We have been in Germany for about a month now. A lot of our time has been spent getting settled, getting connected, and seeing what this new season holds. That is still very much in process but I figured it is time to share some of what I do know.
It is Spring in many ways here at YWAM Hurlach. The spring flowers are emerging, small leaves are beginning to appear, the sun is showing itself more and the temperatures are fluctuating upwards. Spring is here but the full reveal has not yet arrived. That holds true for YWAM Hurlach and our ministry as well. Hurlach has had a few quiet years, "Winter" if you will (a lot to do with the pandemic). But now it is "early spring" and the base has new leadership, new staff, new vision, and new efforts to launch ministries. The base is in a new season but the full reveal is not here yet, I write this update from this perspective.
New Teams
One of the first things we are doing is forming new teams. All the staff have been asked to join two teams, an administrative team and a ministry team.
I have been asked to join the "University of Nations Team," which is the administration side for our training schools. This team is meant to tackle, what schools and trainings we will run, when they will run, who will lead them, recruiting students, processing applications, etc.
I will also be a part of the "Bible Basics Team," which is the Bible training department. Hurlach has a long history of running Bible schools and training in various forms.
This team will tackle specifically what Bible training will be run and then run them. The main expressions of this ministry are running Bible schools, Biblical Worldview schools, and a program called "The Story". The Story is a creative, immersive, and interactive Bible overview. It is typically run in a week-long format for YWAM schools or a weekend format for churches.
In both of these teams, I will be in some type of leadership role which is still being defined. Fortunately, we have very seasoned staff in these areas, so my role will be more of "gathering everyone together" to plan how to move forward.
Balkans
One of the new vision points of the base is a focus on the Balkans. In most of these countries, there is only a tiny missions presence. In YWAM's case, we may only have a single family or person working in an entire country, or none at all! We want to support those who are sticking it out there and help start new things! This month we are sending out two scouting teams/trips to meet with contacts to see what the needs are and how we can help. This past week we sent a team to Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia. At the end of the month, we are sending a team to Kosovo (only about 100 known Christians) and Montenegro. At some point, Bulgaria will be included as well. I am looking to join the Kosovo/Montenegro/Bulgaria trip, details are still developing on that.
New Initiatives
There are some new initiatives forming which will be new expressions some of YWAM's ministries. I was going to write about one here but quickly realized it deserves its own post and details are still forming, so I guess this is a teaser. Stay tuned!
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