Careforce works with active outward looking churches where local resources are scarce and which are involved in their local communities in loving service and relevant outreach. This means that volunteers are placed with churches in the inner city and in rural areas and other 'deprived' areas.

Careforce also works with residential programmes and other projects where there is a clear Christian testimony within the work being undertaken and where there is a ministry to those particularly vulnerable in society. This includes the homeless, the elderly, those with addiction difficulties, those with learning difficulties and physical disability and those with difficult family situations.

Careforce volunteers are involved with these local churches and Christian projects in urban, suburban or rural communities. They spend most of their time in one or more of the following: children, youth and schools work; evangelistic outreach and discipleship or music/worship groups; serving people who are homeless or who have drug/alcohol related problems; assisting those who have a physical disability or with learning disabilities; supporting families facing difficulty or the elderly.  Any interests and giftings within a volunteer will be put to good use – and new ones will be nurtured.

Careforce volunteers are Christians aged 17-30 who wish to spend a year serving God and those in real need. They include:

Careforce carefully screens all applications from those wishing to be volunteers, taking up references including, wherever possible, one from their home church. After an initial interview, Careforce will commend a potential volunteer to a particular placement, and send on copies of all their papers. The final choice is then made by the placement after inviting the applicant to spend time with them (usually 1 to 2 days).

Each year some volunteers stay for a second year, some on the same placement and some move to another placement to broaden their experience. All Careforce volunteers attend an Induction Course in September and a Refresher Course in February. Careforce maintains links with both supervisor and volunteer throughout the year as we exercise a relevant pastoral and training role with both parties. Careforce staff will visit volunteers twice (usually during the autumn and after Easter) to ensure everything is going well between supervisor and volunteer.

All Careforce volunteers are placed in small area groups with other volunteers close to their own placements. This peer support is very important for each volunteer.

Careforce makes no charge to volunteers for providing this service. Once accepted, all volunteers are asked to raise some financial support to help cover the Careforce central costs - this is entirely voluntary and is not a condition of acceptance.

Careforce are constantly reviewing and assessing our programme and our bench mark standards are set out in Charters for both Volunteers and Placements.

Careforce works very closely with a number of other Christian organisations and groups. In particular we have strong links with CPAS/CYFA and UCCF. We also have strong working relationships with Friends International and IFES.

OUR DOCTRINAL BASIS

We gladly affirm our faith and trust in the God, uniquely revealed in the Bible, who is holy and just, gracious and merciful, who has loved us and rescued us and restored us, sinners though we are, through the coming, dying and rising again of Jesus Christ. In particular we affirm that

• There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  
• God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.  
• The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.  
• Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God's wrath and condemnation.  
• The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.  
• Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.  
• Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.  
• The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.  
• The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.  
• The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.  
• The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.