“To know God and to make Him known”
(Worldwide slogan of YWAM, Youth With A Mission)
Our Missionary Discipleship Training School (MDTS) is the basic school that YWAM Cancun offers . Its length is five months, which are divided into two phases: Lecture Phase and Outreach.
1.- Lecture Phase: Its length is the first three months of MDTS. On it the student receives a series of conferences that are taught by experienced teachers, who come from different YWAM bases from all around the world. The class ambience is college level, in spite of this it doesn´t stops being fresh and youth. A MDTS has students from Mexico, Central America, USA, Canada, Europe and many other places, which make it a melting pot very rich on international intercultural aspects. These are a part of the subjects tharv are taught:
Every topic lasts one week and is taught during mornings and evenings. They are intense and challenging sessions on intelectual and spiritual ways: this is the process of discipleship whre our students are polished up and perfected; where they are confronted with the Bible truths that would transform their thinking and way of life.
On this phase the students are integrated into a schedule and discipline of the base; it´s living an experience of fellowship 24-7 with the rest of the students. During this time they live as a community where they eat, sleep, study, worship God, etc. They are organized into Small Groups for receiving mentorship in a close range during all this discipleship. At the same time they are integrated into a series of internal activities of the base (work duties) such as cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, mechanics, office duties, maintenance, electricity, etc. which would help the student to model attitudes of service, initiative, responsibility, etc.
During this time the students visit local churches in order to challenge them to the involvement on missions; this is done through preachings, dramas, fellowship, and some other activities. It´s great to see how God uses them to awaken the Church towards its responsibility and obedience of The Great Commission. Likewise, in public places they carry out massive and one to one evangelisms, where they put into practice what they learned in classes through dramas, testimonies, clowns, preachings, kids ministry, sport competitions and some others that would allow them to come closer and interact with the people in order to make up friendships and share the news of God´s love in the Gospel. This is a pretty intense time but also the richest and full of new experiences for a lifetime.
2.- Outreach: Its length is the remaining two months of MDTS. On it the students are sent out to do their missionary practice through massive and one to one evangelism, visits to churches in order to challenge them to the involvement in missions. All this is done through dramas, testimonies, clowns, preachings, kids ministry, sport competitions, etc.
Our outreaches are focused on three locations:
At the end of MDTS, our graduated students are comfirmed on their love for God, fellows, their families, etc. Besides, they adopt a vision, life project, and Christian social responsibility towards their society and the needs of the world; makinf them protagonists of positive change through the spreading of the Gospel. Many of them go back to their families, jobs, colleges, churches, ministries, etc. and from their trenches they work on the fulfillment of The Great Commission. Some others become full time staffers on YWAM bases all around the world, starting a career of missionary service and working on the discipleship of the new generations.
