it will be a friendly conversation to get to know who you are, what your heart is, and where you are on your Christian walk.

Step 5: Confirmation of Acceptance & Payment

Once your acceptance into the program is confirmed via email (please make sure that mail from adventtaiwansm@gmail.com does not end up in your spam box!), please mail your check or send the fee digitally to cover the costs.

Please do not pay the registration fee until you’ve received confirmation of your acceptance. If you send in your check prematurely, it will be disregarded until your acceptance is confirmed.

  • In order to be eligible for the early bird fee, the payment must be made on or before April 30.
  • Exception: If the application was submitted before April 30 but the applicant was accepted after April 30, the applicant will be given one week to pay (beginning date of acceptance) before early bird expires.

By Check

Please mail your check to the following address with “[Applicant Name] 2024 ADVENT Registration” in the memo line:

Nehemiah Ministry International
2 Faraday
Irvine, CA 92618
USA

By Zelle

Zelle payment is now available under the email bolgpchurch@gmail.com.

Make sure to put “2024 ADVENT Registration [Applicant Name]” in the memo line. Otherwise, your payment may get mixed up with the church’s general fund, and you may not be marked as having paid.

Step 6: Airport Pickup Form

Airport pickup is available beginning Monday, July 1, 2024. If you need us to pick you up from the airport, you must fill out the Airport Pickup Form. We will only make arrangements to pick you up if you fill out this form. Contact us immediately if you realize you sent us the wrong information; else, you risk not having a ride. We will send out more information on airport pickups as details are confirmed. Please remember to check your email!

Each individual person requiring pickup must fill out the form for himself/herself.

Questions?

If you have any questions about any aspect of the program, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. If you require further clarification, or have any additional questions or issues that you would like to bring to our attention, please e-mail us: adventtaiwansm@gmail.com