"TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN" is the heart of YWAM's Discipleship Training School (DTS). The DTS is a six month programme in which young people, aged 18 to 35, from all around the world, come together for in-depth teaching and training in how to follow the example that Christ set for all believers. There is a strong emphasis on having an intimate relationship with God, character development, application of Biblical truth, and bringing God's love to the world.
To make Him known to others you have to first know Him yourself. That is why the learn phase of the DTS 'looks up' - to God. It then 'looks in' to ones self. When you know the truth about God, who He is, and the truth about who you are, you are then ready to 'look out'.
The DTS consists of two parts: a three month learning phase and a three month outreach phase.
The learning phase is the part of the DTS in which teaching is greatly emphasised. Students spend 15 hours per week attending lectures on a range of topics such as The Father Heart of God, Intimacy with God, Intercession, Worship, Spiritual Warfare, Relationships with God, Family & the Opposite Sex, Missions, Evangelism, Servant-hood, Sin, Repentance, Restitution, Suffering, The Character of God, Identity, and Biblical World View. The lecturers are a multinational group of people who mainly work with YWAM or local churches and have experience in ministry and missions. These people have a heart for young people and desire to challenge them in their faith and encourage growth in their relationship with God.
Another integral part of the lecture phase are the small groups in which students discuss and apply what they have been taught in lectures. The small group creates a confidential setting in which students can talk openly and receive support and encouragement. It is also a place for students to be challenged. The small group leaders are people who have already completed their DTS and who are committed to serving and discipling the students in their group.
Other DTS activities include worship, intercessory prayer, work duties, Bible study, Christian book study, personal discipleship, and social times.
One of the most vital elements of learning on a DTS at Holmsted Manor comes from living in community. Single DTS students stay in dormitory rooms which accommodate from 6 to 12 people. It is often in these rooms that friendships are built and character is shaped. Students of varying ages, nationalities, and backgrounds can give and receive much from one another just by living together.
The outreach phase is the part of the DTS where students live and work in teams in a frontier or urban setting. The outreach is an impacting and transforming part of the DTS. It is where students put into practice all that they have learned during the lecture phase.
During the outreach, students link in with an ongoing missions project bringing practical and spiritual support to the long-term workers. There are millions of people on the frontiers and in cities who are in desperate need of God's love, truth, and freedom. DTS students bring blessing to the people of the regions in which they are visiting--through prayer, friendship, talking about Jesus, or offering practical help. Through their varied experiences, students learn about a culture that is different from their own and are inspired to seek God about His role for them in the Great Commission.
Holmsted Manor places DTS teams in both frontier and urban locations. In recent years, teams have ministered on the frontiers in India, Tanzania, Poland, Indonesia, Albania, Thailand, Bolivia, Malaysia, Uganda, Ukraine, Romania, Hungry, East Timor and South Africa, and in the urban settings of London, Amsterdam, Berlin and Brussells.
Who is the DTS for?
The DTS is for Christians of all nationalities & denominations between the ages of 18 and 35 who have a desire to know God more and have an interest in world mission. It is for single people & married people, recent high school graduates and Ph.D's, new Christians and for Christians who have known Jesus for a long time...
To download the DTS Application form, click here .
