by Becky Hefty | Sep 13, 2023 | Connections Article
It’s no secret that poverty and hunger plague communities of people at home and abroad, from rural villages to inner cities to drought-stricken and war-torn nations. Statistics show that 719 million people live in extreme poverty worldwide, and 828 million suffer from hunger.
YWAM missionaries know feeding and caring for impoverished men, women, and children is a powerful part of its mandate to make God known. Meeting real physical needs reveals God’s intentional love for those who hunger body and soul. YWAM Gleanings for the Hungry understands this. They say:
“As a mercy ministry of Youth With A Mission, our mission is to feed the hungry of the world, both physically and spiritually. A large part of fulfilling our mission is the procurement and production of shelf-stable food. In the summer, we dry peaches and nectarines not pristine enough for sale. Year-round, we produce a dehydrated vegetable soup mix, mostly from donated products. We give everything we produce free of charge to partner ministries worldwide for distribution in impoverished areas, along with the love of Jesus. We are a destination for all ages to come and volunteer, working together for eternal impact in a hurting world.”
YWAM Gleanings’ work depends on volunteer help. MBI’s Volunteer Placement ministry provides the visibility
ministries like YWAM Gleanings need to attract helpers while offering an easy, seamless application process that gets volunteers on campus and to work quickly.
“The work was so rewarding because we helped prepare food to send to the poor in developing countries.” —Joan and Morry ▪ “Their mission of feeding the hungry locally in their community as well as around the world is a sight to be seen.” —Juli ▪ “Wow! Lots of service opportunities here that are touching people all around the world.” —Ed
MBI supports the work of YWAM frontline missionaries by providing the volunteers and vital services necessary to help keep them productive and thriving. Visit our website at www.missionbuilders.org and apply to volunteer today!
by Becky Hefty | Aug 9, 2023 | Places and Projects
Global YWAM missionaries sometimes find themselves overwhelmed by needs and circumstances beyond their control despite diligent efforts. MBI provides the practical help and training they need to thrive in the face of diverse challenges.
The ministries of YWAM San Antonio Del Mar (Tijuana) and YWAM Ensenada in Mexico work hard to secure their respective campuses and ministry commitments against potential incidents, theft, and vulnerability. They understand that maintaining a strong sense of security enables their teams to focus outwardly on their crucial ministry calling to provide Homes of Hope to homeless families and consistently meet locals at their points of greatest need. For this reason, campus leadership reached out in 2021 for professional training from MBI’s Mission 91 (M91).
Over the past year, M91 members Matt Praetzel, J.T. Pharr, and Luke Smith worked with eighteen individuals between the two campuses, including staff, directors, and hired security personnel. Besides helping them develop both policies and procedures and standard operating procedures, the M91 team introduced a curriculum to take the trainees above and beyond basic security skills. The curriculum includes laying the groundwork for the prerequisite training, physical capability, and baseline knowledge that allows multiple well-trained people to respond to incidents, ensuring the burden doesn’t fall on just one or two people. The training modules also include operations planning, de-escalation, mission debriefing, and incident reporting.
Importantly, the M91 crew helped the Tijuana and Ensenada campuses form Refuge teams. These are not typical “security teams,” a label Matt says “carries unhelpful stigmas and biases. Our philosophy is that the people training in protection can help the vulnerable and present the gospel to those who wish to cause harm. 
We train these teams to see Jesus amid people’s worst days and their worst decisions.” Rather than a hardcore security focus, M91 offers Refuge teams as platforms for potential life-changing ministry.
“We had an excellent conversation with YWAM San Antonio Del Mar’s campus administrator, who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the campus itself. He specifically commended us on the fact that we consult with organizations for long-term success in managing crises instead of coming to deal with the problems at hand and then leaving. Relief work certainly has value. However, many organizations end up in the same place when the next incident hits. He was grateful that our services not only solve the immediate problem but also provide the tools and resources necessary to handle incidents themselves in the future.”
Mission 91 helps YWAM campuses face potentially dangerous situations while reflecting Jesus. As all of those MBI offers, their services enable YWAM missionaries to meet challenges, stay on track, and stay healthy in their God-given calling.
To learn more, contact us at Team@missionbuilders.org or visit our website at www.missionbuilders.org.
by Becky Hefty | Jun 1, 2023 | Connections Article
How do you engage the nations for Christ on a global scale?
By filling a child’s belly, rescuing a trafficked human being, sharing the gospel with someone, or building a home to shelter a family in need. Global YWAM missionaries do these things daily, and MBI helps meet their practical needs so they may thrive and impact as many lives as possible.
YWAM San Antonio del Mar in Mexico is one of many heroes reaching the least, the last, and the lost. They serve in a dynamic region that draws people worldwide searching for hope and a better life. They say:
“Last year, we sent outreach teams to eighteen nations and many states in our beloved Mexico. We also spent time with our friends on the streets of Tijuana. One week, we spent the afternoon inviting people to the table. We shared a meal, listened to them, and spoke life over them. The Father has set the table for us, and all are welcome. It’s our turn to extend that invitation, to pull out a chair for our brothers and sisters so they may taste and see that He is good.”
“We’re passionate about community engagement and walking with the families we serve by building Homes of Hope and through various other services. We meet people where they’re at, bringing hope and transformation.”
Is it possible to measure a family’s or an individual’s joy and anticipation of better things to come? To find out, click here to see the moving account of a single Mexican mother and her children rescued from a threadbare tarp hovel and given a new chance at life in a Homes of Hope dwelling.
Every volunteer and team that MBI recruits for an all-star location like YWAM San Antonio del Mar is a solution to the needs of the communities those missionaries serve. Mission Builder volunteers help frontline YWAM missionaries engage a broken world—one life, one family, one tribe, and one nation at a time.
Be the solution for frontline YWAM missionary heroes and the people they reach. Visit www.missionbuilders.org and volunteer today.
by Becky Hefty | Mar 8, 2023 | Connections Article
MBI helps YWAM missionaries and ministries flourish because when they do, so do the people they serve. That’s why MBI is YWAM’s go-to center for unique, professional-level, contextualized services like those offered by Leadership13 (L13).
The L13 team consists of experienced mission leaders who understand that successful leaders don’t just happen—they’re trained. Focusing on leadership teams is one of their top priorities and why L13 offers Train the Trainer seminars, helping equip and empower YWAM leaders.
MBI co-director and L13 member Dawn Masucci says: “At Train the Trainer seminars, we provide materials and
instruction for the ‘trainers’ who will return to their YWAM locations and teach their leaders. This approach helps identify and counter the difficulties of campuses experiencing a higher turnover rate.”
Pioneer team members at YWAM Lancaster in Pennsylvania said: “We grew so fast our systems were not in place for sustainability. L13 helped us work through the stages of growth and success. Their input was a turning point for us. And their Train the Trainer seminars have increased our ability to raise and equip leadership within our staff. MBI has given us solid, useful tools that created a stable foundation to fulfill our mission of reaching the unreached.”
A YWAM attendee at a Train the Trainer event in Tijuana, Mexico, wrote: “I was so encouraged after a great week with you guys. I spent a few days with a campus we pioneered in YWAM Analco in Durango, Mexico. I saw the material we learned in Tijuana come to life as I walked them through several sessions. Thanks for investing in me and indirectly in our new Durango YWAM location! You are helping people like me to thrive so we can also help others thrive.”
MBI continues to serve global YWAM missionaries and campuses at their specific points of need. As a result, those ministries can stay focused on how God has called them to “go and make disciples of all nations.”
by Becky Hefty | Feb 6, 2023 | Places and Projects
Cambodia is rich in people and potential. But each year, countless Cambodian women and young girls fall into the hands of sex traffickers working out of neighboring Thailand. The poverty-stricken border communities of Poipet are particularly vulnerable to traffickers.
Ross Lackey of MBI’s Partner Architects was working on a project with YWAM Battambang in Cambodia several years ago when friends introduced him to the founders of Freedom’s Promise, a trafficking prevention organization located in Poipet. Ross met with the Freedom’s Promise team and agreed to help design and execute a campus plan consolidating their community development and evangelism ministries into one effective hub accessible to the locals.
In January this year, Ross and intern-architect Gabe Smisson spent nearly two weeks on the ground in Cambodia and at the Freedom’s Promise site in Poipet.
“We’ve begun the largest of their campus buildings, a school for 500 students,” Ross reports. “The first foundation pilings were going in while we were there.
“The challenge of a project like this is searching for products, materials, and finishes in-country and out. Gabe and I visited multiple shops, suppliers, and stores to find products with the right mix of cost, durability, functionality, aesthetics, and availability. It all has to work together.
“But God had more plans for our trip than just finding products and materials,” Ross continues. “One evening, we went to dinner at a restaurant and had a ‘chance’ encounter with a friend of our contact. The gentleman happened to be dining alone at the restaurant when we arrived. After we were introduced, we invited the man to sit with us. He works with another Poipet slum ministry called LightBridge.
“He told us he’d been deputized to lead the construction of a new school for LightBridge. They would build
the school on their site in the slum, but he had no idea where to start. Our friend grinned and said, ‘Well, do you know who you happen to be talking to?’
“Our friend explained that Gabe and I were architects and missionaries using our skills for missions. Our discussion resulted in a two-hour meeting the next day. We talked about processes and next steps and how Partner Architects might help with their project in the future. Currently, LightBridge is using some of Partner Architects’ online video resources to organize and direct their team.”
Ross concludes: “The LightBridge school project is now on Partner Architect’s radar because God ‘happened’ to bring us together in their time of need.”
Yes, God is on the move in Cambodia.
Find out more about Partner Architects at www.partnerarchitects.org.
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