Year For God

Check out the new Year For God website at www.yearforgod.co.uk (opens in new window).

The Year For God (YFG) programme consists of a year encompassing a 6-month Discipleship Training School (DTS) and a 5-month mission placement in the field. Over the years, we have sent teams to Argentina,Brazil, Albania, Uganda, Russia, Poland, Bolivia, Estonia, Singapore, Kazakhstan, India, Indonesia and Tanzania.

YFG is for Christians 18 years+ wanting to take a year to develop their relationship with God and to serve Him through overseas missions in a cross-cultural country. The year will be challenging and life changing, so we are looking for committed people with enthusiasm, initiative and a desire to know God more and serve Him. YFG is also a good starting point for those considering being involved in missions.

The first part in the YFG programme is to participate in Youth With A Mission’s foundational programme, the DTS. Come to know God more as you learn about His father heart, His nature and character, intercession, evangelism, the Bible, hearing God’s voice, spiritual warfare and more during a 3-month lecture phase. Make Him known to those in need of His love, truth and freedom during the 2-3 month outreach. Following the outreach, spend the second half of your year working alongside missionaries on a variety of possible projects such as healthcare, caring for street children, kid’s ministries, evangelism, relief and development. Serve and experience missions abroad for yourself!

Preparation for the year will take place during a 1-week orientation here at Holmsted Manor, England. During this week you receive teaching on topics such as culture, culture shock, health, relationships and missions. Throughout the year you will receive pastoral support from team leaders. On your return, there is a debrief week also at Holmsted Manor, where you will have the chance to process the year, share your experiences, receive teaching on relevant subjects such as re-entry, reverse culture-shock and discuss future opportunities.

BOLIVIA

Should you choose to go to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, you would attend a bi-lingual (Spanish and English) DTS. The DTS outreach could be in Bolivia or a neighbouring country in South America. After the DTS the 6-month placement would be working with Operation Restoration, a YWAM ministry to street children and teenagers in Santa Cruz. You could be part of the First contacts team who do street visits and make initial contact with the street kids. This team also offers practical help through the Mobile medical post that treats minor injuries. Operation Restoration runs a reception home, a boy’s home and a girl’s home, which provide the children with a loving home, an education and the help and support they need. Ministry here would include discipleship, befriending the kids and joining in activities ranging from sport to baking!

UGANDA
Your DTS will be on Hopeland, a 75-acre campus set in pleasant grounds overlooking Lake Victoria. Hopeland is 10 km from Jinja, and Uganda’s second largest town. The DTS outreach will be in Uganda or another East African country or both. After the DTS you will have a wide choice of opportunities for the placement in several locations in Uganda. Some of these could be assisting in the YWAM pre-school, discipling new believers and youth, working in a home for children affected by HIV/AIDS, healthcare, teaching health education in villages, working with disabled children, working with a ministry to prostitutes or passing on your administration or organisational skills.

SINGAPORE
The DTS lecture phase will be at the YWAM base in Singapore and the DTS outreach and placement phases will be in another Asian country. Five extra teaching weeks on Frontier Missions and Biblical Studies will also be part of the year in this location. They will be in Singapore and will take place between the DTS outreach and 4-month placement. Ministry opportunities here are endless and could be in one of a number of Asian countries such as China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Philippines or Cambodia.

INDONESIA
We are currently looking at the possibility of Indonesia being a YFG location for 2009-10.

The year will cost around £4,000-4,500 for Bolivia, Uganda and Indonesia and approximately £7,500 for Singapore. This includes airfare and taxes, food, accommodation, medical expenses, travel and medical insurance, visa, orientation and debrief weeks, DTS fees and administration. You will also need personal spending money.

“YFG changed my whole outlook on who God really is and how I can have apersonal relationship with him. God used the experience not onlyfor the benefit of the kids and families we were working with, but alsofor my faith. The DTS teachings take you deeper spiritually andbiblically. In fact, I would recommend the whole year for any Christianwhether 'mature' or young. I will always cherish this year.”
Steph, YFG Bolivia

“I realised that spending aYear For God would be better use of my time than a Year For Me, andthat there is nothing better than spending your life in the centre ofGod’s will. The YFG programme encouraged me to spend the rest of my life for God.”
Tim, YFG Uganda

"My Year For God was an amazing time full of unforgettable blessingsand real challenges. I learnt more of who God is and His faithfulnessto us in all situations. It was humbling to become part of thecommunity where I was living and to learn from the people’s lives andfaith. I learnt more about who I am, my weaknesses and my strengths, aswell as how I can serve in the future. I leave with a greater love for God, for people, and for world mission."
Louise, YFG Bolivia

“It was such a privilege to work in a multi-cultural team in apioneering setting and to benefit from their wisdom and relationship with God.”
Helen, YFG Kazakhstan

“YFG is about experiencing the adventure of letting go and lettingGod. For me it was about a year of exposure to foreignlands, practises, languages and a deeper exposure to a veryfamiliar God. It will take you to the strangest places, the kindestpeople, the hardest times, the weirdest food, the mostinteresting toilets and give your life a true call to walk the walk of true discipleship.”
Christopher, YFG Tanzania

“It was a great year, I went as a weak Christian, who, to be honest,was looking for adventure and willing to find it with a Christianorganization, but that turned out to be God's hand! God used the12 weeks of DTS lectures to change me, teach me, grow me, and ofcourse love me! It was an intense period of growth, then followedby nine months of outreach, that was intense in an entirely differentway, moving from place to place, out of the lecture bubble, in crazyplaces, doing crazy stuff, and through it all God was there, and Ilearnt to depend on Him. The year took me out my comfort zone, into aplace of more acute need for God, and He responded by blowing me away and changing my life!”
Matt, YFG Indonesia