Discipleship Training School (DTS)
A Discipleship Training School is a missions program in YWAM focused on making Disciples of Jesus. To know God and make Him Known.
The first 3 months of your DTS, commonly called the “lecture phase”, will be spent at a YWAM DTS Base 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!
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.
Doing a DTS is an incredible opportunity to focus on pursuing God, allowing Him to transform your life and gaining His heart for the nations. If you are ready to embark on an adventure of a lifetime, come and join us!
What does staffing a DTS mean in terms of missions and ministry?
Being a YWAM DTS staff member means that you are part of YWAMs long-term missionary members. Being staff is typically a 2 year minimum commitment to helping lead the DTS schools. For the staff member, they are spending all their time discipling the students and helping them grow in their relationship with the Lord and equipping them for outreach and life on mission. DTS is a very formative school that builds such an amazing foundation of discipline in the Word of God that carries on into the rest of our lives. As DTS staff it is imperative that we steward our time with the students in the best way we can to help them grow biblically with the Lord. Then after 3 months of intentional discipleship, staff get the amazing opportunity to lead teams of students into the nations for 2 months! The discipleship does not stop on outreach either! Staff continue to help guide and lead students in ministry and outreach as the team as a whole shares the Gospel of Jesus with the nation we are serving in. Outreach is incredibly diverse every single time. No outreach is the same. No team is the same. Some teams can be partnering with established churches in nations such as Ukraine, Thailand, or Mexico; to all of a sudden reaching unreached people groups in Nepal and Panama! God moves heavily during outreach in all shapes of forms. The staff are responsible for the safety of the team as a whole and guiding the direction in ministry while on outreach, yet often let the team as a whole follow the Lord as they seek out opportunities to either serve or share the Gospel.
The coolest part of being a staff member is that the mission doesn’t end once DTS comes to an end. Once a school ends and the students move back home, staff member prepare immediately for the next school of students to help disciple and prepare for outreach. They are responsible for the planning of outreaches, teachings, and mini-outreach locations. As well as preparing the curriculum throughout all of DTS. The whole cycle of discipleship starts again with a new school every quarter. DTS Staff members are always involved with discipleship and missions full-time for the two years they commit to serve at a YWAM location.