Understanding Carmel

OUR BACKGROUND

Carmel was started in 1954 by Jack and Kaye Edkins as a tiny guest farm with 6 rooms, and since 1974 has been owned and administered by The Carmel Evangelical Trust. From the outset, Carmel has been run as a part of God’s extended kingdom, and is bound by the Trust deed to pursue “the propagation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ”. This is achieved by running Carmel by the Sea as a holiday and conference center, open to all who wish to come. The very evident presence of God in this place, together with good food, comfortable accommodation and the message of God’s unconditional love, work together to restore our guests in every way.

OUR STAFFING

The working team at Carmel are a mixture of local people and those who have come to Carmel from elsewhere to serve the Lord.
The RESIDENTIAL SERVICE TEAM all live on the property and work co-operatively in support of one another, as a team of committed Christians called by God into ministry at Carmel and striving to deepen their relationship with God. They are expected to be willing to help in areas outside their own areas of responsibility, being part of a serving ministry and sharing their faith with guests in a loving and gentle way.
The SUPPORT TEAM are a small group of specialized workers, usually in administration & finance, not living on the property, and supporting the ministry in their work, each one being a committed Christian, happy to identify with the guests and objectives of Carmel.
The OPERATIONS TEAM is made up of the larger body of workers, mostly living off the property, who provide the valuable day to day work required in the property, food service & housekeeping departments. While being a committed Christian is not an essential quality for this team, many of the team are Christians of long standing who take delight in working for a Christian organization, as this fulfills something of their personal spiritual calling.

OUR FAITH

With consideration to many differing points of view in the Christian world today, Carmel has a detailed statement of faith which those committed to Carmel’s ministry accept. While this rather formal document is freely available, the following is a brief summary:

• Our faith is TRINITARIAN in that we believe God to be three in person, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, although wholly united as one.
• Our faith is BIBLICAL in that we believe the Bible to be inspired by God and sufficient in all matters, although needing to be interpreted by mankind and the church in submission to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
• Our faith is CHRISTO-CENTRIC in that it is focused on the saving and atoning work of the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who by God’s grace and on the basis of repentance and faith, reconciles sinful and rebellious men and women to God.
• Our faith is EVANGELICAL in that we believe that as believers we have been commissioned to reach out as God’s ambassadors, striving both to live out the realities of changed lives in our work and our worship, and to proclaim the good news of salvation to all people.

OUR MINISTRY

Carmel’s vision statement is: “sharing the restoring love of Christ.”

The outworking of this is indicated in the mission statement:

• Carmel’s community is committed to glorify God, by striving to serve him with excellence and integrity as we minister and witness together, surrounded by the beauty of his creation.
• Carmel is a Godly haven of safety and healing, welcoming all who need spiritual, emotional and physical re-creation, desiring to restore the whole person to be effective for God.
• Carmel is a meeting place where dividing walls are broken down between denominations, cultures, and economic groups, through the experienced presence and love of Christ.

Each team member, irrespective of the specific team in which they work, is expected to focus on the needs of the guests first & foremost. Their joint concern is to respond immediately to whatever work needs arise and not to hide behind the limits of their job description. Christians on the team are urged to serve the Living Christ with excellence in all things, & to seek standards which HE would approve.

In order to achieve Carmel’s spiritual objectives, every member of the Residential Service Team is expected to focus on the following, over and beyond their daily work responsibilities, remembering that the path of spiritual maturity lies along the route of authentic servanthood.

• To relate to guests and communicate the warmth of welcome and the love of Christ, without discrimination to young or old, rich or poor, from all sectors of our society.
• To develop an atmosphere of trust and co-operation within our working community, based on our unity in Christ and sharing together of our work and calling.
• To knit into the fabric of our work, the principles of the Christian faith, so that our witness can be seen as well as heard, in the detail as well as the broad front of our work. This must include total integrity, a responsible attitude and an adequate example in all aspects of life.

A decision to join the Residential Service Team is indeed to respond to a call into the specific Christian ministry of serving and caring, trusting that guests will be impacted by the truth of Jesus not only in spoken words, but in the work of the team.

OUR WORK

The day to day, year by year work of running Carmel by the Sea is intensive & extensive. A total staff of around 32 attend to all the duties of administration (including finance, reception & reservations), food service, housekeeping, and the property department, which handles not only maintenance & repairs, but also upgrades & developments, and estate maintenance. An income of over R2 million per annum, and several thousand guest visits (about 15 000 bed nights) ensure that there is lots to do!

Most of the team is employed on the basis of a full days work for 5 or 6 days per week, depending on their department. The work is demanding physically & emotionally, especially for the Residential Service Team who are expected to make a significant contribution to Carmel’s ministry work over and beyond a normal work day. For this team the edges of work and ministry are blurred as their whole life at Carmel combines work & ministry.

Leadership positions at Carmel require Christian maturity and good standing in the faith, as would leadership in the local church, and leaders are responsible for conducting evening devotions for guests as well as departmental spiritual guidance, striving to inspire the members of the greater community, who may at best be only nominally Christian or even negative about faith in Christ.

All members if the Residential Service Team try to be available to guests, to encourage and enthuse them in their Christian walk and to pray with them when requested.

OUR LIFESTYLE

There is always a multiplicity of things to do for the sake of the guests and Carmel’s ministry because many of the Residential Service Team LIVE on Carmel and this is their HOME. As a result they are HOSTS to our guests just as they would be in their own homes. All this has got nothing to do with “working hours” and these things are done out of love for the Lord and a commitment to serve him in this ministry. Members of the Residential Service Team take most of their meals with guests in the dining room and this time is used to encourage guests and to look for opportunities of witness to God’s greatness and goodness.

Residential Service Team members are required to become affiliated with, and attend, a local church in George, although many retain their membership at a ‘home’ church elsewhere. Sunday responsibilities usually allow a few hours peace and quiet and an opportunity to attend a worship service in George on a reasonably regular basis. The demands of the ministry here make it difficult to get deeply involved in the work of a George church.

OUR REMUNERATION

Remuneration of the SUPPORT TEAM & OPERATIONS TEAM is comparable with wages or salaries paid locally for similar work while remuneration for the RESIDENTIAL SERVICE TEAM is negotiated in terms of a combination of need, and to a lesser extent qualifications, experience and responsibility. For the latter, Carmel provides free board and lodging in appropriate accommodation as far as possible! From time to time volunteers also serve on this team without remuneration but receiving free board and lodging.

OUR NEED FOR SUPPORT

It is important that members of the Residential Service Team have support and prayer backing of their home church or fellowship, as well as family and friends where possible. In some cases the support from a family or home church includes financial support. Members of all teams, who are committed Christians, are encouraged to keep in regular contact with a church support group so that there is an awareness of their needs and thinking and their role in Carmel’s overall ministry.

OUR PRAYER

We are confident that the Lord will continue to guide & direct the ministry of Carmel by the Sea in the future. We will trust HIM to guide the right people to fill positions on all our teams, and to continue to draw us all into a closer relationship with him, while we actively “share the restoring love of Christ” with all our visitors.