Evangelism During COVID

 

Currently, we are out on the streets doing evangelism 3 times a week rite now. Mondays we take our DTS students out, Tuesdays is a day when past interns and others join us, and then Wednesdays we hold for our current Face to Face interns. Amongst these 3 days, we have about 30 different people doing evangelism with us. It has been fantastic, but we have also had to be careful, and get creative. It has been awkward with masks, and there are times when we have had to adjust what we do, and how we do it. But one thing is for sure, it is a ripe time to share the gospel with people. Please pray for us as we bring the greatest message in the world to the people of our city. I could type endlessly with amazing testimonies of what God is doing at this time. People are responding to the gospel, people are looking for hope, people are hungry to hear the gospel!

Equipping DTS Students with the simple gospel

 

I recently developed a 12 week curriculum for our DTS students called "Repent, Believe, and Follow". This is a simple reflectional study journal that is meant to help DTS students reflect on their "journey of evangelism" during their DTS. The spend 3 weeks focusing on each of the core components of the gospel. So far, it seems as if it has been very helpful to them. Times have changed, and it is very common to have students come to do a DTS that have no ability to articulate the gospel, and in many cases, are not sure themselves what the gospel truly is. This is the world we live in, and we must engage people where they are at, and equip them to become confident in what the gospel is, how it applies to them, the world, and how they can share it with others. I look forward to seeing this be another useful component that Gospel Focus can offer to our DTS program here at YWAM Salem. 

Slogan Surgery

Recently I have been giving a teaching to our students, interns, and anyone else interested in how we can engage our changing culture with the gospel using the popular slogans of the day as our platform to begin conversations. I think it has been received very well, and I have seen first hand people implement the things I have taught them in their evangelism, and it has been so encouraging to see them share the gospel. Here in the northwest, we are saturated with slogans everywhere. Below are just the common ones that you see walking down our city streets. What a great opportunity to engage people with the hope found in Jesus. 

 

Face to Face Graduation

 

Above is our "ZOOM Graduation" for our Winter Face to Face Interns. It was definitely different, but felt great to see these guys get their certificates. We presently have 5 interns doing our internship, and have intentionally kept our number smaller as we navigate things with COVID. The internship is going fantastic, and we are seeing tremendous fruit from it. I think one of the fruits I am most excited about is how we have staff members now who graduated from our program, and now are working with us! This is a such an encouragement to me, and I hope a good indicator of the effectiveness of the internship Our desire is to grow and multiply evangelists, and it appears that is happening through Face to Face. Please pray for us as we continue to invest into seeing others grow in their witness. 

YWAM Salem Summer Quarter

 

The Summer here at YWAM Salem has been interesting. As you can see, YWAM Salem has moved outside for all our gatherings. We have a DTS running, and basically the other summer ministries like our Ropes Course, Mission Adventures are virtually shut down. To put it into perspective we typically run around 5,000 people through our Ropes course a summer...that is now below 500. Our Mission Adventures Program runs around 250 high schoolers a summer...that is now 0.  But, despite all of this going on , we have seen the faithfulness of God in so many ways. One way in particular is in the area of finances. We saw an $85,000 deficit in our yearly budget because of COVID. The Lord, in His faithfulness thorough a massive fundraiser all our staff were engaged in, we able to raise that sum to help us see it thorough the year. We did have 3 students who tested positive for COVID, which was sure a trial, but we are past that now and in the clear. Prayers appreciated as we navigate what the fall may look like here at YWAM Salem. 

Welcoming new students, staff, and volunteers for the summer

Family Life

 

Despite the COVID reality, we have been doing our best to keep life normal this summer, which for us means doing a lot of outdoors stuff. I (Tim) have taken the younger kids camping a few times, and we have tried to do as much hiking as we can. The above picture is of Sarah and I along the Pacific Crest Trail. The kids are all doing great. Staying busy during summer doing things kids should do...reading books, being lazy in the sun, building forts, etc... The boys have taken up Kayaking, so between that and airsoft matches with their friends they are rarely seen now a days. I guess the newest thing would be as Anders is approaching his senior year of High School, he is beginning to think through the next step. This looks like it may take the form of him going to get his AMP in Aviation Mechanics possibly. We have visited a local Aviation school, and he really enjoyed it. Time will tell!

The kids have picked a lot of berries this summer

A day at the coast

Hiking with 5 of the 7

Camping along the Metolius River 

Anders flew out to meet us for a day of hiking. He cannot get enough of planes.