MISSIONS INSIDER BLOG

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Tyler Tom

Tyler Tom

You can find Tyler Tom roaming the Twin Oaks campus taking in the fresh sunshine, or sipping a hot latte in the Substation. Enamored by God is faithfulness, Tyler Tom gathers stories and interviews to share with you from what God is doing with His children among the nations.

Recent posts by Tyler Tom

3 min read

Trusting God To Make A Way

By Tyler Tom on 8 Sep 2023

Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is tell you to seek Jesus for yourself. In reality, as Christians, we should all be trying our best to seek Him first. Kaleigh Seliskar helped disciple students while serving SSTs this summer. Listen as she shares an encouraging testimony of how God increased her faith through a student. 
 
Over this summer, I had the honor of working with YWAM Tyler’s teen summer camp called SST.  During this time, I had many roles. One of them included guiding and encouraging three teenagers to prepare a teaching. They would have the opportunity to share their teaching at a Vacation Bible School (VBS) they would help with during their outreach in Houston.
 
One of the students, "Josh", was preparing a teaching on Moses and the Red Sea. He came to me on the last day of preparation and said to me “Kaleigh, I want to give an altar call at the end of my teaching but I don’t know how to do that. Can you help me?” I asked him to pray about it and then come to me later and we could talk about how to do it.  He never come back, so I assumed that he either decided to skip it all together, or that he went to another leader and talked about it. 
 
The next week we were in Houston and Josh gave his teaching on the final day of VBS. The kids in the group were engaged the whole time, and consumed by what Josh had to say.  Towards the end of his teaching, he began looking around the stage like he was missing something. At this point, I was pretty confused because his teaching appeared to be going as planned and he hadn’t missed anything. Suddenly, he stopped looking around the stage and seemed very excited and he did something that the other leaders and I had not expected. He asked the kids in the VBS if they wanted to accept Jesus, and if they did to raise their hand. Twelve of the nineteen kids responded immediately.
 
 
 
Josh ran to the side of the stage and pulled two cases of water to the center of the stage, got back on the mic and said, “If you just raised your hand, come onto the stage and walk between these cases of water like the Israelites did through the Red Sea to show everyone that you are going to follow Jesus.”  All twelve of those kids got up and ran to the stage to declare their dedication to follow Jesus.
 
 As a staff member for these SST students, I was so impressed with Josh's creativity and on-the-spot thinking. This is just one of the few ways that the teenagers in the SST were able to impact the people of Houston.  Not only did they touch the people of Houston but I was also personally affected by them. At times I felt that I was too young or just didn't have enough experience to share my faith. The SST students blew those thoughts away. Their fearlessness and resilience showed me that age has nothing to do with my ability to talk about Jesus.
 

Did it ever occur to you that when you were all grown up the next generation would look up to you? It doesn't matter what you think you are capable of, God can and will use those with willing hearts to fulfill His plans. If you open yourself up and follow wherever the Lord may lead, He will amaze you every time. Seek Him first and He will always be there to help you.

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Topics: Trust Knowing God Making Him Known Discipleship Opportunities Freedom Faith Teenagers SST Leadership Youth With A Mission ministry youth Red Sea
2 min read

Hope for Maui Amid the Fire

By Tyler Tom on 1 Sep 2023

As news spread across America about the wildfires in Maui, we have been postured in prayer for our friends and family affected by this devastation. We've come together and lifted up prayers to God on behalf of the people affected by these wildfires. Missionary staff here at YWAM Tyler, Kaina and Brandee Lee are from Hawaii and give us a feet on the ground testimony of what's happening. 

In a recent interview to see how we could come alongside the people of Maui, here is what they shared with us⏤

Topics: Trust God Rebuilding Hope Peace Together faithfulness wildfires
3 min read

I Am Not Disqualified.

By Tyler Tom on 11 Aug 2023

It is well with my soul . . . Really?

I’ve heard these words many times. Something about them stands out to me, but can I say it is well with my soul and really believe it is? Loving God is one thing, but living with Him fully enthroned can be difficult sometimes because it's not about me anymore.

It’s hard. I desire. I fear. I feel. 

Topics: Purpose Trust God Belief Life-Changing Spiritual Growth Freedom Hope No Fear Overcoming surrender Called to Mission God's will perseverance
2 min read

Fear Doesn't Have To Derail You From Fulfilling Your Purpose

By Tyler Tom on 28 Jul 2023

Is God calling you to step out in faith and apply for a Discipleship Training School (DTS), but fear keeps kicking you in the guts? What if this turns out to be the biggest mistake of your life? What if you're asked to do something way out of your comfort zone? What if you don't fit in? Run out of money? Or fail everyone's expectations? What if you're not really hearing God's voice after all? Something is gnawing away inside your head saying, "I just don't think I can do this!"

Topics: Purpose Following Jesus YWAM DTS Calling Destiny Overcoming Fear Hope No Fear Hearing God's Voice Faith discipleship fear jesus
2 min read

Trusting God for the Impossible

By Tyler Tom on 14 Jul 2023

With little to no money towards her outreach, Emma Hamlin experiences a financial miracle. There is freedom that comes with trusting the Lord, but nobody said it was going to be easy!

Even when His ways don’t seem logical to us, remember He is faithful! Read and see how Emma was able to believe what God said above all else.

2 min read

A Salvation Bracelet Won Her Over

By Tyler Tom on 23 Jun 2023

Have you ever heard a testimony and walked away in awe of who God is? Listen as Montie shares her personal experience of how the Lord shifted her perspective on sharing the gospel to some little children living in Indonesia:
 
As I listened to a teammate telling the Easter story in a kindergarten class that day, I started having a negative attitude. I thought why are we doing this? This isn’t their first language and they probably won’t understand the meaning. Then I remembered how my daughter accepted Jesus as her Savior.
Topics: Outreach YWAM Outreach Perspective Travel Salvation Bracelet indonesia teamwork
2 min read

The Rise of Gen Z

By Tyler Tom on 16 Jun 2023

The word of the Lord changes everything! Have you ever walked through a season of difficulty contending for God’s promises? Read how the Lord revived Brian's hope for Gen Z during YWAM Tyler's staff conference.
Topics: Trust God Following Jesus Hope Coffeehouse revival generation z quiet time faithfulness perseverance dallas
10 min read

The Five Solas for Every Believer

By Tyler Tom on 2 Jun 2023

Seven seniors threw their black caps high in the auditorium celebrating their graduation from Christian Heritage School. Everyone present grinned from ear to ear as the seniors shared their gratitude to parents, teachers, and classmates who had encouraged them in their lifetime. 

A highlight was the commencement address given by one of our Peruvian teachers, Priscilla Ugarte. We published the address in its entirety so you can receive the full context of her message. It's impacting!

Topics: Celebration Christian Heritage School high school principal approach CHS christian education ywamtyler the five solas sola graduation
2 min read

Your Identity is in Jesus Christ

By Tyler Tom on 5 May 2023

"Jacob is sharing his testimony of how he said 'yes' to Jesus. Now he is showing how he was baptized to hundreds of students in schools, and even on the streets of Norway and Sweden 🤯."⏤Matheus.

Sometimes it's hard to believe what can happen through the life of just one Discipleship Training School (DTS) student.

Topics: Outreach YWAM Tyler Growth Following Jesus YWAM Outreach Spiritual Growth Discipleship Opportunities Following God Make Disciples Transformation baptism discipleship hunger
2 min read

Making Friends Doesn't Have to be Complicated

By Tyler Tom on 28 Apr 2023

You know the feeling you get watching a film depicting a real friendship, and your mind spins, heart aches, and goosebumps pop up? Don’t we all, deep inside, long for a real friend? Pause. Can you think of one right now?
 
You were made by God to be in relationship with Him and others. Introverts and extroverts alike, crave meaningful friendships.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Trust Love YWAM Loneliness friends friendship making friends
2 min read

I Found Freedom from My Sin

By Tyler Tom on 21 Apr 2023

Forget the world and give me Jesus! Quinn Evans, a Crossroads DTS student on outreach, shared a radical encounter when God pulled her out of a life of sin, and set her heart ablaze to share the Gospel.

Her experience gives hope to the brokenhearted! When you make the conscious decision to fully surrender, you'll discover what it means to truly be free.

Topics: YWAM Tyler Freedom Sin YWAM surrender repentance lordship
3 min read

Find Healing by Forgiving Your Parents

By Tyler Tom on 14 Apr 2023

"I don't think I can forgive him." Perhaps you have used or have heard this phrase used when it comes to the topic of forgiveness. If we rely merely on our own strength to forgive others, forgiveness will seem impossible. 

Recently, we had the privilege of hosting a retreat for Shiloh Ministries who equips men to conquer addiction. Throughout their classes here, God revealed, healed, and delivered these guys from so much! The story you're about to read is about one man who was able to claim his freedom as God walked him through the process of forgiveness...  

Topics: Healing Freedom forgiveness wholeness alcohol fathers parents alcoholism abuse abusive
2 min read

Courageous Women

What does it take to become a courageous individual? William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, observed that...

3 min read

Building Foundations

How do you increase your faith? Former student Sarah Horan shares her heart on how God revealed His truth to her during...

2 min read

Missions Changed Me

From as far back as my junior high school, I remember struggling to find happiness. I felt like I didn’t fit in and...

2 min read

Unexpected Friendships

When we follow God, sometimes we have our own expectations of what God will do through us. This can sometimes cause us...
2 min read

Miracles in the Classroom

What does a young person chasing after God's heart look like? Christian Heritage School desires to fan the flame of the...

4 min read

Cross-Cultural Christmastime

Have you ever wondered how Christmas is celebrated around the world? We asked four of our YWAM Tyler missionaries to...

3 min read

My Stepmom Thinks YWAM Rocks

Have you ever been curious about going to a Discipleship Training School but don't know what to expect? In a recent...

2 min read

Marked by God

Can you imagine God sending someone from another country to see you? While in Thailand, Jess Reminger encounters a man...

2 min read

The Day I Thanked God For Losing My Job

One morning I sat in the classroom during my training school with YWAM, and I was crying, thanking God for the loss of...

2 min read

Sharing The Gospel Isn't Complicated

God has been doing amazing things with our DTS team on outreach in Thailand. As the team has made themselves available,...

2 min read

How DTS Changed My Child

Before I left for my Discipleship Training School, my family really had no idea what YWAM was. If your family...
2 min read

Laying Down My Rights

I was sitting in my DTS classroom, my head wrapped in thoughts of a family circumstance that was happening. We had...