Letter from Loren- Catch the Wave – YWAM Family Gathering Singapore 2014

YWAM’S TASK MOVING FORWARD FROM SINGAPORE 2014

Singapore, in my understanding, was not only a time of major realignment from drift factors that began many years ago, but a remarkable leap forward to prepare us for the great missions wave now rising for the generation under 30. We must serve them well, like a jet ski, towing them to the top of the wave, then releasing them to all God has gifted them to be and do. Just as many of us in our youthful pioneering went into all the empty nations and began to establish permanent YWAM ministries, so we are helping to open the way for the next generation to go into the 3,000+ empty Omega Zones. If we cling to past structures in YWAM, we will not only hinder their maturation in leadership, but we will cut off YWAM’s future role in this coming global move of God. We must now move in wisdom, with commitment to the Word of The Lord, with faith in His promises, and with hope of His will being done and His Kingdom coming “on earth as it is in heaven.”
In 60 years since I began in public ministry, I have never seen such a convergence of God’s global design coming together so rapidly, that literally includes the ALLS & EVERYS of the Great Commission. God literally was redesigning YWAM at the Singapore Gathering. He was reforming us in a way that would allow YWAM a place alongside other leading movements, in this big outpouring of God’s blessings that is taking place, alongside God’s shakings on the whole world. So the following is our task, as I perceive and interpret it globally:

FILL EVERY OMEGA ZONE WITH WAVES FROM EVERYWHERE TO EVERYWHERE.

This means: NEW MISSIONARIES AND MISSIONARY MOVEMENTS FROM ALL 4K OMEGA ZONES.
Out of the 2014 listing of 241 Sovereign Nations & Dependent Countries, we now have YWAMers with 211 different passports. This will multiply the YWAM “mission force” numbers. Therefore the enlargement of our leadership is necessary – by the thousands!
We can be certain that at least one out of every ten of the newcomers will be gifted by God with some degree of leadership. We must make room for them by building altars of living stones of worship and service to God and mankind, instead of building towers of bricks held together with tar – a product of death (Genesis 11). In our new configuration of 74 Area Circle Teams (ACTs), each with its own spiritual elderships, we will encompass every living person on earth. Our task is to serve the pioneering (both inside and outside of YWAM), these thousands of new mission movements from the 4k Omega Zones.
In the next few years, if YWAM is to continue our DNA and anointing, we must include future generations by making more room for yet younger pioneers, and we must move to a broader, more open structure. To include the ALLS and EVERYS we must move to “granularity” (moving down to more and more grassroots levels), later in the 2020s we will need to move to hundreds of thousands of future “empty Omega Districts,” followed by “Omega Neighborhoods and Villages,” and finally to “Omega Households”…and then to each person on the planet.
So stay open to change, as seasons change in God’s timings. If we refuse to settle for our own comfort, and embrace every opportunity, we will remain a spiritually relevant movement within His Kingdom. This is only made possible with and by His presence among us. We are His family, and in order to avoid crossing over into government or business models, we are exchanging titles to softer, more Biblical, family terms and titles, especially beyond the local operating locations.

CIRCLES, CIRCUITS & CYCLES

As our understanding grows and we are rearranging our international configurations, we are continuing the forward movement to implement the “three Cs,” the framework God gave us at the end of our 50th anniversary year:
CIRCLES OF RELATIONSHIP
Circles can be any size, drawing together people of similar calls, giftings, passions, visions and goals locally or globally with or without any geographic definition. Circles can be used for short-term projects, or life-long ministries. Circles reduce the temptation of “tower building” that make us vulnerable to our enemy’s attack via power hunger or pride. It also removes a blatant target on our backs from those wanting to persecute, torture or kill – especially our leaders in difficult areas. Circles promote unity among leaders and staff and students.
CIRCUITS OF GEOGRAPHY
This may be useful for most OpLocs. Here’s what we are doing in Kona, as an example to help clarify this concept: we have defined seven circuits of geography (moving outward from the campus at the core) to make sure we remain GLOBAL IN OUR VISION AND IN OUR ACTIONS. But we want to be sure not to neglect the local! Circuit #1 is our campus; #2 the “Big Island” of Hawaii; #3 the other islands of Hawaii and Oceania; #4 Asia; #5 the Americas & Caribbean; #6 Europe, Middle East and Atlantic Islands; #7 Africa and Indian Ocean islands. Every quarter, we track where-all our outreach teams and ministry plants have gone, and assess accordingly where we need to be going. You can define your own Circuits of Geography in prayer, making sure you fulfill God’s call at your OpLoc, no matter what size you are or the scope of geography that God is calling you into.
CYCLES OF TIME
It can be a time management challenge to blend the local and immediate with the long term and the global. But if the above is to be done, convening must happen at every level and become a priority in our scheduling. We are all GLOCAL (global and local at the same time). We are mobile and modular as a mission. We must not think two dimensionally only. It’s like the difference between flying a plane or driving a car. Only the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit makes it possible to discern where to be when, doing what.
As you can see, there are many things perking in my heart post Singapore. But this is enough for you to ponder and pray into for now. More to come in an upcoming letter from me. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your service to the Lord Jesus and your partnership with us in this family called YWAM!
Your brother,
Loren