MARCH UPDATE

MARCH 23, 2021

We recently sent our latest outreach teams into the nations and are so grateful to the Lord to be able to continue with our calling and mission in the midst of this season.

We have been operating again fully as a campus since September 2020 and have been able to enact protocols and policies that serve both our students and missionary members in their time on our campus. We continue to have a section of rooms set aside for quarantine and isolation if someone living in any of our dorms has any symptoms or needs to get tested.

We are looking forward to the Spring Quarter starting in April, welcoming new and familiar faces to our campus, and continuing to know God and make Him known together! Thank you for your continued prayer and partnership. To God be the glory!

Late-JANUARY UPDATE

JANUARY 19, 2021

We are so thankful to be training, sending, supporting, and being missionaries here at YWAM Montana Lakeside! Our winter schools are in full swing and continuing in our mission to know God and make Him known.

Our first two weeks of the quarter are completed! We have had some sickness and positive COVID cases among our missionary members and student body, but this has thankfully been contained to one program because of our first two week strict separation, and we are thankful that there have not been any severe symptoms or sickness among those who have tested positive and are awaiting to be released after recovering.

We are truly grateful for all of our missionary members, students, and mission builders who are going above and beyond to stay healthy by practicing social distancing, regularly washing their hands, and wearing masks when appropriate.

We also look with gratitude to the Lord as He has guided us during this time and continued to show us more and more of His goodness and grace. We are expectant for God to continue to move here and in the nations among our partners and outreach teams currently in the field!

JANUARY UPDATE

JANUARY 7, 2021

We are so excited to welcome over 60 students to our campus this winter quarter! We know that God has so much in store for each one of them and we are continuing to do everything we can to provide the best environment for them to know God and make Him known!

We have learned so much from our fall quarter where we experienced quarantine and sickness, but were still able to send outreach teams into the nations. We continue to adhere to local, state, and federal requirements and recommendations regarding safety procedures as a campus and are evaluating how we can move forward this quarter in a healthy way mentally, physically, and spiritually.

As part of our arrival procedures we are treating the first two weeks of this quarter rather strictly in order to ensure that we all arrive healthy. So far we are happy to report no students or missionary members in quarantine or with symptoms of COVID-19. We are trusting that we will be able to function as a healthy campus doing all that is necessary to graduate and send students to the nations!

Late-November Update

NOVEMBER 22, 2020

Our county here in the Flathead Valley has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past couple of months and we have been diligent to continue with our safety and health protocols throughout the Fall Quarter. Until this past week, we have not had any positive cases on our campus or among our missionary members during the Fall Quarter. In the last week however, nine YWAM Montana missionary members have tested positive for Covid-19.


We are grateful that of the nine positive cases, none of them have been among our students and the majority of these cases are among missionary members who do not live on our campus. We are also grateful that none of the individuals who have tested positive have had serious symptoms or needed to be hospitalized.


The close contacts of the positive cases have all been notified, and are now quarantining if they were not doing so already. In each instance of a potential positive case (someone waiting on results), our community has jumped into action by quarantining preemptively if they knew they could be a possible close contact. This action has greatly reduced sickness and potential exposure to various people on campus.


One of the missionary members who tested positive is staffing with our Discipleship Training School. When this missionary member first started feeling symptoms, they stayed home per our guidelines. We have not seen any symptoms arise within our DTS student body because of this, but per CDC and the Health Department’s guidelines, all of the close contacts will be quarantined for 14 days from the last time they were in close contact with the missionary member who tested positive. What this means for our campus is that the DTS students are all quarantined due to being close contacts until Thanksgiving day (14 days since the last interaction with the positive case). Lord willing we will not see symptoms arise in our student body or other missionary members serving on our campus.


We continue to hold fast to Jesus and are committed to sending students on outreach and graduating them as ministers of the Gospel. Let us join in prayer against this virus, for the well-being and growth of those we serve, a quick recovery for those affected, and for the Lord to be glorified through all we do.

Mid-November Update

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Our campus has been incredibly blessed during this Fall Quarter! 

We have been diligent to complete our daily health assessments, wear masks when appropriate, and follow our county and state guidelines to minimize and stop COVID-19. We are thankful that no one at YWAM Montana has tested positive for the coronavirus since opening our doors in September and that is truly the grace of God. Although we have not had any positive cases, we are prepared to deal with any COVID related sickness that might arise. 

As a Leadership Team, we have learned so much from this Fall Quarter and we feel confident that we can send these Fall Students on outreach soon as well as move forward in January with a new quarter and new students! 

God truly has been faithful to us in allowing us to continue with our mission to train, send, support, and be missionaries

CONTINUING TO TRAIN, SEND, SUPPORT, AND BE MISSIONARIES

September 30, 2020

We are so excited to share that we have begun our Fall Quarter!

We recognize that having students come from various locations during this time presents a challenge and poses potential risks, which is why we are treating our first couple weeks uniquely – gathering in smaller groups separated by program, social distancing, and mask usage are among the protocols we are observing together as a campus. Our incoming students and our missionary members are also being diligent to answer a daily health assessment form and report any symptoms.

These precautions, along with other protocols and policies implemented by our leadership team, have helped us to be able to open our campus well this Fall. Our programs are continuing to train and equip young people for the mission field!

We are also incredibly impressed with the students we have this quarter and the sacrifices they are making for the well-being of their fellow students and the community here. They are joyfully counting the cost so that the Gospel can continue to transform lives here on our campus, and in the places to which they will be sent!

We want to ensure that our students on our campus are healthy and continue in good health so we can move forward together and finish the Fall quarter well. We will continue to observe good health practices for the entirety of the Fall quarter and are continuing to trust God to see students trained, equipped, and sent into the mission field for the Great Commission!

A Message on Opening our Fall Programs

July 30, 2020

Yes! We are open this Fall – and we are so excited to once again welcome students onto our campus and see missionaries trained and sent into the nations!

The campus leadership at YWAM Montana – Lakeside has been maneuvering this season through prayer and seeking wisdom from those in our community and state in order to know how we can best fulfill the vision that God has given us. We will continue to do ‘whatever it takes to know God and make Him known together!’

As a community we have been able to gather together this summer in accordance with relevant county, state, and CDC recommendations. After months of digital meetings and gatherings, worshiping together and seeing each other face to face has been an incredible blessing.

We have been using this summer to practice and prepare for a Fall Quarter to run as smoothly and safely as possible. We are committed to providing a campus experience that prioritizes the well-being and safety of all students, missionary members, and teams.

We as a campus and community are filled with so much hope and expectation for what God is going to do in the coming months.

Important Coronavirus Update on Summer Programming

May 15, 2020

The leadership of YWAM Montana – Lakeside has continued to prayerfully watch and assess the impact of COVID-19 globally, in the United States, and locally here in Montana. It is clear to everyone that we are in an unprecedented season of life and ministry. 

As our leaders have prayed and we have considered all statewide government advisories, we have come to a place of unity in understanding what God is asking of us in this coming Summer quarter.  We have made a faith-centered decision to pause our on-campus Summer programs, moving some online, and pushing others to the Fall. At this point in time, the restrictions imposed by the State of Montana and the reality of COVID-19 in the U.S. make it nearly impossible to start our schools at their normal time. 

With the Summer approaching, we as a community are entering an extended time of renewal, while seeking new vision together. We are not closing our campus, but we will be selective in what we do as we listen to the Holy Spirit and strive to diligently follow his lead. Our missionary members will continue to serve the local community in this time of crisis while coming together to build one another up for the coming year. We are working hard as we prepare our campus to fully reopen in the Fall.  

In the meantime, we continue to offer many exciting and innovative online courses, as well as new streaming opportunities for development, encouragement, and fellowship. Our methods may change but be assured that our mission remains the same – To know God and make Him known. Together we commit to the communication of the gospel by training, sending, supporting, and being missionaries. 

Please keep watching our website for up to date information as the COVID-19 situation changes. We are very thankful for your understanding and support in this unexpected journey!

IMPORTANT CORONAVIRUS STATEMENT

March 13, 2020

The leadership and missionary members of YWAM Montana – Lakeside are closely monitoring the progress of the COVID-19 virus in Montana, the U.S., and around the world. We are seeking counsel from local medical professionals as to what precautions and action steps we need to take on campus and in our ministries. We are also staying alert to local and international news, as well as updates from the State Department, CDC, and WHO.

Our first commitment is to the Kingdom of God and the Great Commission, while at the same time holding to our value of prioritizing the well-being of those we serve. The safety of all our partners – missionary members, students, and teams, is important to us.

We are committed to:

  • Relevant and timely communication to all our teams, students and missionary members
    concerning any important changes and updates related to the Coronavirus 2019-
    nCoV both globally and in Lakeside MT.
  • Following the guidelines and recommendations of the World Health Organization
    (WHO), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and local medical professionals.
  • Taking all necessary steps and ongoing precautions needed to keep our facilities
    clean and healthy for everyone who serves and participates with us.
  • Taking all appropriate measures to prepare our campus should a member of our community ever have a confirmed case of coronavirus.

For additional information about the Coronavirus please go to the CDC website at: Coronavirus information at the CDC.

Sincerely,

Keith Buzzard
President – Youth With A Mission Montana, inc.