A Journey Blog

Why is discipleship important? It's a good question, not only for those of us who work in "Discipleship Training Schools," but for everyone. First of all, it's a command from Jesus."Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations..."  A command we've heard a thousand times, but maybe aren't so quick to respond to as we think. You see, we cheer the numbers of salvations, as we should. But what happens afterwards? When the worship band stops playing and the congregation has gone home? Life still goes on. Family problems still exist, jobs are still waiting on Monday. The disciples weren't just church attendees on Sundays, they walked beside Jesus every single day, learning from Him, listening to Him. Jesus' example of discipleship wasn't a one time thing, it was a lifetime process. The disciples were together on their good days and their bad days. One moment Peter says he'll follow Jesus anywhere, the next he's denying Him. ...

Welcome to my new weekly blog-post series! I decided it was important to share with everyone what exactly I do at YWAM Jax Beach, so I came up with the idea of doing a "A Day in the Life..." series, where I share different aspects of what I do at the base. So, this first installment is going to be about Short-Term Outreaches. This may be multiple weeks long because I will be in the midst of Short-Term Outreaches for the next month! Short-Term Outreaches, or STOs, are similar to your typical mission trip. The main difference is that we set it all up and you show up! We have STOs both locally in Jacksonville and overseas. In Jacksonville, we connect with and serve local ministries. We also do street evangelism in the area around our base, which during the summer is full of people going to the beach! We give people the opportunity to get a little bit of teaching on evangelism, then will give them projects, like praying with people on the beach, to actually practice the t...

As many times as I've heard the song "Oceans" by Hillsong United, I don't think I've ever gotten sick of it. It's honestly so relevant to me at this time in my life. There's a part of the song that says: Your grace abounds in deepest waters Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You've never failed and You won't start now When I joined YWAM, I didn't realize how much I would need to recognize God's grace. I jumped in, passionate about missions and discipleship, but I got so much more than a time of service in missions. I've learned how important it is to continue to be discipled in my relationship with God. I've learned that grasping and holding tight to the Lord's grace is essential. I've always believed in grace, always knew that it is by grace I am saved. But I've learned His grace "abounds in deepest waters." It's not just when we are "saved" tha...

On Monday night I got back from my first adventure as an outreach leader for the Discipleship Training School in Jax Beach. I spent 2 months traveling overseas with 6 students and one other leader, sharing the good news of Jesus. We spent the first 5 weeks in Taiwan (see last post), and the last 3 weeks in China. I wish I could tell you all of the stories, but I would be typing on the computer for days. It's hard to really come up with how to express this trip, the emotions I felt and the things I saw. In Taiwan we had the opportunity to work with YWAM. It was great to be able to work with another base and see what God is doing there. Taiwan is a place where you can openly share the Gospel, but it is still a very small percent Christian. There is a darkness and heaviness there because there is still a lot of ancestor worship. People even have shrines and altars set up in their homes. They will burn "money" to their ancestors because they believe they need it. Many do it...

I am so blessed to be in Taiwan sharing the Gospel with some amazing people. The first few days we were here we stayed a city a little bit outside of Taipei, where the YWAM base is. We stayed where they house their secondary school students which was a huge blessing. We are still staying there on our off days, but we have recently been traveling outside the city to do ministry. We went to a town called XinZhu and worked with a local pastor there. We had the opportunity to spend two days in a high school going from class to class, sharing testimonies, performing dramas, and hanging out with the kids. We were like celebrities walking through the halls of the high school, everyone taking pictures and asking for our Facebook. It was cool to have such an influence in their lives. There were a few students who gave their lives to Jesus, which made everything worthwhile. We also did some songs and dramas for the local church, both at the main service and the youth group. Now we are in a more...