Your Ultimate YWAM DTS Guide

Your Ultimate YWAM DTS Guide 

What is a YWAM DTS? 

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is an opportunity for you to wholeheartedly pursue Jesus for 5 months! You can learn from leaders on the mission field, discover your passions, and explore your God-given calling through a YWAM DTS. A Discipleship Training School provides new perspectives on following Jesus for those who long for new ways of following Him. The purpose of the Discipleship Training School is to provide students with a space that is dedicated specifically to deepening their understanding of who God is, challenge and encourage them to see who He has created them to be, and to equip them with tools to share His love with the world around them wherever they go. Through YWAM’s DTS, you will be immersed in an environment where you will have the opportunity to learn about God and grow in your relationship with Him. The Discipleship training school at YWAM Asheville will not only teach you how God speaks, but also teach you how to recognize His voice, and empower you to follow Him where He leads! 

DTS Course Details: Curriculum and Schedule 

The YWAM DTS curriculum consists of 2 phases; Lecture & Outreach. As you progress through the lecture phase of YWAM training, you’ll focus on knowing God, His Word, and His world. Besides learning from excellent teachers, you’ll also live in a community and receive practical training. The goal is to transform yourself, renew your mind, and grow as a person. Then, during outreach, DTS students serve God outside the classroom! This cross-cultural experience will allow you to discover more about yourself and the world around you, while sharing the good news of Jesus! 

The DTS curriculum is somewhat dependent upon location, that being said, there are nonnegotiables that must be present in every course for it to be considered a true YWAM DTS. Rather than a pre-structured and pre-scheduled curriculum, YWAM provides a framework of values, lessons, concepts, and truths that students must interact with during their DTS. A YWAM Discipleship Training School class curriculum includes classroom & academic work, prayer and worship, team building, community responsibilities that help keep the YWAM base running smoothly, local outreach and ministry, small groups, one-on-one’s, and of course, outreach. The Lecture Phase is a minimum of 11 weeks, and Outreach Phase is a minimum of 8 weeks.

A typical schedule during DTS Lecture Phase includes morning quiet times, perhaps worship, and lecture time, followed by a group discussion or time for reflection. Depending on the time of lecture, this might be followed by lunch, or perhaps some local ministry. In the afternoons, students might have responsibilities to take care of around the base, such as lunch clean up, or maintenance. There will be time in the week for students to have face to face meetings with their mentor or coach (often called their “one-on-one”), to check in and see how they are processing what they are learning and experiencing. There will be dinner, perhaps some free time or games, and then there will likely be academic time to get required reading or journaling done. Some bases encourage or even require students to attend different local churches on weekends, while others do not. 

Schedule during the DTS Outreach phase is totally different for every outreach, but you can be sure that it will include ministry times, evangelism, team prayer and intercession, worship, and enjoying the local culture. 

Built into both DTS phases are times of rest and sabbath. We believe that in order to serve the Lord and others well, we must yield to God’s example of rest and allow Him to refresh us regularly. 

DTS Lecture Phase 

A YWAM Discipleship Training School lecture phase provides classroom learning, community-bonding, and heart change. It’s a chance to have your perspectives altered and your view of God deepened. During the lecture phase of DTS, you will be receiving world class missions training here in Asheville! Students are participating in intentional discipleship, enjoying community, and cultivating a lifestyle of authentic worship. Each week a speaker will cover a topic that we believe to be crucial to the life of every Jesus follower. 

The lecture topics will vary in title, but they should all fit into one of the following categories: 

• God’s Nature and Character: Encountering God, understanding who He is and what He is like, and how He invites us to abide in relationship and partnership with Him.
• God’s Intention for Individuals, Peoples, and Creation: Seeing all of life through God’s perspective, and learning to make choices that glorify Him, and displaying the Kingdom of God in all areas of society.
• God’s Redemption: Understanding the Biblical narrative about God’s plan of redemption of humanity through the cross, and recognizing Jesus as Lord.
• God’s Family: His church, His role as Father, and how we are to exist as His children together globally.
• God’s World: Calling, The Great Commission, our God given responsibilities, and the invitation to join in the ministry of Jesus Christ.
• YWAM: Introducing the ways Youth With A Mission responds to God; through “Knowing God and Making Him Known.”

During this time your focus will be on knowing God, His Word and His world. You will seek transformation, a renewed mind, and personal growth. In addition to classroom learning, you’ll learn practical skills during local ministry times, community service responsibilities, worship, prayer, intercession, and by living in community. These all serve as ways to solidify your heart-level understanding of each topic. You will have time to process what is being learned during small-group, as well as one-on-one discipleship conversations with a designated staff member who is committed to your personal DTS journey. 

A key part of character development is serving those around us. A part of DTS is working to keep the YWAM community functioning, while teaching teamwork and dedication. This side of DTS helps you become a part of the community of YWAM around you. 

DTS Outreach Phase 

During the outreach phase of DTS, you will take the message and love of God across the world. You will learn about the diversity of cultures and will participate in God’s purposes for the places you visit. Outreach phase is when you’ll get to apply all that you’ve learned in a cross-cultural, immersive, missional experience. You can put all of your new perspective into action by sharing God’s truth in different places all around the world. The goal is to share the love of God which you have experienced in your own life. You will be sent as an ambassador of the Gospel to a different location(s) with your DTS teammates. The goal of a Discipleship Training School (DTS) is to know God & make Him known in all the earth. Therefore, for your final 2 months of DTS, you’ll spend your time sharing the light of Jesus in various ways. 

During a DTS outreach, there are countless opportunities to demonstrate and act upon all that you’ve learned about God, yourself, and the world. 

This may include acts of physical mercy, such as providing medical supplies or fixing a leaking roof…it may be playing volleyball with at-risk children…it may be painting a portrait of someone while speaking truth and identity over them…it may be meeting locals for coffee each day to explain the Gospel.

Choosing the Best DTS Location for You 

We believe that the Lord will lead you to the best YWAM location for you through prayer. We urge you to choose your YWAM DTS location based on the guidance of the Holy Spirit alone. 

Some things to take into consideration while praying about the best YWAM location for you are the size of the base, student to staff ratio, and ministry focus. Some YWAM bases are very large, and can offer a very different experience than smaller bases. Being a part of a large DTS will give you a glimpse into the variety of the Kingdom, and you will be exposed to a vast array of how the church can look. On the other hand, being in a smaller DTS might allow you to dive deeper in your relationships with peers, as well as your discipleship since staff/speakers may be more readily available to students. 

Some bases offer specialized ministry focuses, tracks, or electives. It would be good to know what each YWAM base you’re looking at is passionate about, and what areas of ministry they are pouring into. 

Try not to focus too much on the geographical location of the base, or potential outreach locations. Sure, you might get to visit a really cool city that you want to see…but will you accomplish the assignment God has for you? Let go of your preferences and fears, and see how Jesus meets you as you trust Him to guide you!