Commending New Ministries in YWAM Discussion Paper



One of the topics discussed at the YWAM Western North America Area Elder’s Gathering in Kansas City this past summer had to do with the governance issue of starting new ministries in the Western North America Area.  In the past we had a document that outlined the procedure which involved being sent out (apostolic sending-“sent ones”) by a recognized YWAM Ministry to a District, and to a National or Regional council for approval. 

This process was recognized historically as a new ministry being approved by 2 levels of governance authority “above” the new operating location (oploc).  Now with the governance aspect of such a process being terminated, the starting of new ministries is not being addressed by any current policies or procedures.  This paper is not an attempt to propose a new policy, rather a discussion paper to raise the issue so that ultimately any new YWAM ministry, started in a new location, is at least linked back to their YWAM roots, YWAM in our Area (WNA ACTS), and to YWAM Internationally without using the language or restrictions inherent in hierarchical structures (under/over/submitted to/etc.).

Currently, the discussion of sending-out new ministries is focused on the new work being commended by an existing YWAM Ministry, or Elder in the Mission.  Out of our Kansas City Elder’s gathering here are some of the qualities of what commending might look like:

  • ·        Commending is not just a spiritualized endorsement
  • ·        Commending implies standing behind a new ministry or team relationally
  • ·        Commending indicates an allocation of resources that in effect link the new ministry to the sending/commending body and/or elder
  • ·        Commending implies an endorsement of competency, calling, skills, and abilities 
  • ·        Commending implies paving the way relationally by introduction to other elders/leaders/ministries
  • ·        Commending needs to be contextualized to each new location 

It was suggested in Kansas City that each ministry that is planning to commend new ministries develop a Guideline of Best Practices .  In effect then new ministries would then be sent out from and linked to a sending ministry’s operating location (oploc) and all governance issues would mostly happen between the sending and commended ministry. 

What is not clear out of our Elder’s gathering is how commending actually happens:
·        Do we come up with an elder’s commendation letter, or commissioning at an Area gathering, or ordination processes at a YWAM oploc?
·        To whom is the individual YWAMer, or new YWAM ministry commended?  Is this an YWAM in-house action, or a broader Kingdom action, or a strategic missionary action, or a legal action?
·        What kind of protocol would best facilitate a new ministry starting off on a solid footing?  
·        How much variation in the commending process are we willing to tolerate?
·        When there are overlaps in perceived jurisdictions, who has the authority to judge, facilitate, mediate, nurture the Process?
·        When and if anything goes wrong, who steps in to help set things right?
  
Other areas of concern that need attention in the Process of commending a new ministry:

  • ·        Setting up legal YWAM charitable societies-the initial expense, the time involved in the process, the longevity of the new ministry, the length of commitment by the leader or team
  • ·        The complexity of wanting to simply do ministry and the requirements of Charities and institutions
  • ·         The domain and legal use of the YWAM name
  • ·        Immigration and other “ever-changing” restrictions on ministry
  • ·        Receiving faith support through a US or Canadian charity
  • ·        Policies of YWAM oplocs receiving new ministries, the flip-side of the  commending action (When a commended ministry enters the same City as an existing YWAM ministry, or in the same State, of in the same  Province, or in the same Nation, or into a new Omega Zone)

 Do we let these issues float and see what happens?  Will waiting to see who steps forward to act in an appropriate domain of protocol restrict or facilitate growth?  If ministering the gospel in as many places as we can as “sent-ones” is the goal of YWAM growth, how do we best create the environment for that to happen?   

In addition the main aspects of the Tripod message that undergirds much of the current changes in YWAM needs to be upheld.  Therefore, freedom in the Spirit, godly relational connections, and the role of spiritual eldership could offer guidance as we seek to see a multiplication of new ministries.  At the end of the day, the commending ministry needs to be empowered to send; the commended ministry needs to have the authority of being sent; and the domain of receiving a new ministry needs to honored and respected.  If we can achieve this, YWAM will have moved into a missiological stance of win/win/win.
May we grow in the Grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and find our way as we are led by the Holy One!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Metanoia

As part of my theological training I never did take up the challenge to study   the Biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek.   At the time I suppose expediency was more on my mind than scholarship.   As a substitute I became fairly good at using Strong’s Concordance and a variety of Interlinear Greek/English texts for word comparisons.   As a result, while understanding the basic concepts of Biblical words, the nuances of the language were often lost to me.   As I began teaching more, I soon realized that   the Bible says   a lot more than what is revealed in English terms of doctrine and rational concepts.     What is implied by doctrinal words is often more than my limited understanding of them by using an English dictionary.   Such was the case with the Greek word “metanoia”, a verb that both John the Baptist and Jesus used in their ministry. (Mt 3:2; 4:17)   The most common biblical translation of metanoia is “to repent” often with the emphasis of REPENT!   This is a word
Read more
Image
 About 20 years ago while teaching in Taiwan I was reading a book, the title of which is lost in my remembrance, but the theme was about recognizing patterns of repeated actions.  I believe what caught my attention was a statement to the effect, “if you see something repeated two or three times in scripture, pay close attention.”  At the time I was preparing a teaching on the Day of Pentecost Coming of the Holy Spirit.  Back then. I would often rework my teaching material over and over again working on the felt-logic for an application in the context I was teaching.  Actually, that is a great practice, and it finally leads to internalizing one’s content to be much more sparked by the Spirit-in-the-moment.  The following excerpt is a short study in what I would call the Four-Fold Pattern of Kingdom Ways. Early in the morning on the Day of Pentecost, one of the major Jewish festivals, the coming of the Holy Spirit is both dramatic (the sound of mighty rushing wind) and awe-inspiring (t
Read more

Reflections on an Unusual Way to Live

I often chuckle when occasionally the old-fashioned hymn is sung that has the following phrase, “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hitherto I’ve come by faith”. I wonder if anyone is asking, “What’s an Ebenezer?” The term is a Hebrew name, meaning a “stone of help’, a memorial stone signifying an event of God helping Israel. I hope all who carefully read the following blog would see it as a memorial stone to the Lord signifying a snapshot at a-point-in-time in terms of reflecting on ministry and the future. Hopefully, the heart of this paper is written under the advice of St. James when he encouraged future planning to be linked with humility of heart when he advises, “If the Lord wishes, and we are alive, we will do such and such.” Life-long learning has been one of my reoccurring themes in leadership development. Not only is this good for mental agility, but since there is so much change currently in our culture, survival itself needs a high degree of adaptability. I rece
Read more