Each round of dodgeball starts with teams running to grab as many dodgeballs as possible.

That’s right. The game that you played in primary school is now making a hit with adults and children alike, and YWAM Harpenden has caught the bug.

Derek Hermann, who works with Oval Sports United and organizes dodgeball on Thursday nights in The Factory, said the appeal of dodgeball is its simplicity.

“It’s a fun, universal sport,” he said. “It doesn’t take much equipment to play, and if you are reasonably athletic, you can get good quite quickly.”

Dodgeball creates an open door to reach out to the local community, and teaches the importance of being active, fair play and community. And it brings out the competitive side in all age groups.

“There’s a group called Harpenden Roundtable, which is an over-40 men’s group. The other night we had them all in The Factory throwing dodgeballs at each other,” Derek said laughing. “They thought it was great. They said they normally would just sit around at the pub drinking beer.”

Oval Sports has also found an open door teaching dodgeball in schools and with Scout groups.

“Dodgeball has really become popular in schools because it is cost-effective and inclusive,” Derek said. “It’s great for kids who might not be involved in the major school sports.”

Derek Hermann (left) and Nick Palmieri attack the opposing team.

Derek, Paul Baker and Mark Pearse, who all work with Oval Sports United, are qualified as dodgeball coaches. Like most good things, it kind of landed in their lap. Paul took a class several years ago when it was being offered for £15. At that price, why not? he thought.

As for Derek, “The Hertfordshire Sports Partnership was offering a week of discounted coaching in February. The Level 2 dodgeball course was £100.

“My wife Angela said if the money was provided, I could take the course. That was Monday. On Thursday night, Angela’s sister sent us an e-mail saying she got some extra money and she wanted to send us £100.”

Derek thought he would use his new dodgeball skills for outreach, but as Oval Sports United, the YWAM Harpenden sports team, started to develop, it was natural to start using his newly acquired skills to run the dodgeball club.

But the club is not just reaching Scout groups and men’s clubs. As they got more involved, the Oval Sports team came across a new level: competitive dodgeball.

“It’s incredibly popular with a pocket of people,” Derek said. “Usually the people who find it are already competitive in another sport, and they try it out to stay active out of season.”

Dodge Factory are currently second in their division headed into the playoffs.

Dodge Factory has their eye on a championship as the season nears its close.

“We have the South tournament coming up soon, a tournament on May 5th, and playoffs in June before the end of the season,” Derek said. “This is only our first year, but it’s been great. We are hoping as we keep playing together, we will get even better.”

Interested in playing dodgeball with YWAM Harpenden? The Factory is open to the public for play on Thursday nights from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The cost is £1.

Share this:

It’s short notice, but if you are up for an adventure, the Next Wave would love to have you along! The cost is £20 per day to help cover the cost of food and fuel. There is a discount for YWAMers; ask about it when you apply.

For more information, contact us on 07534014636 or e-mail nextwave@marinereach.com

Share this:

I have been in YWAM for over 40 years. I’ve been involved in some remarkable projects, and seen God do amazing things in and through YWAM. Highlights include March for Jesus, the Reconciliation Walk, the purchase of Holmsted Manor, The King’s Lodge and Highfield Oval … and the 1972 Olympic outreach in Munich.

Munich ’72 is remembered by most people for the horrors surrounding the massacre of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. But in the midst of that tragedy, God was working. Although the world was on edge, watching the unfolding drama of the terrorist attack, God was drawing His people together as one, to bring His message of peace and reconciliation to the watching world.

YWAM volunteers walk through the streets of Munich in 1972, giving flowers to townspeople devastated by the murder of 11 Israeli athletes.

I will never forget walking down the main streets of Munich, banners in hand, one of thousands proclaiming the name of Jesus. In our hands were flowers provided by the city authorities to give out to the stunned public, which opened many opportunities for deep conversations. Despite the tragedy at Munich 1972, God was still glorified: indeed, perhaps because of the tragedy He received even greater glory as people looked for some comfort, some good, some source of real peace.

Munich was YWAM’s first Olympic outreach. A call went out to YWAM worldwide (not so easy then as it is now, as there was no such thing as email or the Internet – just telephones and the postal service).

In those days, YWAM was small (about 100 full-time staff), yet over 1,000 YWAM volunteers came from all over the globe. We all slept in a castle (Schloss Hurlach) that YWAM had miraculously been able to purchase. We ate together, ministered together, prayed and worshipped together, and saw God do great things – together.

Out of that unity, God did more than just touch thousands with His good news. Such was the inspiration, such the Spirit-filled experience, that many of those YWAM volunteers returned home to start something new. Others in a sense never went back home, but lost their heart to another country.

Lynn Green believes the London Olympics could be a catalyst for new things in YWAM. Are you ready?

I believe that this year’s Olympic outreach is capturing something of the spirit of Munich ’72. There’s a sense of YWAM and others stirring themselves worldwide to be present at London 2012; a sense of unity and oneness not seen for some time.

This is an opportunity like no other: not only will we have the world coming to the Games, but London already has the world here, in a way that few cities can claim.

Of course it will be different – Jesus never does things the same way twice. But 40 years on from Munich 1972, there is real excitement within YWAM that He is going to use this Olympic outreach to bring big expansion to the mission force. Not for YWAM’s sake, but for the glory of His name; to raise up a whole new generation of young people who will go – unreservedly, wholly, with no care for themselves – to establish the Kingdom in places and circumstances where it isn’t, and to preach the gospel among peoples that have never heard it.

I’ll be there. The question is, can you afford not to be?

Share this:

Circuit Riders from YWAM Harpenden on Vimeo.

YWAM Harpenden will be a hive of activity this summer, starting July 1 with School of the Circuit Riders, a two-week school to equip those who are ready to throw off the ordinary for an extraordinary life in Christ. We recently sat down with Michael Green, one of the school leaders for Circuit Riders in the UK, to hear more about it.

What is Circuit Riders?
We can draw inspiration from things that God has done in the past. The circuit riders who came from the UK and traveled the US sharing the gospel helped lay the moral and financial foundations of both nations. Without those foundations, both nations would look very different.

There’s a growing sense that God is wanting to release a new generation of people who want more of God’s presence in their lives. There are many people who are saying, ‘God, there’s got to be more than this.’ The purpose of Circuit Riders is to give them a foundation to launch them into the mission field, wherever that is for them – their university, their place of work, or the ends of the earth.

The school is not primarily about head knowledge, or learning ten techniques for evangelism. It’s about catching fire, the Holy Spirit getting our attention and impacting us as individuals. When you catch God’s vision for man like that, you can’t help but make an impact on the world around you. As Charles Spurgeon said, “Set a man on fire, and people will come to watch him burn.”

Who can join Circuit Riders?
That’s the beauty of it, that it’s open to everyone, whether you are a student at university, never done DTS or anything with YWAM, or you’re a long-term missionary. We’ve got people who are applying who’ve been in missions for 20 years. It’s not about a single generation; it’s about the body of Christ working together. We all need fresh revelation, fresh power, fresh anointing in our lives.

Generally, the original circuit riders were younger because it was an arduous life. A good number of them died young as a result. I think there is a call to go to the hardest and darkest places, to cast off comfortable Christianity. Jesus talked a lot about the sacrifice of being a disciple, and very little about the comfort. The mission field looks different than it used to. It’s no longer just about going to the farthest places we can think of. We are also called to bring Christ to our work, our institutes of education, to every part of society.

What will the school look like?
The school will be bent toward learning, then applying that knowledge. You won’t just sit in a classroom listening to teaching for two weeks. You’ll learn, then be given opportunities to apply it.

For example, you might take a passage of scripture, and ask the Lord what he was saying to you in that moment, then spend the next two minutes preaching to each other in a small group. It’s meant to shed light on how we communicate the gospel. It’s not about techniques, but about catching the spirit of what is doing at this time, and applying it in our own lives. It’s also about practicing the spiritual disciplines, including deeper understanding of prayer and intercession, and intimate, abandoned worship, which leads to a change in the inner man that in turn impacts the world around us.

What will happen on outreach?
The outreach will be an opportunity to take another step in applying all that you learn during the lectures. We have this extraordinary opportunity this summer. It seems like half the world lives in London anyway, and now the rest of the world we be coming to our doorstep. London will be a focus for the outreach, but we are also looking to send teams to other cities in the UK that are hosting Olympic events. The idea is that this work carries over into your own mission field, wherever you go.

What would you say to those thinking about joining Circuit Riders?
Circuit Riders isn’t “it.” It’s the jolt. We weren’t created for a boring life, to just go through the motions. There’s too much, so much more. We hope that Circuit Riders will be that jolt of power that reinvigorates people to be released into a world in desperate need. None of us were created for an ordinary life, and this is an opportunity, some for the first time, others as a reminder, that we were created for the extraordinary

Share this:

The team currently comprises Helena Kittle, Forever’s youth and children coordinator from the UK, and Rebecka Larsson, a member of the Forever sports team from Sweden. They will continue to do their Forever outreach coordination work, preparing for the thousands of people coming to do the Olympic outreach in the UK this year.

This new YWAM team fulfils one part of Forever’s vision – to establish new, long-term YWAM teams that have lasting impact in London and the other Olympic host cities. It also fulfils another part of the Forever vision: the team is partnering with an Ichthus church-plant keen to invest in their few youth and reach out to the local community by organising numerous local outreaches, which blends YWAM and local church working together for common purposes.

The team will organise local outreaches, such as football events in the park, prayer walks, children’s events and seasonal outreaches (eg a hot cross bun give-away at Easter). As Rebecka says, “I want to see God reach out and bless people in Crouch End with His great love by using sports and other creative ways to connect with the young people.”

Crouch End has many coffee shops and Alexandra Palace Park is only a five-minute walk away. Within walking distance are several other parks and open spaces with good resources for children’s and sports events. Two of the team’s nearest neighbours are a secondary school and a leisure centre, with amazing possibilities to engage with people walking by or queuing for the outdoor swimming pool.

Both Helena and Rebecka are looking forward to seizing these opportunities for outreach, both as YWAM and as advocates for their Ichthus congregation.

“We want to see young people get to know God and get His heart for their community and friends,” says Helena. “Also to see the church grow as they reach out to their community.”

In addition to the local focus, the team recruiting those interested in outreach and partnering with churches across London and the UK. They will continue to do this through Forever, but now they will also be able to use links within the Ichthus network to prepare for the Olympic outreach.

YWAM Crouch End perfectly combines the Forever vision of planting new teams in Olympic host cities, of combining a local and a global impact, and of working towards both the short-term and long-term. It is the next step in making the Forever vision happen.

Share this:

In February, the northern England team hosted a commissioning service for their newly-purchased community centre, The Barnabas Centre, that will serve the local neighborhood and give the YWAM team much-needed office space.

“It’s really exciting. This building has huge potential for how we can serve the community,” said base director Jennifer Locke.

Barnabas means “Son of Encouragement,” Jennifer said, and the team at YWAM York hopes to be an encouragement to their York neighborhood.

Jennifer Locke stands at the door to Barnabas Centre with small visitors.

“Really, we want to evaluate the needs York has for community, and try to meet them,” she said. “We want to do a café ministry, so we can build relationships with local people. As time goes on, we hope to run other sorts of ministries. We have a DTS running here, so we hope to have them pioneer something during their school that can keep going.”

The building is now operational, but it has been a five-year journey to purchase the property. YWAM York was renting a small space from a church back in 2006 when word reached the young team that St. Barnabas was selling their church hall and school.

“We wanted to see what we could do with a building that wasn’t tied to the need for housing. We were drawn to the concept of a community centre,” said Carl Tinnion, who founded YWAM York in 2004 with his wife Mel.

Jennifer recalls visiting the building for the first time.

“We went with our DTS at the time to have a look at it and pray,” Jennifer said. “To be honest, I wasn’t all that fussed at first. It took me a while to get my head around it. I was thinking more about what the typical YWAM base looks like, lots of space, and accommodation.”

The new sign goes up outside Barnabas Centre.

“It was a long process of prayer,” Carl said. “The thing that was really challenging was we started pursuing this building just as the economic downturn came.”

However, the team was able to see God’s hand at work through financial blessing and favor with the church.

“At one of the YWAM gatherings, we took an offering, and a lot of money came in just from that. People were incredibly generous,” Jennifer said.

The base was able to raise about £50,000 towards the purchase of the building. The other half came in the form of a loan.

“God is an amazing provider,” she said, “The key way he does that is open honest relationships with people. It would have been easy to miss opportunities if we hadn’t kept pushing. We kept walking in humility and pushing on doors. It’s amazing to see what God can do through people.”

****
The deal for the building was completed in September, but there was still work to be done before YWAM York could move in.

“During a survey, it was recommended to us that we have a structural engineer come out,” Jennifer said. “There was a significant lean in one of the walls that needed to be fixed.

YWAM York is open!

In the end, they found a really good builder who finished before the deadline. It also turned into a ministry opportunity.

“The builder is a very old fashioned kind of gentleman. He had family members who were Christians, but didn’t really believe himself,” Jennifer said. “Once the project was finished, we had a conversation where I really sensed that he was recognizing God at work in this project, that there was more to this place than meets the eye.”

The team officially moved in last week. Money still needs to be generated to pay off the loan, and for the continued renovation of the community centre, but YWAM York is moving forward, with many groups nearby already showing interest to make use of the new building.

“It’s a relief to have it finished,” Jennifer said. “We’ve got it, the building is sound, and now we can really move forward. It’s an exciting new season for YWAM York.

Share this:

Finally, she and her mother were forced to flee to England after her father was imprisoned for purely political reasons. Miraculously, he escaped, but an awareness of the world’s injustice changed Avisi’s worldview.

By age 21, she knew she was called to help children at risk in an unfair world.

“I wanted to answer the call to love, protect and equip these children to reach their full potential in God,” Avisi said.

Having trained in large- and small- scale metal work, she began to teach others and established workshops at a University College. In time she took these skills to various cities in South America, where thousands of children live on the streets. Often they become addicted to drugs, suffer abuse, become imprisoned, or even murdered.

In a tough area of Brazil, Youth With A Mission works with children from the streets or from needy families. Avisi realised that the children who survived in those settings had a lot of skills and initiative, but did not learn well in a traditional classroom setting.

Metal work appealed to their love of action, productivity, ingenuity and flamboyant design. It also gave them the opportunity for further education, employment, and to build self-confidence.

Avisi developed a workshop in which teenagers could learn to make jewellery for a living, and be discipled at the same time. Names and promises are prominently featured in her jewellery-making ministry as beautiful inscriptions of hope.

Her own name means “notice”, or “protector”. As Avisi says, names carry a lot of meaning. “There are millions of uncared for children; people call them ‘rubbish’,” Avisi said. “But God calls them ‘precious sons and daughters’.”

One feature which set her training apart in the nation was an emphasis on safety measures, overlooked in most local training programmes with sad consequences. Soon her students were handling tools like professionals, and producing unique and beautiful jewellery.

The ministry continues to expand, and Avisi is planning to encompass design in the programme.

“Next I want to teach them design, with the capacity to make jewellery to appeal to various tastes around the world while also creating to their own local and individual style,” she said.

The results the program have wrought can be seen in Valdiane, one of Avisi’s early students, who is now assisting the program leaders as an English teacher, administrator and jewellery teacher.

“She has continued to develop after going through the program, and now I trust her to pass on what she has learned to the current students,” Avisi said. “She found God for herself, and completed a Discipleship Training School. Without being part of a YWAM project, she would not have met anyone from a different culture or country. She wouldn’t have had dreams of travel and development.”

God uses every one of the gifts He has given us for His Kingdom and glory! Do you know someone who is trained in metal work who might be challenged to work in Brazil for two weeks or more? Others with business or administrative skills could also be inspired by visiting the project and making a gift to the children and the Lord through their sacrifice of time. Contact enquiries@ywamengland.org for more details.

Share this:

Summer is the mountain top, the climax, the highest moment of a young person’s year. School’s out, the weather’s good, and you have six whole weeks to hang out with your friends, go to the beach, eat ice cream and generally create your rose-tinted memories for the years ahead.

For many young people (at least 30,000 in the UK), the summer also offers a chance to go to big Christian festivals and really meet with God, but look a little harder and you’ll find a group of young people for whom none of that is enough.

There are some who want to sacrifice their holiday, their time and their money and serve God in new ways, in new places, with new challenges. They’re the ones who come to Just Go!, YWAM England’s summer short-term missions programme.

Last year in July, I was part of Just Go 2011, (then called Get Out) and was involved in a summer outreach to Weymouth, where the weather was wonderful, a glorious British summer. Our outreach team spent 10 days in Weymouth and Portland on the south coast, following a four-day training camp in Nuneaton.

The training camp saw YWAMers, young people, youth groups and families join together to get ready for outreach. We had some wonderful worship led by Soul Survivor, YWAM and Wildfire teams, creative workshops, prayer times, some inspiring teaching and even a ceilidh (a Scottish dance) in preparation for the impending outreaches.

After four days, the teams broke out and headed to Sicily, Romania, the Philippines, Coventry and Weymouth & Portland. Each team had leaders who had prepared contacts and ideas for outreaches in those places. In Weymouth for instance, we did all sorts – dancing in a residential home for the elderly, face painting, children’s outreach, as well as barbecues in parks and hanging out with young people in a football cage on the edge of a cliff.

Part way through our time in Weymouth and Portland, we were also joined by some young people from a church in York with their youth leaders. One of the leaders wrote the following as part of a reflection for their church: “Although what we did was simple, it wasn’t totally without risk. The young people’s behaviour towards one another was disrespectful and intimidating as they vied for top position in the group. We were sometimes in the firing line of their full on sporting antics! They were testing whether we would stick by them or go. It was wonderful to be able to reach out to them in a way that showed something of God’s unconditional love when they tried to alienate us with their language and brash behaviour.”

The other teams had just as much fun, with challenges of course. One girl’s comment about the outreach was, “It was really fun, I enjoyed the dramas and games and playing with children. I think God loves them a lot. It was nice to meet people that I wouldn’t normally meet.”

This is our heart every year and in every outreach we lead or organise – to show God’s unconditional love to people wherever they are. We don’t always know what we may end up doing, which is all part of the adventure Jesus takes us on, but He is faithful and just and ‘wows’ us and we are already excited about this year’s summer missions trips, no longer just Get Out, but Just Go!

For more information about YWAM England’s Just Go! program for 2012, e-mail justgo@ywamengland.org, or visit www.ywamengland.org/justgo.

Share this:

The YWAM Leeds team: Dave Nevard, Doug and Beth Howland

The team, which was started in September 2009 by Doug and Beth Howland, is using the visual arts to build community in the poor and ethnically diverse neighborhoods of Harehills and Chapeltown, opening up opportunities to share Christ.

“We want to introduce people to God in all His expressions,” said team member Dave Nevard. “We are creating a space for people that meets them where they are, taking them step by step and leading them to Jesus.”

The team believes that it is important for people from all walks of life to have avenues to express themselves, particularly in areas of economic hardship like the area where YWAM Leeds works.

“Giving art to people for free gives them life,” Doug said. “This part of the city has always been a dumping ground for different people groups who immigrate here. Some are asylum seekers or refugees. There’s not a lot of programs available at low cost for people here to learn how to do art or other activities to enjoy life.”

Youth work has also become a key focus in an area where parents are often absent, and children clash as they wrestle with a new culture.

“Youth work keeps falling on our lap, even when we don’t announce who we are. There are a lot of young people who have been kicked out of school. They have no role models,” Doug said.

Beth added, “There are a lot of kids who are out of school, but just hanging around. There are lots of opportunities for them to get in trouble. Art is the perfect outlet for them.”

As the team’s work and influence in the city expanded, the house they used to establish the ministry in Leeds became cramped.

The YWAM Leeds team is working to build relationships in their new neighborhood.

“Once, we had a Nigerian pastor over. They are a lot more formal, but the kitchen didn’t have room for a table, so we had to eat in the living room.”

“There was not enough space in the other house to do hospitality in a way that would honor people,” Doug said. “Hospitality is a big thing with us, so we knew something had to be done.”
They prayed for new accommodations. In September, their prayers were answered in the form of a new house nearby that gives them plenty of room to entertain, welcome new staff, and continue building relationships to bring change to the city.

The kitchen, which could contain four kitchens the size of their old one, is now the center of hospitality.

“Eating is a big thing for us, so having a huge kitchen is a blessing,” Doug said. “We can all sit together and talk while cooking. It has made a huge difference in how many we can invite into our home.”

The team has noticed a difference since moving into the new house. Many neighbors turned up for their house-warming party, brought cards, and made them feel welcome. One man invited Doug to a Ramadan celebration.

“There’s something cool about this neighborhood. A lot of people in the area have been really friendly,” Dave said.

To create dialogue and give people the space to interact with art, Dave decided to rent a studio space in Chapeltown, doing his own artwork, and creating a drop-in program in the afternoon.
“The word I had when I got the studio was about it being a training ground and a classroom,” he said. “I’ve started doing a drop-in for anyone in the community to have free materials, lessons and workshops in the arts.”

Dave said that his own feelings of loneliness in moving to Leeds made him recognize others must feel the same. “The art space is where people can come and meet, build friendships, but also learn to develop creatively and find their voice.”

YWAM Leeds continues to expand their network, and hopes to draw more staff who want to join in the work of opening lines of communication about God through the arts.

“It’s harder, and easier than you think it is all at the same time,” Beth said. “Daily, meeting people, that’s not complicated. But it can be spiritually difficult. There are spiritual implications of moving into a new city, and you definitely feel those.”

Doug summed up the experience as only an artist can. “Pioneering is daunting at times, but it’s really fun having a blank canvas and creating from nothing. It’s exhilarating,”

Share this:

“2012 is a significant year for the UK. With all the things YWAM is hoping to do surrounding the Olympics, it is a significant year for YWAM as well,” said Hayely Bullen, who is leading the prayer team.

Participants sign up on the Brick by Brick Website, taking a “brick” of time, and pledge to pray. All the bricks together build up to create a wall of prayer for the UK during the Olympic year. People have already begun filling time slots.

The initiative is open to both individuals and groups, inside YWAM and outside, and every person is encouraged to use the time as they feel God leads. Each prayer slot will have a different feel, depending on who initiates it. Individuals can take an hour each week, or at random as they have time. YWAM bases and churches can take a day, week, or month, and format the time to fit their personality. Bullen is putting together resources on the Website to give people ideas.

“Instead of giving a format, we’ve given people lots of resources and a list of things to pray for.”

Brick by Brick is not about YWAMers joining in a year of prayer already in progress, but making it integral to the next year of the mission.

“I feel that this is something God has said we need to do as YWAM,” Bullen said. “Not just have YWAM join in a year of prayer that was already happening, but as YWAM, having a year of prayer.”

YWAM Harpenden, where the Forever team is based, is taking the first week, and will kick off the year by reading through the Bible over a four-day period. Other bases have shown interest in doing a 24-hour worship session. The Brick by Brick site has a list of resources to help direct the prayer and give people ideas. The field is wide open, Bullen said.

Following the old adage of ‘Do first, then teach,’ the team at YWAM Harpenden organized a week of 24-7 prayer in October to prepare for the coming year.

“Before I could ask other locations to pray for a week, I wanted to be able to say I had done it. In Olympic terms, this was the athlete’s warm up. We wanted to stretch some spiritual muscles so we would know we could do it again,” Bullen said. “During the time I’ve been here, that’s never happened.”

The week was focused on intimacy with God, and truly had an impact on the staff who participated. Bullen hopes that the attitude of prayer will grow as people join the Brick by Brick movement around the world.

“God often does things in layers. The surface layer for Brick by Brick is to pray for the UK during the Olympics, that it would be a nation that blesses other nations,” she said. “The layer underneath, I am wanting to see YWAM learn how to really pray in unity for things again, to take our prayer to the next level.”

Share this: