How Do I Choose Which DTS Is Right For Me?

How do I choose which DTS is right for me?

The YWAM Discipleship Training School is a unique time in your life to focus on who God made you to be, and what He wants you to do. But YWAM offers a bewildering variety of options when it comes to choosing your Discipleship Training School. How do you narrow down your choices?

Here are some questions to ask yourself, and to pray over and discuss with your parents, pastor and trusted counselors. These will help you find the YWAM location that is right for you!

1) What kind of cultural experience do you want? Do you want to stay in your own nation? In your own language group? Are you open to try a bi-lingual school, or go totally cross-cultural?

If you decided to apply for DTS in a really different culture, keep in mind that it can be stressful living in a totally different environment, with different food, sleeping arrangements and cultural expectations. Some people will thrive on that. Others may find that the challenge of the DTS teaching is enough and prefer to stay in a more familiar culture.

Use the map feature to find out where schools are and on the base profile to find out what languages are commonly used at that location.

2) Do you prefer to join a large, well-established YWAM community, or be part of a smaller, pioneering effort?

Some DTS’s have 100 students, others have less than 10. What would you prefer? Larger training center may have bigger facilities and more people to get to know, but smaller bases will have more one-on-one time with staff and students all living and learning together. You can be part of a center that is already doing lots of different things, or one that is pioneering new ministries and initiatives.

Use the search feature to find the base profile (find it when you click on a location) to get an idea of how large it is and then call them to ask about the number of training staff, how experienced they are, and what the facilities are like.

3) Are you looking for specialized training?

Some DTS programs incorporate a focus on a particular type of activity alongside the curriculum. This could be sports, the arts, a focus on a particular geographic region, or a particular kind of cause. Are you passionate about justice or preventing human trafficking? Or snowboarding or surfing or football? Or photography or dancing? There might be a DTS that specializes in that.

Use our search feature to look for a DTS with your area of interest. Keep in mind that there may be less flexibility with dates for specialized schools and you should call the centre and talk to the school leader about how the focus will be included in the normal DTS curriculum.

4) Talk to others who have been to that YWAM base!

The best way to find out what any particular YWAM school or location is like is to ask others who have been there! Many YWAM bases have a Facebook page, or visit the YWAM International Facebook page and post an inquiry – www.facebook.com/youthwithamission.

You can call or email most bases and chat to staff there, who will be happy to answer your questions. Just remember time zones and working hours may be different! Find them using the search feature.