I ended my last post by saying that I am going to be a full time missionary with YWAM Perth for the next 2 years.  As promised; here is the extra information for anybody who is interested!

For those of you who haven’t heard of it, YWAM is a multi-generational, multi-denominational, global non-profit organisation (sorry for the massive mouthful!) with 3 main aims of  1) discipling the church worldwide 2) evangelism and 3) mercy ministry.  It is a ministry and training body with over 1,100 operating locations in 180 nations around the world. YWAM was founded by a man named Loren Cunningham over 50 years ago, and has a mission statement ‘To know God and make Him known’ with a passion to bring hope and transformation in all spheres of society.

The base in Perth is the third biggest YWAM base in the world, but the biggest urban base, placed right in the heart of the city. This brings many challenges and opportunities! But one thing that I love about the Perth base is the range and diversity of ministries that it heads up. From providing health care and houses for some of the world’s most vulnerable, working with Social Services to bring help to local families in need, or outreach through art, technology, and dance, people from all over the world with all different kinds of skills and talents have joined together to live as a community to love and serve the people of this world. To find out more about YWAM Perth you can check out their website here: www.ywamperth.org.au which has a full list of all the different ministries and training opportunities they run.

The ministry that I will be specifically getting involved with is Megacities; a ministry that aims to be a catalyst towards transformation in the large cities of this world, serving in partnership with local believers, discipling and equipping them to see the Kingdom of God come to their cities in greater ways. You can find out more information about Megacities here: http://www.ywamperth.org.au/missions/megacities

More than 50% of people today live in cities, and the reality is that they need Jesus! Having travelled a fair bit in recent years to countries all around the world, I have become more and more convinced that if more people committed themselves to following the ways of Jesus and the values/principles of the Bible,  we would see real (and much needed!) change and transformation in our societies. I’ve seen a country torn apart by civil war and poverty in Burundi, communities torn apart and forced into poverty by corruption in Africa and South America, and a war torn country fearful of its neighbours in Lebanon. Not to mention the chaos and destruction that you see in Nepal brought on through the worship of false gods and idolatry. And the truth is that wherever the heart of a city lies, there lies the fate of the country. What happens in our cities leads the way for the rest of the nation. If politicians are led by greed and corruption, the country will lie in poverty. If the media spreads values of greed, inequality, and hate, then the country will be torn apart by misguided values. If education is censored, or given only to those with money, then the power of the minority will continue to dictate the lives of the majority, often with unjust and terrible consequences. The list is endless.

Now imagine a city that is dedicated and committed to the teachings of Jesus. Where justice, servanthood, and loving your neighbour are put before the love of money, power, or personal gain. Where peace, not war, is encouraged, love, and not hate. Where those in a position of power use it to serve the people of their nation; to bring justice and opportunities for everybody, instead of using corruption to meet private ambition. That is the dream that I have, and that is why I am committing the next 2 years of my life to this ministry. The hope that we will see lives and nations changed for Jesus compels me.

So what will this mean for me practically? Well, it will be a lot of admin from the base in Perth, networking with people, arranging teams and projects. Megacities focuses on one city every 2 years; one year of preparation, and then one year of sending people from all over the world to that specific city. Teams need to be created, trained, equipped and prepared, and then when they are sent out, they need to be co-ordinated and looked after! All of this involves a multitude of tasks, and I will be getting involved with many of them! But I will also have the opportunity to travel to these cities personally, getting involved with on the ground missionary work, training and equipping the local church, running evangelism projects and also mercy ministry. Megacities is currently in full swing in Kolkata India, and we are hearing some amazing stories of people being healed,  receiving the love of Jesus through acts of compassion, and coming to know him personally as their Lord and Saviour. It’s incredibly exciting stuff. You can read of some of these stories on the website J

So why am I telling you all of this?? Because I would LOVE for you to get involved. And there are many different ways that you can J What I love about the Church and the Body of Christ is that we all have our part to play, but without the other parts, we are useless. You can play your part in missions without even leaving your front room! Will you partner with me in missions and join the adventure of seeing this world transformed for Jesus, one person, one city at a time? If yes then I would love to hear from you!

Firstly, if you email me with your current email address then I will add you onto my newsletter list. I will be sending out monthly updates to let you know what I am up to, sharing stories and prayer requests. If you don’t email me, I won’t add you to the list and you will never have to read emails like this again! No pressure…but I would love your support and encouragement!!

Secondly, would you consider being a prayer partner? My monthly newsletters will contain general prayer requests, along with things going on at the time of writing, but I would also love to have a prayer team of people who I can email throughout the month with more specific (and maybe occasionally emergency!) prayer needs. Prayer is so important, and I really cannot do this alone. Without the generosity of people giving their time to hold me up in prayer and standing in faith with me, my frail and human attempts will add up to nothing much! So if you feel called to partner with me in prayer then I would love to hear from you.

Thirdly, would you prayerfully consider supporting me financially? I am going out as a full time missionary, and therefore will be required to support myself financially. I will be giving my time to work full time for free, and whilst I am completely happy to live a life of simplicity away from consumerism, I do need some money to pay for my bed and food! It costs $12 a day to live on base at YWAM Perth (that’s roughly £6.50 to you and me) which covers accommodation, lunch and evening meals. Which is a pretty incredible deal when you think about the average cost of living! (Even more so when you consider that everything is much more expensive Perth). That adds up to just over £200 a month for basic essentials, plus costs for simple things like breakfast and general living costs such as toiletries and transport. Could you be a monthly supporter or donator?

If you have any questions, or would like any more information about how you can partner with me, then please do let me know. I would love to chat with you further. These are just some of the ways that you can support me, but there are many other ways too. I will be spending at least 3 months abroad (that is, outside of Australia) each year (maybe up to 6 months) so will need to raise money for these trips too. How about organising a fundraiser in your church or community for when I will be heading out? The possibilities are endless!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am really excited about the next chapter in my adventure of following the call of Christ on my life, and I look forward to partnering with you. Let’s go out into the world together to continue the great commission of Jesus and making disciples of all nations!

Shalom

Jo