With the terrible situation in the Middle East with ISIS, continuing terrorism from Islamic radicals in other areas, and countless other problems of gargantuan proportions, it would be natural to ask, “What can be done?” The answer to the ills of the world is always the same: The Gospel and Prayer. The Gospel in its fullest sense, including care, ministry, and mission; and prayer to disarm the principalities and powers that orchestrate such evil.
It is not just in the areas where violence has broken out that there is need for the Gospel of the Kingdom. The needs are also acute in other, more peaceful areas. The United States and England come to mind right away! In those nations, however, there are many people who have heard the Gospel. Some live it faithfully, others, not so much. There is a tremendous burden, however, for us to take the Gospel to the unreached peoples of the world, often described as the “10-40 Window.”
Notice from the map above, that the 10-40 Window is not limited to the exact latitude and longitude, but follows the lines of people groups and unreached people. Other areas need outreach as well.
Reaching out to people who are under persecution, and those who have never heard the name of Jesus is a priority. The other day I was speaking with someone who had just returned from India where he met with people who had never even heard of Jesus or the Gospel message. It’s not that they didn’t know Him as Savior, they had never heard his name at all.
To address this, there is a need to equip and deploy an army of Christians who are deeply steeped in a relationship with the Lord, well trained in mission tactics, and developed in cross-cultural communication. Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has been doing this for years, now having something like 25,000 full time missionaries around the world. Their course, the Discipleship Training School, is probably the most effective vehicle for preparing, equipping and mobilizing people–especially 18+ year olds and second career adults–to engage in mission around the world. Their Discipleship Training School (DTS) is designed to help you understand God more deeply, live more like Jesus and identify your unique gifts and purpose to use in missions.
DTS is a full-time, residential training course which begins with a 12 week classroom phase, followed by an 10-12 week outreach time where the team that has been built during the classroom phase is deployed into the “10-40 Window” for three months of practical mission work, usually under the direct supervision of a YWAM trained missionary who is resident in the area to which they have deployed. DTS emphasizes cross-cultural exposure and global awareness, preparing students to answer the call to “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19.
Now, after seven years of work, an agreement has been formalized between the International Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America and YWAM to launch an Anglican branded DTS experience that we are calling Anglican DTS or A-DTS. While maintaining the distinctives that have made DTS effective, the experience will be offered from the perspective of Anglican theology and spirituality. It will include the rich curriculum information that YWAM has developed for DTS and will also incorporate Anglican prayer rhythms and a world view from the perspective of Incarnation. The Incarnation of Christ is the ultimate expression of the way that God “fleshes out” things, but there are many other examples of the same principle, including the way that God creates, the way Christ comes to life in us, the way that the Church forms the Body of Christ, and the way we are called to engage the world.
Information on A-DTS is available at http://adts.360experience.org/
You can apply for Anglican DTS here: http://adts.360experience.org/apply.php
There is also a place where YWAM DTS alumnae can register to apply for serving on the staff of A-DTS. Application
Bishop Bill Atwood leads the International Diocese of the Anglican Church in North America and is an American Anglican Council contributing author.
