YWAM Denver Staff // Denver, CO, USA
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More About Our Mission: |
In March 2010 we began training to join the staff of YWAM Denver, and a few months later (August 2010) we packed up our family and moved to Colorado. "YWAM Denver is dedicated to know God, His character, and His ways, and is committed to making Him known throughout the world." In this, our heart is to disciple others into a deeper, more intimate relationships with Jesus by drawing out their God-given talents, passions, and abilities and walking with them in a lifestyle of missions.
We have seen the broken and the lost yearn for God's Word and love and are eternally grateful for being able to be used by Him to bring both his Word and love to the lost. But we want more! We want to take others on this journey with us! This would involve small groups, one on ones and leading outreach teams across the globe of 10-15 students.
In the past we have had a time when we knew we would be returning to what we call home in the NJ/PA area. This time, we feel as if we are to leave this time open-ended. We're making the beautiful state of Colorado our "home-base" for our new family.
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Youth With a Mission (YWAM)
To know God and make Him known...
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world. Our passion is to know God and to make Him known. Back when it began in 1960, YWAM's main focus was to get youth into short-term mission work and to give them opportunities to reach out in Jesus' name. Today we still focus on youth, and we also involve people of all ages, from 8 to 80.
YWAM currently operates in more than 1,100 locations in 171 countries, with a full-time staff of over 16,000. In many of our locations, people from a wide variety of nations serve side by side. We come from numerous Christian backgrounds and speak hundreds of languages. Nearly half of our staff come from non-Western countries, such as Brazil, Korea, Indonesia, India, and Nepal.
In addition to our full-time staff, we send out over 25,000 short-term missionaries each year. Many YWAM locations host short-term outreach teams made up of individuals, youth groups, families, and churches who participate first-hand in "making God known" through both words and actions. Our many ministries fit into three main categories: evangelism, training, and mercy ministry.
Our Ministry Structure:
YWAM has grown over the years as a family of ministries rather than a centralized agency. Although we have international and regional offices, we do not have an international headquarters. Each YWAM location is responsible for planning its own outreaches, running training programs, recruiting staff, and setting priorities in carry out ministry. All YWAM locations are tied together by shared faith, vision, and values. They are held accountable by regional and international leadership teams. YWAM's top leadership body, called the Global Leadership Team, is a 45-member group that includes YWAM's founder, Loren Cunningham, and YWAM's international chairman, Lynn Green.
No one in YWAM receives a salary. Each worker—from the newest volunteer to the president—is responsible for his or her own basic needs. Some staff receive regular support from churches, friends and family. Others rely on God's provision through other ways.
As staff, we view each other as family and as such we help out in many different ways to make sure everything is taken care of on our training campus. This means one quarter we might be in hospitality, another the kitchen, another helping staff a discipleship training school. Each quarter our responsibilities will change, but the opportunities for discipleship will always be there.
Evangelism
We use many creative tools to present the gospel, including drama, music, videos, Web sites, and sports camps. We want to share our faith effectively in ways that the audience—whether teenagers, elderly refugees, or an unreached people group—will understand. YWAM also starts churches in places where there may be no church at all.
Training
Through our training programs, we aim to better equip Christians to grow in their relationship with God and to serve others in everything from agriculture and health care, to business development and biblical counseling.
Discipleship Training Schools:
Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) prepare messengers of the gospel through three months of classroom learning followed by two or three months of hands-on outreach experience. Each year more than 10,000 students go through this program, embarking on a journey of growth in Christian character and in-depth knowledge of God, developing a consistent, active walk with God, and discovering his call and commission.
University of the Nations:
University of the Nations (U of N) aims to foster total commitment to Christ's Great Commission and to equip men and women spiritually, culturally, intellectually, and professionally for this task. A worldwide network of YWAM centers provides the locations and resources for U of N courses. U of N has branches in over 300 locations in 110 nations, offering courses in the colleges of Christian Ministries, Communication, Counseling and Health Care, Education, Humanities and International Studies, Performing Arts, and Science and Technology
Mercy Ministry
Mercy ministry is the "hands and feet" of making God known. YWAM helps meet some of the practical and physical needs of more than a million people annually. We care for street children in South America; we aid in the recovery of drug addicts in North America and Western Europe; we feed and house refugees and women in need in Africa and Asia; and we help people start small businesses in countries like Thailand. These are just some of the ways we extend helping hands in Jesus' name.