MISSIONS INSIDER BLOG

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1 min read

A Pack of Cigarettes Led a Man to Jesus

By Carly Snyder on 1 Apr 2023

Our team partnered up with a local church to do evangelism in our city. I was paired with a couple and their eight year old son.

Sometimes it can be difficult in East Texas to share the gospel or pray with people because they give responses like, “No thanks, I don’t want prayer. I prayed on Sunday.” But today was different!

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism YWAM Tyler Evangelism Following Jesus Gospel Faith discipleship jesus cigarettes
4 min read

When God Told Me Not To Go To College

By Tyler Tom on 24 Jun 2022

Dennis is a solid guy, and we want to honor his life and story through this blog. He serves here at our YWAM Tyler campus in many ways. It is our hope that you, as the reader, will be inspired by the miraculous things God has done in, through, and for him!

Topics: School of Evangelism Provision School of Worship YWAM DTS Calling Overcoming Fear Encounter God No Fear Faith Mission Trip Blessing DTS
6 min read

8 Steps To Frustration Free Fundraising

By Megan Bixler on 17 Jun 2022

Sometimes, people want to step out in faith to attend our training schools here at YWAM, Tyler. But fundraising can feel like a frustratingly insurmountable hurdle. One of our missionaries, Megan Bixler, would like to share some of the wisdom and encouragement she has learned from fundraising. Please read this and be encouraged that God really will provide for all that he has called you to do.

Topics: Training School School of Evangelism Fundraising YWAM DTS Insecurity Freedom No Fear Faith Mission Trip Money giving DTS
2 min read

A Miracle On The National Mall

By Mia Buckley on 24 Sep 2021

Worship and Prayer Brought a Real Miracle from God

Almost a year ago, I was on my School of Evangelism (SOE) outreach. Our team was at David's Tent, a ministry hosting worship 24/7 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. where I led an hour-long worship set.

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism Healing YWAM Tyler Pray Answered Prayer Hearing God's Voice Prayer ywam missions soe
5 min read

How I Became a YWAM Missionary

By Anthony Huerta on 7 May 2021

Become a Missionary at Youth With A Mission

It was a huge shock to everyone around me when I decided to become a missionary in 2016. Having come out of 6 years of deep addiction before entering 3 rehabs, I was the last person you’d expect to see joining Youth With A Mission, Tyler.

I was totally living for myself. I thought I was the center of the universe back in May of 2015 before I entered my last rehab. I finally came to a point of surrender about four weeks into that program, when I felt God’s love for me for the first time. It was game-over after that! I was hooked.

Prior to that encounter, I was so consumed with myself I did not ever really love, or allow myself to be loved. Everyone and everything around me was a resource to get whatever I was looking to gain in the moment.

My self-absorbed life stifled love from every crevice and corner of my life.

[Photo: I know right? A mug shot. That's how bad my life had spun out of control.]

However, there was a moment which changed everything for me. A true encounter with God can accomplish what one hundred counseling sessions could not. Something changed when I allowed myself to be stripped before God. No mask, no presuppositions, just a real, vulnerable openness to Jesus as my Savior.

[Photo: Graduating from Shiloh Ministries after 1 year of rehab.]

After I graduated from Shiloh, I joined my first Discipleship Training School at YWAM Tyler. Youth With A Mission understands knowing God is paramount. Understanding I am His child is vital. Everything else hinges on this realization.

I believe, “you don’t really know yourself until you know Jesus.” Through my discipleship experience, I finally understood, “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) is a remarkably freeing statement.

While I was still self-centered, caring for no one, stealing, and lying–Jesus died for me! I love Jesus now and do my best to genuinely love the people around me, but Jesus died for the version of me who cared neither for myself, or the people around me.

Whether I am still roaming the streets with a pint of vodka in my belt strap, or I am preaching in front of thousands, Jesus’s love for me is the same! It never changes.

Knowing God, really knowing Him is what life is all about. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) Each time I read this verse it chips away at the block of religion that has crusted up around me through years of never actually encountering and pursuing God for myself.

To know God, and to make Him known. This is the motto of Youth With A Mission. I love the simplicity of this, because when you boil it all down, it is what life is really all about.

[Photo: Making God known took me to Greece with my Evangelism Training School.]

Now do we just spend our time alone in a room, with a Bible and a cup of coffee? Heavens no! James says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18). Such a confident statement that my personality appreciates!

I love being active, pursuing, and creating alongside God for His name’s sake. Prior to coming to YWAM Tyler, I thought all missionaries were old, white, married couples. I thought a missionary wife wore a bonnet (no slight to bonnet wearers!) and the husband had spent years in seminary and pastoral training. The thought of becoming a missionary wasn’t in the solar system of my thought process, but boy did that change after coming to YWAM Tyler.

My understanding of being a missionary changed when I ran into a former X-Games athlete, met men and women who had struggled with addiction, eating disorders, vanity, homosexuality, been through a divorce, and the list could go on. These people were seasoned missionaries who had been around the world several times over, impacting lives every step of the way, yet had a life transformation with Jesus!

This was me too! I was just like these people!? “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) 

[Photo: Making God known took me to Korea with my Discipleship Training School.]

Out of an overflow of intimacy with a living God our life begins to move. A true faith—a living faith—has the natural outworking of good works. To Know God and Make Him Known. This really sums up how I became a missionary.

If you are ready to take the next step in your personal life of Knowing God and Making Him known, today is the day to sign up for the next training school at YWAM Tyler. We are here and ready to help you discover God's purpose for your life.

 

Learn More

 

Other blogs by Anthony:

The War on Inaction has Begun | The SEND

This is My Missionary Life

Alcoholism did not have the Last Word

Topics: Training School School of Evangelism YWAM Tyler Missions YWAM DTS YWAM Outreach Missionary Missionary Life YWAM Missionary Training ywam missions DTS
3 min read

Sharing the GOSPEL isn't complicated

By Kyra Wright on 8 Jan 2021

SHARING THE GOSPEL ISN'T COMPLICATED

"I don’t know the first thing about talking to people⏤much less to someone who believes differently than me," I thought to myself.

My mind was racing as we stepped out into the neighborhood for the first time to talk to Muslims about Jesus. My first thoughts were, “What will I say? What if I don’t know the answer?

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism Evangelism YWAM Outreach Gospel Global Missions city ministry pandemic muslim
2 min read

Reaching the Nations in Your Own Backyard

By Jordon Lippiatt on 2 Oct 2020

Reaching the Nations in Your Own BackYard

As believers, we understand that part of the commission given to us by Jesus is to go into all nations. With the times we are living in today, it’s not always possible to do what's on our hearts in following Jesus' command.

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism Urban Missions YWAM DTS YWAM Outreach Missionary Missionary Life Missionary Training Urban DTS Urbanization Missions in America ywam chicago chicago
5 min read

How I Became a YWAM Missionary

By Anthony Huerta on 18 Oct 2019

Become a Missionary at Youth With A Mission

It was a huge shock to everyone around me when I decided to become a missionary in 2016. Having come out of 6 years of deep addiction before entering 3 rehabs, I was the last person you’d expect to see joining Youth With A Mission, Tyler.

I was totally living for myself. I thought I was the center of the universe back in May of 2015 before I entered my last rehab. I finally came to a point of surrender about four weeks into that program, when I felt God’s love for me for the first time. It was game-over after that! I was hooked.

Prior to that encounter, I was so consumed with myself I did not ever really love, or allow myself to be loved. Everyone and everything around me was a resource to get whatever I was looking to gain in the moment.

My self-absorbed life stifled love from every crevice and corner of my life.

[Photo: I know right? A mug shot. That's how bad my life had spun out of control.]

However, there was a moment which changed everything for me. A true encounter with God can accomplish what one hundred counseling sessions could not. Something changed when I allowed myself to be stripped before God. No mask, no presuppositions, just a real, vulnerable openness to Jesus as my Savior.

[Photo: Graduating from Shiloh Ministries after 1 year of rehab.]

After I graduated from Shiloh, I joined my first Discipleship Training School at YWAM Tyler. Youth With A Mission understands knowing God is paramount. Understanding I am His child is vital. Everything else hinges on this realization.

I believe, “you don’t really know yourself until you know Jesus.” Through my discipleship experience, I finally understood, “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) is a remarkably freeing statement.

While I was still self-centered, caring for no one, stealing, and lying–Jesus died for me! I love Jesus now and do my best to genuinely love the people around me, but Jesus died for the version of me who cared neither for myself, or the people around me.

Whether I am still roaming the streets with a pint of vodka in my belt strap, or I am preaching in front of thousands, Jesus’s love for me is the same! It never changes.

Knowing God, really knowing Him is what life is all about. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and the one whom you have sent.” (John 17:3) Each time I read this verse it chips away at the block of religion that has crusted up around me through years of never actually encountering and pursuing God for myself.

To know God, and to make Him known. This is the motto of Youth With A Mission. I love the simplicity of this, because when you boil it all down, it is what life is really all about.

[Photo: Making God known took me to Greece with my Evangelism Training School.]

Now do we just spend our time alone in a room, with a Bible and a cup of coffee? Heavens no! James says, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I’ll show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:18). Such a confident statement that my personality appreciates!

I love being active, pursuing, and creating alongside God for His name’s sake. Prior to coming to YWAM Tyler, I thought all missionaries were old, white, married couples. I thought a missionary wife wore a bonnet (no slight to bonnet wearers!) and the husband had spent years in seminary and pastoral training. The thought of becoming a missionary wasn’t in the solar system of my thought process, but boy did that change after coming to YWAM Tyler.

My understanding of being a missionary changed when I ran into a former X-Games athlete, met men and women who had struggled with addiction, eating disorders, vanity, homosexuality, been through a divorce, and the list could go on. These people were seasoned missionaries who had been around the world several times over, impacting lives every step of the way, yet had a life transformation with Jesus!

This was me too! I was just like these people!? “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (1 Corinthians 1:27) 

[Photo: Making God known took me to Korea with my Discipleship Training School.]

Out of an overflow of intimacy with a living God our life begins to move. A true faith—a living faith—has the natural outworking of good works. To Know God and Make Him Known. This really sums up how I became a missionary.

If you are ready to take the next step in your personal life of Knowing God and Making Him known, today is the day to sign up for the next training school at YWAM Tyler. We are here and ready to help you discover God's purpose for your life.

 

Learn More

 

Other blogs by Anthony:

The War on Inaction has Begun | The SEND

This is My Missionary Life

Alcoholism did not have the Last Word

Topics: Training School School of Evangelism YWAM Tyler Missions YWAM DTS YWAM Outreach Missionary Missionary Life YWAM Missionary Training ywam missions DTS
2 min read

Fear didn't hold me back to evangelize on the streets of Thessaloniki

By Tyler Tom on 27 Jun 2018

During my School Of Evangelism (SOE), we traveled to Greece and Kosovo for outreach. It was a night to evanglize in the City of Thessaloniki. Evangelism is a time to freely allow the Lord to guide and direct our steps in a time and place. So as I was walking in the square with a group of people, I felt the Lord tell me to go to the other side of the square to a bench with two men sitting on it. Knowing the Lord was directing me there and not wanting fear to hold me back, I quickly crossed the square to sit with them and started a conversation.

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism Evangelism YWAM Outreach Overcoming Fear Answered Prayer
3 min read

Risking Our YWAM Outreach Success Over 6 Bibles

By Alyssa Rosser on 10 Nov 2017

A little over a year ago I was co-leading an outreach to Greece for a School of Evangelism trip. This was my fourth time to Greece in the five years I had been with YWAM Tyler. For those who don’t know, Greece is 98% Greek Orthodox which basically means they know who God is but don’t know about having a relationship with Him. In current times, Greece has been in an economical crisis which has most of the population unemployed and without hope for the future of the country. What a perfect time to spend a summer going around the country, telling people about the hope that is found in Jesus and what it’s like to have a real relationship with Him.

Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism YWAM Outreach Bible
3 min read

Just as I am | Billy Graham

By Richard Fish on 8 Nov 2017

I sat down in the living room after tuning the dial on our television set to the number my Dad requested. Before remote controls you actually had to get up and dial turn the selector to the station you desired. The picture showed a man standing on a platform with literally hundreds of thousands of people listening to what he was talking about. I was only five years old. The man speaking on the TV was Billy Graham.

Topics: School of Evangelism Alaska Missions Evangelism Billy Graham Gospel
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...