Fairwell to England

The last sight of Brittish shores

At YWAM Harpenden England (just north of London)

Flying to London England

Last spring the international chairman of YWAM, Lynn Green, asked me to join a meeting of minds in Kona Hawaii. Today, I depart for the YWAM base in Harpenden England (just north of London) to continue the conversation we started six months ago. I look forward to sharing in more depth all we do at YWAM Orlando to draw this next generation into missions with the team assembled there. As always I appreciate your prayers, especially as the issues discussed may effect literally hundreds of thousands of potential missionaries. (Photo: Creagon and Lynn this spring at the YWAM base in Kona Hawaii)

Guess who made the front page of the newspaper

To read the article from the Samford Crimson Follow the link below.

UMin calls Samford students to go global - News
-Junior international relations and Spanish double major Hannah Joiner visits with representatives from Youth With A Mission at the Go Global Missions Emphasis fair held yesterday.

Finding God's Messengers on University Campuses

"I want to get in to missions, but I just don't know how"
"YWAM goes to South Africa? I want to go to South Africa and work with children. Can I do that?"
"Thanks for sharing your story. It helps me know that this (Missions) is really possible"

Today I got to meet and chat with the students of Samford University. Each student that stopped buy our display for the missions emphasis week wanted to make a difference in their generation, but many needed to understand what their first step would look like. I trust that with their drive to impact our world and the information I got to share today they will take action. I got to meet one student who met our YWAM team last year at this event. She will be departing for training in a few months before she spends time reaching out to the least reached people of South Asia. She is proof and encouragement that I must continue to search and find God's next generation of messengers among our university campuses.

Effective Funding for Experinced Misisonaries

Imagine being told that with in the next 3 months you would be overseeing a budget ten times greater than what you are currently operating on. To most of us this sounds too good to be true or the work of a freak chance like finding the winning the lottery ticket on a sidewalk, but for one team of dedicated missionaries this may be their new reality.

Last week I traveled to a YWAM center in an urban community to teach biblical principals of raising financial sponsorship and support to the local staff team. Many of this team have been struggling to get buy on only enough income to pay for very simplistic community style housing and donated food.

Many of God's dreams and visions for this team were consistently dismissed and thought impossible because nearly all of their funding was being absorbed by the most basic needs of life and so little was left for reaching out effectively with the Gospel.

It was my goal in a 5 day visit to help these dreams become possible again. I challenged each of the full time volunteers to create a budget based on the amount needed to be effective, not on the amount currently available. Only then was the true disparity between a mindset of Effectiveness and Poverty revealed.

By the end of last week I was amazed to see a visible glow in the eyes of each team member. God given inspiration that was once abandoned, now filled the spirits and minds of a revitalized team. Unique ways to reach out to the most oppressed of our nation with the love of Jesus once again filled the hopes of these experienced missionaries.

To be sure, there is still much work to be done before each of these visions are fully funded by committed sponsors, but a new paradigm has been discovered and a shift in thinking. There is now a marked feeling of measured optimism leading to the setting of achievable goals. I am quite certain that I will get to see astounding growth during future visits as the experience of these dedicated workers and the freedom of effective funding now will combine to share the truth of Christ in a very needy urban neighborhood.

Thank you, For your help allows me to experience the freedom of effective funding!

Flying IN Richmond VA

Michael Berg and I are teaching about financial sponsorship to the staff of YWAM Richmond Virgina. While there I got to experience one of the tools that they use to train missionaries in team work...
The HIGH Ropes Course!

Living with the Guys!

I'm living with 11 guys in a small 4 bedroom house! We represent 5 nationalities, Nigeria, Korea, Finland, Norway, and the USA. 9 of them are just starting their journey into world wide missions. For the next 12 weeks they will experience intense dicipleship training through our DTS at YWAM Orlando. Teachers will fly in from across the globe to spend one week at a time with these students focusing on subjects as imperative as World Missions, Forgiveness, Evangelism and Hearing God's voice to name a few. After these 12 weeks they will have become thoroughly prepared to share Christ's love for 2 months in nations like South Africa, Thailand or India. These young men are the future of World Missions and I am honnored to be a part of their training.

What is Evangelism?

I have been asking some of the students in our School of Ministry and Evangelism a question. Here is what they said.....

Teaching the next wave of YWAM Missionaries

While teaching this week at training session here in Orlando, I heard Tasha share the roots of her call to become a missionary with YWAM. Since she was a young child her heart has broken with compassion for people who have the least of in this world. Now she is committed to personally share the most valuable gift in the world to them, Jesus!
Youth With a Mission now has over 16,000 full-time volunteers around the world like Tasha. To be effective ministers of the Gospel each of these dedicated men and women have the great challenge of finding committed financial sponsors. Twenty of these minsters have traveled the world and are now in Orlando focused on learning effective principals and methods to find the financial support team that God wants to provide for them. I have had the privilege of teaching and acting as a "Coach". Most of these YWAM'ers are just starting their careers and their passion to reach the world for Jesus. Each have a vision including, orphaned children, youth at risk or the developing christian leaders around the world and I am continually inspired to help them to effectively achieve their dreams.

New students coming to YWAM Orlando!

This summer I have spent most of my days helping the next wave of students prepare to come to YWAM Orlando. Today we have over One Hundred people applying for our Discipleship or Evangelism training schools that will start September 22nd. I have come to feel that I know many of them and have even spent many days talking and praying with them on the phone. I can't wait to see all the things God wants to do through them by sending them to the nations. This group of students is especially meaningful to me as both of my pastors daughters (Kara and Lish Schoplein) will be attending our schools.
Here is a Video from last years team and the time they spent with the children of South Africa. Many of these children have lost both of their parents to HIV/ Aids.

Billy Graham: Technology, faith and human shortcomings

True inspiration for our generation's need for Spirituality and desire for Technology!

Capitol worship

Worshiping and praying at our nations capitol with thousands

Praying in DC

Lish and Kaitlin praying at TheCall.
Perfect weather and awsome group.

On our way to TheCall DC

I am in DC with a team of youth from Road to Life Church at TheCall DC

Since I have joined YWAM I have been looking for a good way to explain who this family is and what we do. Recently I have found a good video that sums it all up well. Enjoy!

An invitation to pray

The family of YWAM Orlando I have joined here in Florida has been growing, from 14 full-time volunteers to now over 60 in the past 8 years. At any one time, 180 students, workers and their families may be eating meals at our location that was designed for one quarter that number. To house the flood of new missionary students, we have bought 15 houses in surrounding neighborhoods.
My role is to keep the flood coming, and rather than turning young missionaries away, we are committed to expand YWAM's physical capacity to keep pace with the demand. Michael and Darla Berg, YWAM Orlando Directors, have been at the point of this effort to find a location that can train, house, and feed such a movement here, in central Florida. Recently, some wonderful things have happened with some great potential. As you pray for me, would you include the prayer requests outlined in the following letter as well?

A letter sent by Michael Berg this week:

Greetings,
Darla and I wanted to let you know that the staff and students here at YWAM Orlando have started a 24 - 7 prayer time which began Friday April 18th and will continue at least until we see the release of the campus. We are praying about the upcoming meetings that we will have with the owners of the 199-acre property. We believe that God desires to train literally thousands of missionaries in the upcoming years from this campus.

We have been negotiating the purchase of this property for 2 years and the recently planned meeting was postponed by the owners. The reason for the postponement is to allow them to approach the county one more time to see if they can sell it as a residential development, which would produce far more money for them.

Please pray that:

1. God would move on the country commissioners to declare clearly that this property was committed for ministry purposes and that they must honor this commitment

2. God would give us wisdom as we continues to negotiate

3. God would provide all the money necessary to purchase and renovate this campus

Thanks for standing with us!
Michael & Darla Berg

P.S.
We invite you to join us as a part of the Remote Prayer Team anytime.
If you would like, you can sign up for a specific date, and hour through our website: www.ywamorlando.org/prayer

We would love to hear from you if you get any scriptures or words during your time of prayer.
If God shows you anything during your time of prayer, please email: prayer@ywamorlando.com
If you have any questions give us a call at 407-273-1667.

YWAM Orlando

Phone: (407) 492-0098
Email: Info@ywamorlando.org
Web: www.ywamorlando.org

Home School World Changers

If God is preparing a generation to change the world, at what age would He start to interest these students in World Missions?

Thursday will mark my forth and final Home School conference of this year. At each, I have the privilege to meet kids who have grown up reading true biographies of Christian heroes from all over the globe. I know God is preparing to change the face of this world through some of these students, and I want to do everything possible to help.

I brought a video camera along with me, so you could hear what they think God has done and how He is inspiring their lives through these books.

What Matters to Me?

Some one has created a video that captures my heart. Wish I would have created it!

Quotes from YWAM Orlando Students

My passion to find the next generation of missionaries leads me through-out our nation. I am inspired to press-on when these youth come to YWAM Orlando' s schools and programs. Recently, our staff spent some time asking simple questions to our current students and got some encouraging

What has happened in your Discipleship training school so far...?

"So far DTS has really given me confidence in my ability to communicate with God. It has showed me prayer in more ways and with more depth and clarity than before. My communion with God has been incredible and I looking forward to the messages He has for me and the world." Craig Swandby- Discipleship Training School Student

"Being [in DTS] has really given me a vision for my future and helped me realize what I really have a passion for." Nathaniel Lane - Discipleship Training School Student

What has your School of Ministry and Evangelism experience been like so far.....?

"The [SOME] has not only challenged ME intellectually, emotionally, theoretically, and spiritually, but also has challenged ME to take what I've learned and apply it to lead people to a Jesus style life." Chase Jackson- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"So far I have learned a lot. Something that sticks more than any is the way God has placed value on us as we have been created in His image. When I consider His love for me, to simply put it "I am blown away!" Bobby Benavidez- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"This School has challenged me a lot more in what I believe, why I believe it, and how I can communicate that to other people. It's hard but totally worth it." Sarah Aubel- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"Coming back for a SOME has allowed God to challenge my beliefs and restore many misconceptions to truth. Setting aside a few more months to [explore] why I believe what I believe has exposed falsities and solidified truths. God is faithful to reveal Himself when you earnestly seek Him." Nate "Grizzle" Phillips- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism