UPDATE: The 2015 Community Development DTS is currently on outreach in Samoa. This focus is currently unavailable for 2016. If you are interested in attending DTS in 2016, consider applying for our Children at Risk DTS or one of our other DTS focuses.

DESCRIPTION:

Every community dreams. They dream of safety, ease of life and close friendships. They dream of children playing in lush fields with good schools. They dream of good food and clean water.

We take many of these dreams for granted in the western world. But there are places where clean water is unheard of, where schools are few and children play in the streets, and where the constant struggle for food is a way of life.

We invite you to step into their lives and inspire change.

For over 50 years, YWAM has played a leading role in bringing holistic community transformation. Through the Christian Magna Charta, we have dedicated ourselves to bringing education, food, water, clothing, shelter and health care to every community around the world.

We invite you to become a part of that mission!

During your Community Development DTS, you will learn about the root causes of poverty and strategies to help communities unlock their creative potential. You will also learn about appropriate technologies that can be used in the developing world like aquaponics, water filtration and sustainable agriculture.

Our journey begins in Madison, Wisconsin. For three months, we will gather alongside the Children at Risk DTS for worship, lecture and small group. In the evenings, we will break away from the CRDTS to examine injustice in search of God’s redemption. We will learn about God’s ways in fighting poverty and injustice, while gaining hands-on skills like building water filtration and sanitation systems.

To learn more about the Discipleship Training School, visit the YWAM DTS Homepage. (Community Development DTS is everything that a YWAM DTS is plus an additional focus on community development.) If you are interested in receiving additional information or attending, please contact dts@ywammadison.org.

Outreach

Following our three month training phase, we will head overseas for ten weeks of outreach. We will help people living in absolute poverty, struggling with life’s addictions, or suffering from painful diseases. We will reach out to refugees, street children, AIDS orphans, or women who have been sexually abused, trafficked or enslaved. Past outreaches have gone to Thailand, India, China, Myanmar, Malaysia, Mexico, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia.

The Role of the Focus in DTS

The focus is an important part of DTS. We make special effort to customize the DTS so that you are receiving training related to your focus as you go through DTS. We also intentionally weave the focus into the type of ministry we do on outreach. But, the focus is not the primary point of DTS. The primary role of DTS is to disciple us to look like Jesus. DTS is designed to grow our understanding of God and His world, to deepen our walk with Him, and to share His love with the world through evangelism and mercy ministry. You should expect the DTS to stretch your comfort zones beyond your areas of gifting and the types of ministry you typically enjoy.

Please visit the YWAM DTS homepage to discover more about DTS. You can also contacts us for additional information at dts@ywammadison.org.