I was living in Tennessee as part of a very small church when my heart began to stir for missions. One day during Sunday school, a missionary came to our church and heard me share how I would love to do foreign missions someday. I was on fire and ready to go! 

It's been 30 months since I graduated Shiloh Ministries, and boy what a ride it has been. Never could I have possibly imagined, dreamt, or let-alone orchestrated the past 30 months. Thank God He did! I remember the graduating day at Shiloh. I was positive that I wanted to pursue God, but totally clueless about where or what that even looked like. All I knew was that my next step was taking me to Youth With A Mission (YWAM).

We started off our YWAM Discipleship Training School (DTS) Outreach in Virginia serving at a Christian private school. Our DTS class was asked to be small group leaders at a middle through high school conference. As I was waiting at a table for the students to arrive, I decided to take the extra time to pray and seek God's heart for these students.

This Saturday we will celebrate with our most recent Discipleship Training School, "The School of Good News," at our quarterly Love Feast gathering. The students have returned back to YWAM Tyler's Twin Oaks campus with great God-stories from their outreaches to the East Coast of America, Guatemala, and Mexico. Here are a few special moments highlighted from their trips. God is winning in the nations. 🤩

Standing with 75,000 people in L.A. at the Azusa Now gathering in 2016 profoundly impacted my life. Our team attended the event during our YWAM Tyler school outreach trip, and it was incredible to see that many people gathered together to lift up the name of Jesus. 

Before my YWAM DTS I was just going through all the motions that I thought others expected of me. I had been going to college, but after a few years of taking and retaking classes, I figured I should do something different with my life or at least postpone college until I knew what degree I wanted to work towards. While I was in college, I was also a youth leader at my church.

YWAM Tyler has a rich history that started in New Jersey then led to California and finally ended up here in East Texas. God has shown up in many miraculous ways to guide, provide, and protect throughout the journey. Herb and Sue Haines share their stories of God's faithfulness showing up in surprising ways.

Ever feel like nothing good is happening in our world? Our media airwaves are never short of negativity, hate, and divisiveness. It's so refreshing in the midst of depressing news to hear inspirational stories! Inspite of what people say or of what we see on our screens, God is winning in the nations! He's on the move and lives are being transformed!! Last year, YWAM Tyler had the privilege of partnering with God around the globe and witnessing the Divine at work in people's lives. Without a doubt, Jesus Christ is making a difference in our world! Just look at these seven stunning stories from 2017!

We pulled our rental car into the parking lot of this sleepy property in the rolling green hills of rural New Zealand. My four kids and I tumbled out with our pile of suitcases and looked around. It was 2013, and we had arrived to begin a Family Discipleship Training School (DTS), our first step into the big wide world of missions.

Every day, I am reminded of the power of God. Experiencing God's love and grace in my life began when I was born. When I came into the world, my lungs collapsed. I was rushed down to the ICU and given oxygen through tubes in my chest. While my mother was in a hospital room, my father was in the waiting area, hoping everything would be okay. After some time the doctor came out, gave my father a hug, and told him that I didn’t make it. My lungs had stopped working, and there was no sign of life. My father then told the doctor that day, "No matter what happens, God is still good."

From recent outreaches with YWAM TYLER, we put together some great advice you must take to heart when traveling with your school. Of course this is not by any means an exhaustive list; stay tuned for more amazing outreach stories, but this will definitely help you remain sane while living in community with your peers.