Structure
YWAM leaders characterize the organization as a “family of ministries” rather than a structured, hierarchical entity. YWAM's website describes how each of YWAM’s 1000+ operating centers is responsible for determining which training programs it will conduct, the character and destination of its outreaches, personnel recruitment, financial sustainment, and ministerial priorities.
YWAM sources cite the following characteristic as common to all operating locations: A) The pre-requisite of the Discipleship Training School. B) The mandate to "know God and make Him known". C) A threefold ministry of: evangelism, mercy ministry and training/discipleship. D) A shared statement of faith, vision and values.
Accountability and leadership are maintained through a system of regional, national and international oversight. Even though YWAM lacks centralized legal structure, through its emphasis on tightly knit relationships based on the YWAM DNA and the devotion to the founders, the demand for conformity and control is often done through heart commitment to the person and the values of the founders. The Global Leadership Forum (GLF), which consists of approximately 45 leaders from around the world, is considered the eldership body for YWAM International.
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Famous quotes containing the word structure:
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)
“Women over fifty already form one of the largest groups in the population structure of the western world. As long as they like themselves, they will not be an oppressed minority. In order to like themselves they must reject trivialization by others of who and what they are. A grown woman should not have to masquerade as a girl in order to remain in the land of the living.”
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—Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt (1767–1835)