Pais Project
Encyclopedia
The Pais Project is a global Christian youth and schools work organization. Founded in 1992, its motto is "Missionaries Making Missionaries". Pais works with school students, primarily those aged 11–18.
Pais works alongside schools, community projects and churches to create synergy between them, working together to help young people find their purpose in life. The aim is to spark a global movement in schools.
Their philosophy is to Spread, Spot, Stay and Send: - Spread the message - Spot the people of peace - Stay with them, investing and empowering them - Send them out.
Great Britain
Established: 1992
Headquarters (HQ): Burnley
The first home of Pais, Great Britain has teams working alongside students of both primary and secondary school age.
Northern Ireland
Established: 2000
HQ: Coleraine
Northern Ireland is a country often remembered for its vicious and acrimonious ethno-political struggles. Pais teams work with both protestant and Roman-Catholic schools and groups to help bring unity and are very relational in their approach to youth ministry.
USA
Established: 2002
HQ: Arlington, Texas
The first Pais nation outside of Europe, Pais:USA follows strict adherence to the laws relating to the Separation of Church and State. USA teams are typically “hubs”, with the full team based within the same church. Pais:USA is proud to have received endorsement from ‘America’s Pastor’ and bestselling Christian author, Max Lucado.
Germany
Established: 2003
HQ: Neumünster
Born out of a fusion between ‘The Jesus Initiative’ and Pais, Pais:Germany received increased abilities to go into school following the “PISA
-shock” when German schools were criticized for their comparatively poor performance in relation to their global counterparts. What is unique to Pais:Germany is the relationship with the government. As part of the 'Zivildienst' (Civilian Service), a year on Pais:Germany is classed as a ‘Voluntary Service Year’ and men who do a year with Pais are freed from their military service duty.
Canada
Established: 2004
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia
As churches across Canada are realizing the need for connecting to their communities, Pais:Canada is partnering with churches, schools and young people to create change. The National Director of Pais:Canada was recently nominated as one of the most influential under 35’s, under 35 in British Columbia.
Ghana
Established: 2008
HQ: Accra
Pais:Ghana exists to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of the people they encounter. While the schools work is done mainly is the capital city of Ghana, the teams, partnered with local churches, reach into the neighboring rural areas with assemblies, medical missions and outreaches.
Eire
Established: 2010
HQ: Cork
Eire is the Irish word for Ireland, and is based in South Ireland. Eire partners with The Haven, a cafe/christian bookshop run by volunteers. The Haven has a vision to show Cork the love of Christ through acts of service and relationships, and provides a space for those relationships to grow.
Full teams are expected to be deployed in the following nations in the near future: Poland , Israel, India, Pakistan, Namibia and Brazil .
A Pais team consists of between 3-6 apprentices, who may come from several different nations around the world. Each apprentice works with a partnered church. Sometimes there will be multiple apprentices working with one church (called a hub). Apprentices will work with their partnered church, assisting primarily with the student, youth or childrens work and in the ministry of the church as a whole.
Apprentices meet together as a team for bible studies and to create and execute work in the local schools. This work takes the form of lessons, lunch clubs, assemblies/chapels, workshops, mentoring, coaching or anything else that enables Pais to best serve the needs of the schools they partner with.
Pais accepts people who have a Christian faith who have been a committed member of a local church with experience in youth ministry. The apprentices accommodation is provided by partnering churches. These churches are in return able to use these experienced apprentices to share their faith in the church's youth ministry and beyond
It is available from:
www.paisproject.com
www.amazon.com
Pais works alongside schools, community projects and churches to create synergy between them, working together to help young people find their purpose in life. The aim is to spark a global movement in schools.
Their philosophy is to Spread, Spot, Stay and Send: - Spread the message - Spot the people of peace - Stay with them, investing and empowering them - Send them out.
History and Growth
The Pais Project was founded in 1992 in Manchester, England by Paul Clayton Gibbs. Previous to this Gibbs was visiting schools around the area but believed it would be more effective to build a team around himself, partnering with multiple local churches. The first Pais team consisted of five interns, based in Manchester, partnered with five different churches. Teams spread out around England until 2000 when the first team in Northern Ireland was set up. Since then the work of Pais has expanded to include:Great Britain
Established: 1992
Headquarters (HQ): Burnley
The first home of Pais, Great Britain has teams working alongside students of both primary and secondary school age.
Northern Ireland
Established: 2000
HQ: Coleraine
Northern Ireland is a country often remembered for its vicious and acrimonious ethno-political struggles. Pais teams work with both protestant and Roman-Catholic schools and groups to help bring unity and are very relational in their approach to youth ministry.
USA
Established: 2002
HQ: Arlington, Texas
The first Pais nation outside of Europe, Pais:USA follows strict adherence to the laws relating to the Separation of Church and State. USA teams are typically “hubs”, with the full team based within the same church. Pais:USA is proud to have received endorsement from ‘America’s Pastor’ and bestselling Christian author, Max Lucado.
Germany
Established: 2003
HQ: Neumünster
Born out of a fusion between ‘The Jesus Initiative’ and Pais, Pais:Germany received increased abilities to go into school following the “PISA
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
-shock” when German schools were criticized for their comparatively poor performance in relation to their global counterparts. What is unique to Pais:Germany is the relationship with the government. As part of the 'Zivildienst' (Civilian Service), a year on Pais:Germany is classed as a ‘Voluntary Service Year’ and men who do a year with Pais are freed from their military service duty.
Canada
Established: 2004
HQ: Vancouver, British Columbia
As churches across Canada are realizing the need for connecting to their communities, Pais:Canada is partnering with churches, schools and young people to create change. The National Director of Pais:Canada was recently nominated as one of the most influential under 35’s, under 35 in British Columbia.
Ghana
Established: 2008
HQ: Accra
Pais:Ghana exists to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of the people they encounter. While the schools work is done mainly is the capital city of Ghana, the teams, partnered with local churches, reach into the neighboring rural areas with assemblies, medical missions and outreaches.
Eire
Established: 2010
HQ: Cork
Eire is the Irish word for Ireland, and is based in South Ireland. Eire partners with The Haven, a cafe/christian bookshop run by volunteers. The Haven has a vision to show Cork the love of Christ through acts of service and relationships, and provides a space for those relationships to grow.
Full teams are expected to be deployed in the following nations in the near future: Poland , Israel, India, Pakistan, Namibia and Brazil .
Apprenticeship
The organization offers a free one year (or more) Apprenticeship in Youth and Schools Ministry. Apprentices, from a variety of countries and denominations, volunteer to serve a local community through partnership with schools and churches. . Accommodation and training are also provided for free.A Pais team consists of between 3-6 apprentices, who may come from several different nations around the world. Each apprentice works with a partnered church. Sometimes there will be multiple apprentices working with one church (called a hub). Apprentices will work with their partnered church, assisting primarily with the student, youth or childrens work and in the ministry of the church as a whole.
Apprentices meet together as a team for bible studies and to create and execute work in the local schools. This work takes the form of lessons, lunch clubs, assemblies/chapels, workshops, mentoring, coaching or anything else that enables Pais to best serve the needs of the schools they partner with.
Pais accepts people who have a Christian faith who have been a committed member of a local church with experience in youth ministry. The apprentices accommodation is provided by partnering churches. These churches are in return able to use these experienced apprentices to share their faith in the church's youth ministry and beyond
Resources
The Line and the Dot blends the story of Pais with the four stages of Kingdom Pioneering. The book is the first book by Paul Gibbs, and part of a trilogy of books.It is available from:
www.paisproject.com
www.amazon.com