Ywam?

[handmaiden97]

Aileen,

An interpreter helps a lot with the communication barrier. And not all ministry is limited to drama's. We (a YWAM base) send teams out year around and have had many opportunities to minister to people in services but primarily in one on one settings. Sometimes God brings us to folks who are learning english , other times we sit down with a young person and use an interpreter. Just being a foreigner in another culture can inspire some great conversations about God!!!!! Those are opportunites the local worker may not always get and we are the tool God uses to draw them in.

Now I will be honest God also uses a foreign outreach to work in the young persons heart who is going as a misisonary. And so as a team leader you need to find the balance between going and seeing your team get blessed and going to be a blessing. Some short term teams do go soley to be blessed and that is a shame!!!! As a ministry we seek to really serve and encourage both the local body and the long term missionaries in each region.

As far as your concern that money is wasted on a missionary working in Northern Ireland. I can see your point and at one time thought similarly but I would like to encourage you to look at missions in a new light. Not all of it takes place in a jungle somewhere or in am impoverished nation. I serve in an office right here in the states 80% of the time. Now my end goal is overseas full time and I am gaining experience to enable me to better serve when God opens the doors for me to go, But in the meantime I am helping to train young people in their faith, equipping them to share in a cross cultural experience. As a ministry we are helping to send young people out to obey Christs command to "Go into all the world" Some people on our team do the teaching while some people answer phones or cook meals. However every task is important in the big scheme of things and it is just as much a ministry as the missionary serving as a bible translator in the jungles. why do people have no problems seeign a pastor or church secreatray get paid to serve God but complain when a young person is serving in the office of a missions organization. Does God see one job or role of more value than the other???

In WW2 it was estimated that it took 60 individuals to stand behind every one soldier on the front lines. Now those 60 individuals differ in role, some were women working in factories to make bullets for the men, others were farmers growing the crops that would feed the men, some were fellow soldiers pushing paper at a desk, entire families supported those soldiers through sacrifice doing with out sugar, meet and fuel so that the boys on the frontines could have their needs met.

The point is , it is no different in missions there are many people standing behind every missionary on the frontlines. There are peoples on the boards who sent them out, people sending out newsletters, processing support, training them, teaching classes, praying for them etc. However in Gods eyes the person on the frontline and the person working in the office are of just as much value, so no money is not wasted on a ywamer serving in Ireland that person is a part of a larger picture that is reaching the nations for Jesus.

 

[Aileen]

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Thanks for your comments.


A local Christian has no language barrier. I see little logic in that a young person who doesn´t speak the local language, has little Bible training, and has limited knowledge of cultural differences should use a translator who does speak the language, lives in that culture and knows what it means to be a Christian in that culture.

Yes, young foreign people are an attraction and obviously young people appreciate an opportunity to practice English.

A pastor, church secretary etc are usually full time employees in their church and as such should be paid accordingly. Pastors and Bible translators have years of study and preparation and I have difficulty in putting them on the same level as young people who don´t have the same training and experience.


My opinion, as someone who has been involved in Missions for many years, is that much of the funds used for YWAM teams could be more profitably used if sent , for example, to pastors and church workers in some countries in Africa who walk long hours going from village to village to evangelise and give pastoral care.

My opinion is that when young people visit another country to see missionary work first-hand it is a wonderful, learning experience for them and helps them see their future place in mission work in the will of the Lord. To equate them with pastors, Bible translators and missionaries with years of experience is an exaggeration.

 

[Underdog25]

I did a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in 2016 at the YWAM Louisville location. It was pretty impactful on my life and the teaching was bible based. I know not all bases are the same so there are probably some locations that I would steer people away from but I would recommend YWAM Mazatlan.