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 to put God in a box and feel like we aren’t being used at all, when in reality we are being used in a way we just didn’t expect.
Topics: Connection Communication Discipleship Opportunities ministry faithfulness friendship student communications long distance
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 is anything like mine, I want to put your mind at ease about saying yes to God. I asked my Mom, Christina Bear, to share her thoughts and how she felt when I left to pursue God's next step for me at YWAM Tyler.
Topics: God's voice Family Life-Changing Identity Discipleship Opportunities Hope Faith Following God Go DTS parents
3 min read
Lessons Learned at YWAM Tyler Continue to Shape My Life
As I awoke again to the sound of the sea surging on the rocks, the scream of the gulls, and the beautiful vista fanning out before me, I was struck with the thought, “However did I end up in Newfoundland?” Me, whose life was going to be happily-ever- after in the nirvana of Beautiful B.C. The chain of events was unexpected, un-sought, and wandering, yet God brought me to my heart’s home in this extraordinary province.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missions Direction Life-Changing Choice Missionary Missionary Life Discipleship Opportunities Community Faith Missionary Training Dependence on God surrender Called to Mission God's will
3 min read
Trusting God To Make A Way
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.
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
Spiritual Leadership for the Next Generation
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the weight of responsibility? Being a leader is far from easy but if God called you to it He won't lead you astray. He wants to guide you through every situation you will face in life. Aaron Wardlaw shares his testimony about personal obstacles he overcame during outreach while being a small group leader.
Topics: Trust God Discipleship Opportunities Teenagers Dependence on God Leadership Overcoming influence
2 min read
Your Identity is in Jesus Christ
"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
3 min read
The Blessing of Intentional Discipleship
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is the power of intentional discipleship.
When I signed up for my Discipleship Training School (DTS), I assumed because of the name that there would be discipleship involved, but I had no idea how intentional YWAM Tyler is in the discipleship process.
Topics: Training School Healing Relationship with God Growth YWAM DTS Overcoming Fear Discipleship Opportunities Anxiety Following God Blessing discipleship life lessons
2 min read
Let's Talk About Worship, Discipleship, and Missions.
Passion for WORSHIP, DISCIPLESHIP, AND MISSIONS
I saw this guy rocking the guitar, singing his guts out to the Lord, and inspiring the audience to join him in his rapturous worship, and I knew I liked this guy.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missions Purpose YWAM DTS Worship Missionary Discipleship Opportunities World Changer Deeper with God support discipleship ywam missions DTS Worship DTS
2 min read
Life After My Discipleship Training School
LIFE AFTER MY DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING SCHOOL
After my Discipleship Training School (DTS) ended last spring, going home was difficult. It was hard to go from seeing friends everyday, worshipping and living in community to only seeing my immediate family.
Topics: Missions YWAM DTS Missionary Life Discipleship Opportunities Global Missions Hope Make Disciples Missions in America city ministry
4 min read
Straight Outta School With No Clue What to Do
“What do you want to do after you graduate?”
I laughed nervously. I had been asked this several times during my senior year of high school, and I had no clue what I wanted to do. And graduation was just a few months away!
Topics: YWAM Tyler Purpose Direction Gap Year YWAM DTS Encounter God Discipleship Opportunities
5 min read
You Will Encounter God Here // YWAM Tyler
Ever questioned if you really believed all this God stuff? Ever wondered if God really hears your prayers? Ever hungered to know Jesus more? Ever needed convincing that what you were thinking was right? If so, than YOU'RE NOT ALONE!
Enter into these stories with me and see how God met my friends here at YWAM Tyler and answered the cries of their heart.
Topics: Training School YWAM Tyler Crossroads DTS Knowing God YWAM DTS Spiritual Growth Encounter God Discipleship Opportunities Community Answered Prayer God's Presence Following God Transformation ywam tyler staff Family Discipleship
2 min read
Normal people, Abnormal lives, God-Given Destiny
You're an ordinary young person. You've checked off some educational boxes and are now trying to figure out some kind of direction for your life. The idea that God might be calling you into a life of radical missions seems too far-fetched to even warrant consideration. Only special people become missionaries, right? Wrong!
