Context of Training

Or, Why do we train?

Effective Ministry is a Context and Platform for Training
Effective ministry is a context and platform for training.


 * Much of the training offered in YWAM arises in the context of effective ministry. It reflects the fact that YWAM was impressed by Luke's statement, at the beginning of Acts, that he had previously written about 'all that Jesus began to do and to teach'. The principle of doing and then teaching what we have learned 'on the job' has been a key element in the development of our training since the early days of the YWAM university and it continues to be a feature of much of what we do.
 * Pioneers and other people engaged in ministry draw in new people and equip them to contribute to the ministry.
 * This training/equipping may be
 * formal/informal,
 * theoretical/practical,
 * classroom-based or an apprenticeship, internship or other supervised learning experience.
 * It can recruit staff for the ministry concerned and enable it to expand and multiply

Training Can Increase the Scope and Effectiveness of an Existing Ministry
Training can increase the scope and effectiveness of an existing ministry


 * Training can enable the ministry and its staff to go beyond their present 'ceiling' by adding relevant skills that broaden the scope of the ministry and/or deepen the level of service they can offer in their present location.

e.g. a team that works with street children can receive training that enables them to provide schooling for the children they are working with and/or to provide special teaching for children who have a specific handicap such as deafness.


 * Training can equip staff and pioneer leaders to take the ministry cross-culturally. Studying cross-cultural issues such as cultural adjustment, language learning etc. as well as the principles of transferring a ministry to a different cultural context can be vital components in enabling the programme to 'fit' its new location and to be owned by the local people rather than being seen as a 'foreign' import.

e.g. Taking the YWAM preschool course, developed in the USA, to the Middle East raises questions about such things as the use of the Montessori method which has children working with 'their own materials' on 'their own mat'. This raises questions about the way that practice fails to match up with local values of 'sharing' resources. Taking things cross-culturally invites us to ask What stays the same? and What needs to be adapted or contextualised?


 * Training can help us to work through some of those questions and enable a new project to get off to a good start.

Training Can Enable a YWAM Base /Team to Launch a New Ministry in Line With Their Vision for Their Local Area
Training can enable a YWAM base to bring a new ministry to birth.


 * It can enable staff with specific vision to launch a new ministry which is in line with what they believe they should be doing in their local context.
 * Training could be on site or elsewhere. Staff could go to a relevant course elsewhere and/or invite qualified teachers/practitioners to come and help them to design and initiate the new ministry. The people invited to help in the project could act as facilitators and/or consultants to help in the launch of the new ministry and help it to get off to a good start.

Training Can Target Specific Teams/Projects in Other Locations and Recruit, Equip and Release Workers Into Those Specific Ministries
Training can target specific teams/projects in other locations and recruit, equip and release workers into those specific ministries


 * This is particularly true for bases that have strong, ongoing relationships with particular people and/or ministry teams in faraway places. When the base has released some of their members to minister overseas, or has other links with people on the frontiers, it would be easy for the base to maintain strong relationships with them and to recruit and train people to join them in that new venture.
 * The 'home base' could run Schools of Evangelism and /or Schools of Frontier Missions with a specific desire to see new workers released into specific places overseas. It might even be possible for the leader of the designated mission field to spend time with the students during the lecture phase of the school and then to take them with them for field experience and, hopefully, longer term involvement.

e.g. The School of Missions at Holmsted Manor had strong links with YWAM in Nairobi and trained and released many people to serve in that area.

Training Has an Important Part to Play in Staff Development and is Part of Our Commitment to Those Who Work With Us.
Training has an important part to play in the staff development and is part of our commitment to those who work with us.them.


 * This is probably covered under 'personnel'. It could include training opportunities offered both within and outside YWAM; in classrooom and/or in ministry settings.