New Zealand Partnership
Muskoka Bible Centre, in partnership with Christian Camping New Zealand and CCI Ontario, are offering an exchange program for young Canadians and New Zealanders to experience life abroad while serving God in a new environment.
This experience can last as short at six months, or extend for up to a year, based on your plans and commitment. Canadians typically start their experience serving at MBC for a summer, then head to New Zealand in the fall (and sometimes come back to work for another summer with us), while New Zealanders typically arrive in the spring, work at MBC for the summer, then head home in the fall (in some cases, Kiwis stay over the winter to serve at MBC, if there is space available, and then serve a second summer at MBC). Either way, there’s lots of space on both ends for travel and fun with new and old friends from around the world.
Don’t want to take our word for it? Read more from past participants here:
Article: “Another side of the world“
Your experience will depend on where you’re coming from, so click on the button below for your country of origin and read below for more information.
The Timeline
Canadian students start their exchange experience by applying to the CCNZ portal (linked below) to express an interest in participating in the program. This is typically done in the spring or early summer, with acceptances arriving in late July or early August. If you’re working at MBC already that summer, our staff team can support the visa application process to make sure everything is smoothly submitted.
- Fall: Just after Canadian Thanksgiving, you’ll fly out to Auckland and meet the CCI New Zealand team. There, you’ll take part in a three-day welcome session (setting up your NZ bank account, getting a taste of Kiwi hospitality, their strong coffee and culture and so much more). After this, you’ll fly out to the local camp where you’ll be volunteering. The camps will be responsible for your training, room and board and making sure that you’re growing in your faith during your time there.
- Winter: Unlike Canada, New Zealand operates in the southern hemisphere, which means that their summer season is during our winter season. You can expect a hot December, January and February while volunteering at your camps. There will be times to get out, explore the country, surrounding cities and more! If you want to apply to work at MBC again over the following summer, you’ll want to a look at our Summer Staff options at MBC to get an idea of where you want to apply. More details can be found here.
- Spring: Your time volunteering in New Zealand will wrap up around the end of March. At that point, you’ll have decided to either return home and take a break in Canada for the month of April, or you may spend time traveling in New Zealand. If you’ve been accepted to work at MBC for the summer, you’ll want to make sure that you’re back in time to rest, re-connect with friends and family before your summer (or spring) contract starts. Remember: Lead and Core contracts typically start in early May, Summer Core and Frontline contracts typically start in late June.
The Cost
We know that money is a factor for experiences like this. We’ve done our best to create an affordable program that (combined with preparing in advance or working at MBC over a summer) will help you at least break even. We don’t know how to factor in your vacation and personal spending, so you’ll need to think through that carefully before you commit to the program.
At MBC, we’ll treat you like any other summer staff member – the pay looks the same as other Immerse positions. Heading to New Zealand, you’ll be responsible for paying for your flights to and from New Zealand and an administrative fee to CCNZ. The admin fee covers a three day welcome and orientation, including setting up a domestic bank account for tax purposes and cultural experiences with the CCNZ team. In the past, we’ve been to a Marae (Maori village), jet boat riding and much more! The administrative fee also includes internal flights / transport to your camp following the orientation, return flights/transport at the end of the volunteer period, and a three day debrief and fun time together at the end of your exchange before flying home.
All room and board costs are covered while you’re in New Zealand by your host camp, and you also get a weekly stipend of about $100 CDN to spend on whatever you choose.
$5500 | TOTAL COST
Estimated Income Breakdown (all in Canadian dollars)
How To Apply
If this is something you are interested in doing… great! CCI New Zealand has put together an application portal (find it by clicking here). Once you’ve completed the application, they will walk you through the selection of camps in New Zealand, so that you can get to know each camp better and the right role for you. You will need a Canadian passport, and CCI NZ will help you with your visa application.
After you’re accepted on the CCNZ end, you’ll apply to our Student Discipleship program, which is available to New Zealanders who are 18-25 years old. We call that program “Immerse”, which comes from 1 Timothy 4:12-15. We believe that the best way to grow as a disciple of Jesus isn’t just to read about His life – we want our student staff to practice living out their faith. That means we’re looking for students who don’t just want a summer job, but who want to actively grow in their faith and contribute to a healthy Christian community. You can learn more about the Immerse program here.
The Timeline
New Zealanders who are accepted to the MBC discipleship program will first arrive in Canada in early May and participate in an onboarding for all the Kiwis who are here as part of the exchange (CCNZ is partnering with other camps in Ontario too). After the orientation, you’ll arrive at MBC for our spring season, where you’ll help in a variety of departments as we prepare for July and August, our (Canadian) summer ministry months. You can serve in any of our MBC departments, including Kids Min, Recreation, Maintenance or our camp for young people, called Widjiitiwin.
As a part of the MBC summer team, you’ll have a lot of chances to get to know Canadian students, and participate in our activities. You’ll get a feel for what it’s like to serve at a Canadian camp, where programs run for 10 consecutive weeks, instead of one or two week holiday camps like in New Zealand. Our Immerse program will take care of your spiritual health, with Bible studies, worship sessions and opportunities for fun and friendship with others.
In the fall (September and October), you’ll have the chance to participate in several Canadian cultural experiences with the New Zealanders both from MBC and other camps. In the past, we’ve taken our participants to Toronto Blue Jays games, a 3-day, 2-night canoe trip, hockey games, the top of the CN Tower and much more! We also plan an end-of-program debrief at one of our local camps for you to talk about your experience.
The Cost
We know that money is a factor for experiences like this. We’ve done our best to create an affordable program that (combined with preparing in advance or working at MBC over a summer) will help you at least break even. We don’t know how to factor in your vacation and personal spending, so you’ll need to think through that carefully before you commit.
At MBC, we’ll treat you like any other summer staff member – the pay looks the same as other Immerse positions. You can expect to earn between $4000 and $7000 CAD over 4 months of working for us, depending on the position you apply for. In the fall, we offer our staff casual work, and we average about 20 hours a week at minimum wage in Ontario for our New Zealand participants.
CCNZ also charges an administration fee for the experience, which covers the orientation at the start of the program, all your Canadian experiences (canoe trip, baseball games, hockey games, etc.), support for things like visa applications and bank accounts, as well as the debrief at the end of the program.
All room and board costs are covered while you’re working for us at MBC, and your pay is deposited into your bank account every two weeks.
$6000 | TOTAL COST
Estimated Income Breakdown (all in Canadian dollars)
How to Apply
To apply to work in Canada, you need to complete our staff application, using the link below. As a part of the application process, you’ll need to apply for a visa to work in Canada. Contact hr@muskokabible.com and let us know you’re an interested New Zealader so that we can work with you specifically.