I love context. I love taking a step back to find something I may have missed and I love thinking about how things could go. I find all of that in Q’s series on the 6 Practices of the Church.
For me, this series engaged a lot of questions I’ve had as I look at our YWAM location’s vision and our part more generally in the world. This is an important place for growth in us.
You don’t have to check out right now, but I’d highly recommend it!
The 6 Practices of the Church, with Gabe Lyons and Greg Thompson
One of the foundational points that are made is that the world we live in is a world of contradicting ideas, values, and ways of life. In my life I’ve definitely felt this pull. Worldview is something developed and getting into missions has been one of the really big places where I’ve had to process that.
For example, when I walk down the street in Asia and I see a kid begging, what do I think? What can I do? What do I do?
Is he begging for himself or a thug? Did his parents break his legs so that he would make a better beggar? I have more wealth on me right now then this kid may ever see in his life – what does this say about me?
How do I order my life to do something about this?
What do I do with my life after I see things like this?
The 6 Practices talk was helpful because it gave me a moment to remember that in a way we’ve always been like this. We live in a contradictory world – a world that was created by a good God, broken by our willingness to turn away from Him, but also that our moment in it carries unique hope because of what that good God did on our behalf.
While the world is complex and changing around us this is our present moment to process it and find a hopeful way forward with God’s help.
And, we need to find a way forward.
I found processing this encouraging and hopeful. It reminded me of why I chose missions a little over a decade ago and how it has developed inside of me. The relationships that I’ve formed out here have challenged me and helped make me who I am today.
Crossover Points with our YWAM location
We value knowing what is going on – we commit to live in a real world where there are real people. God’s desire for the people and nations around us is real and it can’t be imagined away. We also need to understand the moment of time that we are in and what are the unique needs presented.
We have a set of beliefs and we know who we are. In YWAM many of our beliefs and values are held commonly by all followers of Jesus, some are unique ways that God has called us to practice those general callings.
We commit to develop ourselves for the task at hand. A handful of practices is all it takes to start developing a relationship with God. From there you have the best tutor anyone could ask for. He shows us how to love, know who we are and points us in the directions we need to go to in order to learn more.
We value community as an expression of who we are. Early on YWAM learned about hospitality from others who follow Jesus and it has had an incredible impact on us. I learned to look at what I had as a way to make others more welcomed. We couldn’t do what we do in Utah without hospitality.
We give ourselves to others through our vocation. YWAM isn’t about getting rich or creating a safe place for yourself. We commit ourselves to Jesus’ service in the world on behalf of others.
As the whole thing comes together the best point is made in the series – we don’t really know what the things will look like. We know that the Church has faced rough waters before and as it applied these practices a way was made forward that, while unique, often rhymed with other points in history.
Problems and Responses
Today, the problems we face in the world rhyme with those of the past as well.
How will we engage them?
- There remain many people groups who have no access to the gospel.
- We see many of these people groups cut off via war and government control.
- We see forms of ideology developing that fear and lash out at Jesus.
- We are not generally welcome as followers of Jesus.
- We see persecution aimed at followers of Jesus.
- We see great need in marginalized communities.
- We see many, many refugees.
- We see great injustice directed at people made in the image of God.
- We see many people loosing sight of what it is to be human.
There are too many things on that list for us to either ignore or rely on a singular response. Instead, these are three ways that we engage that list.
Training
Our goal in training is to help people live out their faith and love for Christ both locally in everyday life and in cross-cultural ways where it is difficult to go.
Mercy Ministry
Our goal in mercy ministry is to be a witness that Jesus Christ still cares and is tangibly here working through our willing obedience and love. Compassion is what Jesus did for us – He suffered with us in the midst of our story and finished the work of the cross, not as someone removed from pain or difficulty, but one intimately involved.
Evangelism and Church Planting
Our goal in evangelism and church planting is to recruit new followers of Jesus to share His love with others and disciple those that choose to follow Him in multiplying expressions of the church among all people groups.
What will your response be?
This is how we are moving to engage that list – we want to make ourselves available to help you find a way to engage what is up there too.
Do you have a list that you need to move on?
Do you want to move with us?
Contact Us – We’d love to be a part of your response.
YWAM Utah Campus 