YWAM Salem History
From the first Discipleship Training School (DTS) pioneered in Sept. of 1978, we have seen remarkable growth, development of ministries and many voluntary full-time workers who have been trained, equipped and sent out to pioneer. We have sent out teams to over 60 countries, resulting in over 20 new ministries being pioneered world wide.
The major changes that have taken place on our property are also mirrored in the lives of those who come here for DTS. From the founding of YWAM on this property, God has called YWAM Salem to be a training and sending base, and that is what we do best. The people who go through the training at our base have felt the touch of God on their lives and have are not satisfied with the ordinary. Most go on to be involved in some form of ministry work, either back at their home church or in full-time work on the mission field.
Our desire as a base is to see not just a "select few" involved in missions, but a vast array of people. At present YWAM Salem operates four Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) one in the Fall, two in the Winter (WDTS and Korean DTS) and the Crossroads DTS (CDTS) in the Summer. We also offer Foundations for Counseling Ministry (FCM) in the summer and Galilee Project (GP) in the Fall. We will be adding other schools in the near future. For a large part of the year we run NIKO and Ropes Course Training. The Mobile Team travels to churches, schools, special events, and universities both in America and abroad sharing our passion for world missions. Season of Service (SOS) provides short-term opportunities for both individuals and groups alike to Make God known here in our surrounding community and soon abroad.
Although it is expressed in varied ways throughout each ministry and school, YWAM Salem has three main objectives that comprise our vision.
Our Vision is to:
- Recruit Passionate People
- Train Dedicated Leaders
- Mobilize Innovative Missionaries
Although not direct parts of YWAM Salem, we are privileged to host the North American Director (Pete Iliyn), the North West Director (Steve Kilpatrick), as well as having close connections with YWAM’s International Ambassador (Dean Sherman), and Slavic ministries. One side of YWAM Slavic ministries is a ministry known as the Freedom Project which exists to see Human Trafficking (the selling and exploitation of humans) cease to be a reality. Having such resources in our own backyard provides incredible and rare resources for inspiration as well as school speakers!
We invite you to come and be a part of our home, our ministries, and our lives. With over 30 years of ministry, not only do you get the opportunity to be a part of a base that has helped create YWAM history, but together we get the privilege of extending the legacy.
