Endurance Discipleship Training School

An introduction to global missions

Course Description.

It is our privilege to invite disciples of Christ and outdoor enthusiasts to be a part of Endurance DTS (EDTS) in this unique avenue of outdoor ministry. EDTS is a five-month discipleship program committed to doing whatever it takes to know God and make Him known in the outdoor industry and to the ends of the earth.

During the EDTS adventure, students will learn about God’s character and nature, participate in lectures and discipleship small groups, build credible and translatable outdoor skills for both the mission field and for use in the outdoors, and reach out to the outdoor industry on a global scale.

The first three months will be spent living and learning in Montana, both in the classroom and in the backcountry. Our final two months will be spent engaging in a strategic “Endurance style” DTS outreach.

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. In EDTS, we do all of these things through outdoor pursuits and experiential education.

Outreach.

Endurance DTS has a two-month outreach phase with a two-fold focus. Our aim is to reach out directly to those in the outdoor industry in some capacity, by placing ourselves among trekkers, adventurers, campers, and other outdoor ministry enthusiasts. We use our backcountry and outdoor skills to go to the more remote places to share the Gospel.

Vision.

The vision for the Endurance DTS outdoor ministry is to take students deeper into their own discipleship journey with Christ, and give them the tools to reach out to others particularly within the outdoor industry and to the ends of the earth. We know that people on a trek or great adventure are often seeking deeper spiritual revelation as they journey, and God has given us a desire to reach out and meet these individuals along the way. Endurance DTS equips students to participate in the conversations happening in the outdoor industry, engage with fellow adventures and to testify to Christ’s saving grace and faithfulness with credibility and confidence.

Meet the Endurance Team.

Benjamin Breon
Concord, California

School Leader
Hey! My name is Benjamin and I have been on our DTS Staff team here in Lakeside, Montana since 2019. I did my DTS here in Fall 2018. I fell in love with missions and the opportunities that God has given me to clearly communicate the gospel to a wide variety of cultures and belief systems. I am passionate about music, public speaking, evangelism, the outdoors, and Jesus! I just want to live a wild life, sincerely seeking Jesus every day alongside my friends and family. One day I hope to be preaching the gospel in some of the hardest to reach places of the world! Let's go!!
Whitney Lake
Whangaparaoa, New Zealand

The Kiwi
Whitney is from New Zealand and came to YWAM MT in 2014 for DTS, returning a year later to serve with the DTS department. She has staffed both DTS's and DTS Equip, and has a heart for working with young people to see them become confident in who God has called them to be, and being bold in sharing the knowledge of God's grace and love that they have experienced.
Whitney Richardson
New Mexico

Small but Spunky
Whitney is from the intensely populated (with cacti) state of New Mexico. Her YWAM career started at the age of 5 when she started attending annual summer hip hop dance camps at YWAM in Tyler, Tx. She did SST, Summer Programs, DTS, and the School of Evangelism before joining DTS staff in the fall of 2017. Whitney loves working with DTS because she believes setting 5 months of our lives aside to dive into relationship with Jesus is the best decision in the world. She wants to be apart of equipping young people to walk with and be disciples of Jesus for the rest of their lives.
Levi Kenyon
Avalon, CA

Outdoor Extraordinaire & Gear Junky
Levi grew up in California but now enjoys the wide open spaces of Montana. Levi and his wife Amanda both work together as staff for OMP. Their passion is to use the outdoors as a tool to disciple people and help them grow in their understanding of God.
Amanda Kenyon
Avalon, CA

OMP Staff and Community Outreach Leader.
Originally from California, Amanda loves adventuring in nature. She currently serves at the Lakeside Montana base with her husband Levi. Together they staff the Outdoor Ministry Program as well as coordinating trips within the local community. Amanda is passionate about using the outdoors to disciple others. She loves watching people overcome physical adversity and growing in their understanding of God.
Ben Biondi
Keizer, OR

Bleeds Hot Chocolate...
Ben started his YWAM journey in 2015 as a student in the Endurance DTS. After EDTS and his first experience with global missions, he came back to YWAM MT | Lakeside and has primarily staffed with the Endurance Outdoor Ministries Department since 2016. He and his wife, Amy, have since been on outreaches to Taiwan, Cambodia, the Himalayas, and Mongolia. He has a heart for using his gifts and passions to build relationships, disciple, teach, train, empower, and go to the hardest to reach places to meet the needs of people both spiritually and practically.
Nathan Russell
Lakeside, MT

What’s in your bag of tricks?
Nathan is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, grew up in Michigan and moved to Colorado as fast as he could after college! He and his family have lived in Lakeside, MT for the past 11 years. Nathan and his wife Betsy pioneered the Endurance DTS in 2011. Nathan’s heart is to be a change-agent in the outdoor industry and to use outdoor skills in all corners of the earth for effective ministry and service. Connect with all things outdoors at YWAM MT – Lakeside on Instagram by following @enduranceoutdoors
Chris Hazen
Tulsa, OK

Sported a mullet senior year of high school.
I did my dts in Costa Rica in winter of 2013. Then joined staff at YWAM Salem, OR to work on their ropes course and staff DTS. I met my wife, Joanna, there while working on the ropes course. We have a daughter named Isabel. We moved to Montana in Oct. of 2018 and joined the Endurance Ministries. I have been passionate about using the outdoors to share the good news of Jesus for most of my life.

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The adventure of a lifetime.

EDTS is a five-month discipleship program committed to doing whatever it takes to know God and make Him known in the outdoor industry and to the ends of the earth. EDTS students learn more about God’s character by participating in lectures and discipleship small groups. Students also build credible and translatable outdoor skills for both the mission field and for use in the outdoors industry on a global scale.

YWAM Montana-Lakeside operates under special use permits with the Flathead National Forest, Kootenai National Forest, and Glacier National Park and is an equal opportunity provider.

What our students say.

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Resources

YWAM Montana Lakeside