What a YWAM Outreach Looks Like (Tons of Photos)
We spent 3 days in this village. YWAM students went door-to-door sharing their faith and inviting locals to a Gospel presentation in the park.
In the Yucatán Peninsula there are thousands of Mexicans who are deeply religious Catholics.
But there's a problem. And it's tragic.
Many of them have combined their Catholic traditions with ancient Mayan beliefs and rituals. That means there are villages full of people who kneel before statues of Jesus - while practicing idol worship and consulting witch doctors.
But it doesn’t have to stay this way. God is sending missionaries and using the local church to reach and disciple his people. In 2022, one small YWAM team reached thousands of people in Quintana Roo. Here’s what it looked like.
This was a small town of about 250. There's a church in town, but many of the residents are still working out how to live out their faith. Students prayed for fellow believers while they were out evangelizing.
Not Your Usual Holiday Festivities
Most people ushered in 2022 with the usual Christmastime and New Year festivities. At that same time, a team of young Jesus-followers - student missionaries from Youth with a Mission - plunged into the unknown: they boarded an airplane with the intention of living in Mexico for the next 6 weeks.
The YWAMers started their trip in Cancun and traveled inland several hundred kilometers until they reached the villages: pockets of civilization that peppered rural Mexico. Some of these were developed enough to feel like small cities, while others were made up of traditional adobe dwellings with sparse electricity and no Internet to be found. The team spent the next month-and-a-half evangelizing, doing park ministry, preaching, and supporting the local church.
God does amazing things on Outreaches like these. Often only a handful of people get to hear the stories, and even fewer get to see them. In February I travelled to Mexico to meet up with the team. I captured stories of what God was doing on the field, and was able to provide the team with pastoral care.
I thought you might like to see some photos from the YWAM outreach. They’re attached below, along with some notes.
About 200 people came to this Gospel presentation. YWAM students gave a testimony, then shared about the Good Shepherd who left his 99 sheep to find the 1. After sharing the Gospel, about 12 people came forward to dedicate their lives to Jesus. After a long time of prayer and handing out Spanish Bibles, the group dispersed, leaving behind puddles of tears.
Prior to presenting the Gospel, students used drama to share about the life of Jesus.
Students took turns staring conversations and praying for locals during door-to-door evanglism.
YWAM Outreaches like this create life-long friendships.
Locals were washing jicama across the street from the church. They gave us some.
Outreach is short, but it's hard. Students spend time daily praying for each other and encouraging one another.
We ran a VBS for this small town. Word of mouth travelled quickly, and dozens upon dozens of children came out.
VBS was held in the park and in the church.
There were no English speakers. Students shared their faith in Spanish or relied on our translators.
Students travelled light. It only took a few minutes to pack up all the gear into a truck to head to the next ministry location.
Women at the local church prepared our meals in an outdoor kitchen.
Residents of this town stay up late. Often ministry continued until after 9:00PM. Only then did we stop for supper. Some of the students preached during this evening church service.
We spent a lot of time on foot.
This is probably the only photo of me from this trip. :)
This man and his wife are a brother and sister in Christ. He talked to us outside is bicycle repair shop for about 45 minutes. Students prayed for his aching knee.
Door-to-door and friendship evangelism happened almost daily.
Students prayed for local youth after a time of ministry and a foot washing.
Students relied heavily on dramas during park ministry. They practiced drama with puppets.
Michael shared about servant leadership. Then he began a time of foot washing. Foot washing isn't common in this culture. Many locals experienced it for the first time.
This is Tim. Tim travelled with me to Mexico.
Tim and I spent our nights in hammocks. It was cold. Later we changed locations and moved some place far more rural. We strung our hammocks between palms and slept looking at the stars.
The students served at this church for a couple weeks. They lived here. Most of the team slept on the floor between the pews. The rest of the team slept outside in hammocks.
The team began most mornings with team time and worship.
This is Aiden. He shared the Gospel over a loudspeaker to a group of 600 Mayan-Catholics.
Because this team committed 6 weeks to living in Mexico, there are hundreds of people who've committed their lives to Jesus for the first time.
On-the-fence believers have recommitted their lives to Jesus.
And many more have had a chance to see that Mayan practices are incompatible with following Jesus.
If you're reading this right now, you're a part of this story. Thank you so much for you prayers, support, and encouragement. Together we're fulfilling the Great Commission.
Until all have heard,
Tommy