Ok, so you know you want to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS). You excitedly jump on the internet to look at your options and choose where to go… until suddenly, you find yourself walking through molasses (metaphorically speaking) in regards to settling the question of, “what location should I go to?”
I don’t blame you! I’ve been there. YWAM is a large organization with locations all over the world. It makes sense that the number of choices for locations could be a little overwhelming, but fear not! This blog was created just for you. If you know you want to do DTS, but just haven’t settled on exactly which location to go to, read on for my 3 tips when choosing a location.
#1 Take a gander.
YWAM.org is a wonderful resource. It can help search and narrow down the locations you’re interested in. I suggest that you take a look and see what locations stand out to you and make a list. This leads me to my next tip:
#2 Reach out!
Ok I get it, we’re not all phone people; but even if you aren’t, I encourage you to push through that and give a call to each location on that list you just made. Hear about the location, what DTS is like with them, and what values they are passionate about. Most locations have contact information on their website or you can find it through a quick Google search. Getting a feel for each location is helpful as you are in the process of this next tip…
#3 Pray!
This tip should not be the last thing you do. I’ve left this tip to the last point, because I want to emphasize it the most by sharing my own story.
Years ago, my husband and I were looking into where to do our DTS. So, we did steps #1 and #2 from above. I began to search YWAM.org and reached out to some locations. Sometimes it was hard to get in touch (this was because of time differences)–But once we did, we weren’t feeling peace about the places we had reached out to.
Time went on and we went on a mission trip with our church. Some YWAMers from YWAM Louisville had joined this trip. One day as we were preparing for ministry, I met one of them. We got to talking, and I shared that my husband and I were going to do DTS, so she asked where. I listed a couple locations outside the States, but in the moment, I felt like I should include Louisville as an option. However, I hadn’t mentioned Louisville to my husband because we were both set on going outside of the United States. I thought, “Nah, he’s probably not going to be down for that.” Well, a couple days later, my husband came to me saying, “I think we need to do our DTS in Kentucky.” I was surprised, but immediately felt peace. God stirred this in our hearts separately and it felt like God was leading us to this location. We took that as direction and confirmation. That night we went on the YWAM Louisville website and applied for the next DTS!
Though it was helpful to research and reach out, God’s leading and peace ultimately brought us to our decision. So, here’s my challenge to you: take time to search and call, but ultimately, pray and let the Lord lead you and give you peace about where to go.