Discipleship Training School

An Entry-Way Into Global Missions and YWAM

Course Description.

Are you longing for a deeper relationship with God? Are you willing to travel to the farthest reaches of the earth to communicate God’s love? At YWAM Montana-Lakeside, we are all about doing whatever it takes to know God and to make Him known, together.

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a two-part, five-month, discipleship course which serves as an introduction to global missions.

We also believe that God has placed skills and passions in your life for a purpose. During your lecture phase, you will spend 4-5 hours a week expanding your skill set in the elective of your choice. Learn how to use your passion for the purpose of making God known in the world.

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Lecture.

The first 3 months of your DTS, commonly called the “lecture phase”, will be spent at YWAM Montana learning from speakers we trust on foundational discipleship topics such as Nature and Character of God, Hearing God’s Voice, Relationships, and Missions. The goal of the lecture phase is to allow God to change your life based on what you’re learning and not have it just be head-knowledge. You will also spend time weekly engaging in worship, prayer, and developing a skill or passion (called electives) of your choice to see how it can be used in missions. You will be surrounded by people around the same age who are all running after the same thing – to know God and to make Him known. It’s a great community to learn and grow in!

Outreach.

The second phase of your DTS will be spent on a 2 month outreach. Our 6 target nations are our primary locations, but your options for locations will be revealed during lecture phase. This phase allows you to put into practice everything you just learned and to share the good news of Jesus Christ cross-culturally. Outreach will provide you with a glimpse of cross-cultural missions as your team serves alongside local believers, existing ministries, and long-term missionaries. You will work and serve in a lot of different ways, but at the end of the day, the goal is to make God known. So, when you choose to do a DTS, you are joining the world-wide movement to make Jesus known in all nations of the world.

Electives.

We believe that God has placed skills and passions in your life for a purpose. During your lecture phase, you will spend 4-5 hours a week expanding your skill set in the elective of your choice. Learn how to use your passion for the purpose of making God known in the world.

Check out the Electives section at the bottom of this page for more information about which ones are offered.

*Not every elective is offered during each DTS, so please email or call us if you’d like to find out which electives are offered during your preferred DTS!

DTS Electives.

Coffee & English

So many people want to learn English… But at the end of the day, it’s really about starting relationships with people, and being able to love on them, and taking the time to sit down with them, and drink some coffee, and be like ‘Hi, how are you?’ ”

Combining basic English Teaching skills with various coffee-related skills including Roasting, Brewing, Business as Mission and more… these workshops are designed to prepare students for volunteer work overseas by giving them practical skills in two key areas used in Christian missions: English & Coffee! We also have a lot of fun doing it. (In fact, most of what looks like “fun & games” in this video, is actually our students practicing some of the many fun English teaching activities they’ll be taking on outreach).

Here are some examples of topics you will cover during your Coffee & English elective:

Roasting
Brewing
Business as Mission
How to teach english in an engaging way
How to use coffee & english to share the gospel

Dance

Dance is an international language that speaks to so many people. It has the power to bring people together and express what we are feeling. Dance is also a powerful tool to share the gospel without words.

If you choose this elective, it will help you to understand what dance in missions can look like. You will take technique classes in Jazz, Ballet, Modern and Hip Hop as well as learn about the heart behind dance in worship. At the same time you’re learning how to express yourself through movement, we will also give you tools to facilitate dance programs on your overseas outreach.

Music

Are you a singer or musician? Have you ever wondered how you could use your musical skills to reflect the glory of God to the world around you? If you choose this elective, you will learn how music can be used for ministry in both Christian and non-Christian environments.

We will help you develop your skills in the areas of songwriting, live performance, leading worship, gear management and live sound. In addition, we will learn about the importance of the Arts (and specifically music) in missions, as well as practical ways to use your skills while overseas.

Prerequisite: The Music Elective is for those who are currently Musicians and/or Vocalists(singers). A short Skill Survey will be taken at the start of the elective.

Here are some examples of topics you will cover during your Music elective:

Songwriting from a Biblical Worldview
Basics of Live Sound
History of Arts in the Church
Leading a Team(Group Dynamics)
Daily Disciplines for Artists
Faith & Creativity

Refugee Focus

Do you have a passion to reach refugees with the hope of Jesus? There are over 65 million displaced people worldwide and as Christians we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ to those who are hurting, lost and broken.

Throughout the Bible God’s heart for refugees is clear. In this elective we will talk through the Biblical foundations of refugee work, the most effective ways to preach the gospel among different cultures, the importance of serving refugees, and the part they play in the kingdom of God.

You will be trained in the basics of teaching English and receive hands on experience with local refugees. In addition, you will learn about other religions in order to understand how to effectively bring the gospel to people of other backgrounds. Our hope is to equip you with the tools and knowledge to go and work with refugees around the world.

Luke 19:10 “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Here are some examples of topics you will cover during your Refugee Focus elective:

Teaching english to speakers of other languages
Religious and cultural worldviews
Refugees in the states and overseas
How to effectively preach the gospel to refugees of different cultures
Human trafficking among refugees
How to help without hurting
Different kinds of poverty
Unreached people groups
Spheres of Society
3D Gospel
Relief vs. Development
Government

Sports in Missions

Sports is an interest that crosses all cultural barriers. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what language you speak, sports can be a bridge to communication.

Our goal in the Sports in Missions elective is to help you grow in your overall fitness and in specific skills in a variety of sports, such as volleyball, basketball, soccer, and even nutrition. We also aim to expand your usable sports portfolio so that no matter where Jesus may send you, you will be able to draw from your skill set to connect with the popular sport in that area to get to know people and share Jesus’ love.

Here are some examples of topics you will cover during your Sports in Missions elective:

Weight training
Stretching
Nutrition
Sports as ministry
Setting up tournaments
Sportsmanlike conduct
Defusing explosive situations
Practicing sports skills
Learning new sports
Taping and practical first aid

Strategic Missions

Do you have the desire to help people, but recognize that the process of bringing effective help can be more complex than it appears?

The Strategic Missions elective is for those who desire to bring real help to those who are hurting; from your neighbors to your classmates and from orphans to widows to poverty-stricken communities. You will learn how the gospel can bring wholeness to all aspects of life. Our desire is to create a space for you to realize the dreams God has placed in your heart and then to teach you how to move forward with concrete steps. You will explore elements of pioneering new ministries, different approaches to missions, how to be strategic in order to bring lasting change, and hear from people who have gone before you in long-term missions.

This elective is for anyone who desires to be in missions, whether that looks like starting a business, living overseas in a rural community or thriving city, or working in urban America. We will give you a chance to look at your dreams and discover how God wants you to practically walk them out.

As time allows, we will interact with and learn from local ministries.

Here are some examples of topics you will cover during your Strategic Missions elective:

Recognizing the gifts and skills God has already placed in you
Hearing from God about the dreams He has placed on your heart
Why did Jesus come to earth?
What’s the problem?
How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor or yourself
Pioneering
How to bring lasting change

Endurance Strategic Missions

Do you want to learn how the specific passions, skills, and dreams God has given you can transform people, communities, and nations?

Endurance Strategic Missions Elective exists to create awareness and impart strategies for effective missions and ministry specifically to unreached people groups and impoverished communities. We will do this through both classroom discussions and outdoor experiential education. By learning translatable backcountry skills you will become better equipped to impact the mission field in a long lasting way and rub shoulders with outdoor enthusiast community here in NW Montana.

Come discover God’s heart for the nations and walk away ready to be part of the global missions movement!

Meet Your School Leaders.

Katie Warford
Martinez, California
Hello! My name is Katie. I started with YWAM in Tauranga, New Zealand, where I did my DTS. After DTS, I decided to do SBS (School of Biblical Studies) in Montana. During SBS my passion to see people discipled in the word and sent out into the nations grew “through the roof,” so I decided to join DTS staff and I currently serve on our DTS Leadership team. I love seeing lives transformed as students fall deeper in love with Jesus and find their true identity in Him. Outreach is an incredible time to stretch and grow for students and staff alike as we step out of our comfort zone and learn to serve others, especially through sharing about Jesus. My focus over the last two years has been to help develop curriculum to bring the Gospel to refugees. I'm also passionate about the Bible, evangelism, art, people, glitter and fun! It is such a privilege to be a part of the great commission and to see others realize their part in it as well!

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A day in the life.

Scott Contival from YWAM Taiwan, taught the Fall DTS about the value of sending missionaries into hard to reach countries. He spoke to our students about how God has called us to make disciples and that if you are not a “go-er” you should be a “sender”. If we can think of missions in this way, the gospel will surely go forth stronger and faster!

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