At Last, A Full-Service MBI!

At Last, A Full-Service MBI!

For years we’ve stated that YWAM Mission Builders International’s goal is to connect Christian volunteers with Youth With A Mission ministries worldwide, and we have faithfully been doing just that. But while the practical help delivered by thousands of volunteers has made it possible for those ministries to “keep the main thing the main thing,” it is clear that they also need the kind of support that can only be provided by experienced people who understand the unique needs and inner workings of YWAM and who know exactly what it takes to help individual ministries grow, prosper, and effectively deliver on their missions goals from the inside out.

Now, MBI is poised to help meet those needs!

As you know from our previous newsletter, we recently welcomed Ron Brewster (former director of YWAM Lakeside Montana) as MBI’s new director. With Ron at the helm, we’ve enlarged our “tent” to include an expanded staff team and several new-to-us working ministries, each one dedicated to doing whatever it takes to see global YWAM ministries flourish.

MBI is now home to a tactical team of qualified, long-term YWAMers who have first-hand experience not only in volunteer placement but also in leadership development, debriefing, financial and strategic planning, financial stewardship, donor processing, visa and immigration matters, IRS compliance, and more. Seasoned leaders and mentors as well as key staff and organizational resources are now available for YWAM locations seeking to overcome internal challenges and build enduring foundations.

Here is what MBI offers:

SUPPORT AND DEVELOPMENT TO LEADERSHIP TEAMS  

  • New! Leadership13 (L13) is a small group of experienced leaders that exists to serve YWAM leaders and their teams worldwide. Bringing our combined years of leadership experience and entering into a unique one-year time commitment, L13 seeks to strengthen and enhance the vision, values, and calling of each location by identifying their challenges and helping them develop an effective plan to address them. Whether it’s clarifying vision, developing a team charter, or helping to create strategies and systems that will strengthen the overall ministry, it is our deep desire that, with God’s help, YWAM ministries around the world will not only survive but thrive in all of their efforts to “know God and make Him known.”  ~ Gordy McDonald

STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL SERVICES (SOS)

  • New! L.I.F.T. is designed to help YWAM North America leaders strategically address legal, immigration, financial, and tactical/risk areas. ~ Ron Brewster
  • Biblical Financial Coaching provides resources that help missionaries/ministry workers be “good and faithful stewards” of whatever God has provided them. The YWAM Leader’s Financial Toolkit as well as the Personal Financial Coaching and the Steps To Wise Investing Workshop work together to light the way to biblically sound financial stewardship. ~ Stu Sorenson
  • Strategic Planning is a ministry-development strategy aimed at helping individuals in their life- and project-planning as well as teams in the areas of ministry planning, team-building, problem-solving, counseling, and improving effectiveness/efficiency. Used primarily for YWAM location staff and students, this planning process has helped over 600 missionaries, largely in Latin America, the U.S., and China.     ~ Chip and Sandy Wanner
  • New! Debriefing is a week-long ministry time focused on helping YWAM missionaries process times of stress, grief/loss, transition, and injustice. By filtering their circumstances through Scripture, debriefees are able to gain perspective, hear from God, find healing and freedom, extend forgiveness, and move forward renewed and strengthened, confident that Jesus has taken their burdens. ~ Jeanette Brewster

CONNECTING VOLUNTEERS

  • MBI continues to recruit short-term volunteers, matching them with global ministry opportunities within YWAM. Mission Builder volunteers “lift up the arms” of frontline missionaries through practical, hands-on service. ~ John and Donna Briggs
  • MBI RV Associates facilitates volunteer opportunities for those who have re-purposed their retirements and want to use their time and skills to render practical assistance to YWAM missionaries (and other ministries) at RV-ready locations throughout North America. “We serve God through serving others.”   ~ Lynn and Jackie Battermann
  • Mobile Mechanics helps keep missionaries on the move by providing the expertise of a 35-year veteran mechanic, who brings all the tools and skills needed to get vehicle repairs and maintenance done. This saves money for individual missionaries and missionary organizations, allowing them to put their valuable dollars toward spreading the good news about Jesus Christ. ~ John and Michele Whitlock
  • New! After DTS is MBI’s placement process geared specifically toward students who have finished their missions training and are actively looking for their next assignment. MBI is positioned to connect DTS graduates with YWAM locations worldwide, where they can assist as volunteers while exploring where God may have them serve long-term. ~ Ron Brewster
  • New! Virtual Volunteers (coming in 2020) MBI’s version of LinkedIn, focuses on attracting skilled volunteers who can offer long-distance help to global YWAM locations. From web design to graphic design to leadership coaching to digital mobilization—and much more—those who may not be able to travel will soon be able to help “make God known” by serving as virtual volunteers. ~ Ron Brewster
  • New! Volunteer Teams: Vacation With A Purpose (VWAP) is a one-week volunteer trip designed for families and church teams who want to work alongside full-time missionaries. VWAP volunteers do construction, painting, and landscaping projects on YWAM campuses, helping them steward what God has given them. During the week, participants not only do physical work but also get encouraged and challenged in their faith and walk with God. ~ Andrew Hobby

With all of these new tools in its belt, MBI will continue its legacy as a conduit, offering a full spectrum of services in order to see thriving YWAM ministries knowing God and making him known all over the world.

“MBI provides leadership support, practical resources, and volunteer connections to YWAM locations worldwide. Our goal is to help YWAM locations thrive and be empowered to know God and make him known.”

 

 

 

Think Long

Think Long

Everyone loves a good report. At Mission Builders International, we love hearing about our volunteers’ experiences serving alongside global YWAM ministries. The connection between Mission Builders and missionaries is more than just about the value of the work that’s accomplished; it’s also about the rich insights and relationships that result when people work together for kingdom purposes.

David H., who serves with MBI’s RV Associates, blessed us with the following two-week snapshot of his time of service at YWAM Orlando in Florida. We’d like to share his infectious joy and encourage you to find out for yourselves what God has in store for those who offer their time and skills. David wrote:

“A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. Events below are just some of the highlights.

More Mission Builders!

This morning the dining hall is filled with Mission Builders! About fifty Amish from Pennsylvania arrived over the weekend. Men, women, young and old! Many of them have been here before, several times.

After breakfast, the projects planned for the week are announced and the volunteers join the group where they feel led: replacing a roof on a house, building the deck on the dining hall, pool house rehab, cutting and clearing trees in the upper camp grounds. The tree cutting turns up a little shy on people, so I get asked to help with the chain saw work. Not a problem. It will be some good exercise for me, and the project I’m working on is not urgent.

An Observation on Christian Unity.

Throughout the week, as I work on the various jobs, I get to know several of the Amish: Jim, Lewis, Marcus, Lester, Mary Jane and others. They are hardworking people. They may dress and talk differently, but they have good hearts, and many times I catch a glimpse of Jesus in them, and I know they are my brothers and sisters in the Lord. This is very interesting, because YWAMers and Amish/Mennonites must be at opposite ends of the Christian spectrum, at least in outward appearances. YWAMers are quite free and open in their worship and style of dress, the Amish/Mennonites quite conservativAmish Mission builderse.

I am coming more and more to the opinion that unity among Christians will not come about by some new doctrine or theology, but rather by the individual followers of Christ discovering their brothers and sisters as they work side by side pursuing the kingdom work the Father has called us to do!

There is something about doing those things I know the Lord has called me to do. In that step of faith, new revelation takes place in my heart, and I begin to see with the eyes of my heart (my spiritual eyes) a new and broader perspective on the kingdom of God. A realization that my perspective of God has been too small. That I am a part of a family of God much bigger than I ever thought. How else can YWAMers and Amish come together in common effort and worship? Wow! Just a small glimpse of the kingdom of heaven!

Returning DTS Students!

More new faces are showing up at the base and great excitement is in the air! DTS (Discipleship Training School) students who studied here in the fall have been on “outreach” for the last two months. They are now finishing their program and are beginning to return. They will be arriving today and through the weekend, totaling about 80 students and staff who have been in Haiti, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. They will have some incredible stories. There will be a graduation for that class in a week or two. The next two weeks will be very exciting with all the stories.

The dining hall is pretty full with people; still many Amish and Mennonite Mission Builders here to finish up the deck. Most all the students who had been on outreach have now returned, and they are sharing the dining hall also as a central gathering place. The returning students, together with the Mission Builders, are making for a pretty busy place. All meals are now being served in the Arena, since the dining hall is too small!

Speaking in Code

Morning worship is full of people. It’s a good thing they don’t use chairs for our worship services; it’s standing room only this morning! Lots of hugs going around with the returning students. The singing is enthusiastic with all the excitement in the air. Worship ends with a few announcements. One of the leaders asks: “Raise your hand if you were in a country where you could not speak the name of Jesus or in a place where you had to speak in code.” Hands all over the room go up! I am amazed.

The Dead Baby

One evening a few days ago, some of the staff felt called to just go out to the community and seek the Holy Spirit’s lead in finding someone who might be in need. One of the young ladies ended up at Target, and once there, felt led to go to the baby clothes section—a little odd since the YWAMer was not married and had no children. At the baby section, she found a very pregnant mother who seemed troubled. She engaged her in talk. The young mother soon broke down and, with tears flowing down her cheeks, said, “My baby is dead. I haven’t felt anything for three weeks, and now the doctor has said the baby will be stillborn.” She asked the mother if she would like prayer. As the YWAMer prayed, the mother started sobbing and laughing; the baby had started kicking and the mom got all excited. “I can feel the baby! Here, feel it, feel the baby kicking!” They exchanged contact info, and the next day at the doctor’s office they found the heart beat right away and found everything normal with the baby!

YWAM studentTuesday Evening Service

The enthusiastic singing of the returning students seems like it will bring the house down. The message: “Think Long.” What you do today will be the stories you’ll tell your grandchildren. Think about what kind of legacy you will leave.”

Ready to leave a legacy? The door to global volunteer opportunities is wide open. Contact us at www.missionbuilders.org and fill out your volunteer application today. Be sure to check out MBI’s RV Associates if “home” is wherever your RV takes you.