Apr. 2022 Update
Apr. 15th, 2022 | Vol. 3 No. 4
SCHOOL & TRAINING
BCC on Locations Returns
Our Bible Core Course on Location (BCCOL) is starting up again for the first time this year! For the first time since the pandemic, the class will be visiting every location, including Israel. The format of this Bible school is unique, as it blends the inductive study method you would see in an SBS with the exciting prospect of walking through the places the Bible was written. History becomes alive and tangible, and we’ve seen firsthand how the two sides of the school go hand in hand to impact students even further.
As the school utilizes the Inductive study method, a BCC can also account for the first semester of an SBS. Should any students choose to do further study and attend an SBS in the future, they have the option to start in the second quarter! This can be an excellent option for those who are visual learners to truly get a holistic grasp of the content they study by referring back to their BCC travels.
Testimony From The BCC
From 2 a.m. camel rides up Mount Sinai to reading the Bible at Ancient Greek ruins, there was never a dull moment during my BCC last fall. I am so excited to return as a staff to do it all over again.
One of my biggest takeaways from BCC was that the Bible was written for us, not to us. Standing where Moses, Paul, or John stood and learning the history of their locations, it was so much easier to remember this truth. Being on location transformed my interpretations of passages. For example, walking through Ephesus and seeing Domitian’s temple helped me understand the pressures the early church faced to conform to Emperor worship. Jesus offensively claimed to be the “Son of God”—a title then only reserved for the Roman Emperor.
It was invaluable to read about God’s character as we read through the entire Bible in 3 months. It’s one thing to hear someone tell you that God is loving or faithful; it’s a whole different experience to see it play out through hundreds of years' worth of stories. To study inductively meant that we had to put our own biases and preconceived ideas about the Bible aside and let the text speak for itself.
This deeper understanding of God’s story motivated me to return to staff the next BCC. I love that I get to share the study tools I learned with this quarter’s students and walk beside them on their journey of discovering God’s Word. Helping them will also solidify what I’ve already learned and I know I’ll continue to grow so much more myself.
- Jocelyn Dyck, Canada
BCC Alumni & Current Staff
OUTREACH
First North Africa Outreach of 2022
A NAO Workshop in Session
Our first of three North Africa Outreaches (NAO) has gotten off to a roaring start and is now at the halfway point. These outreaches take place around the R3 community development center. The team hosts world-view and practical skills workshops. These workshops are attended by refugees and members of the local community and are highly impactful. In addition to this, the team takes part in other ministry formats including home visits and reaching out to friends. We are excited to continue expanding this dimension of our ministry as we continue to make long-lasting tangible impacts in this area of the world.
As we have mentioned previously, this year, instead of only doing a single NAO, we are doing 3. In both August and October, we have more opportunities to get involved with these highly impactful outreaches. More information on upcoming NAOs can be found here.
FORGING THE FUTURE
UofN & YWAM Global Meetings
One of the ministries of YWAM Lausanne is to serve our global movement & the University of the Nations. We do this in a wide variety of ways, including serving in leadership capacities. Usually, every spring, UofN academic leaders and the leaders of YWAM's largest ministries meet together to discuss, develop, and decern how to continue equipping young people for missions in the large number of programs, formats, and degrees offered around the world. Our campus director, Markus Steffen, who is also the International President of the University of the Nations, along with several of our senior leaders play a key role in these meetings. After more than 2 years, it was extremely refreshing and encouraging to meet together. There are many upcoming exciting and innovative things on the horizon of the University of the Nations as we seek to continue equipping, training, and launching many more missionaries into all that God has called them to. We are also honored to be able to play a role in this process of seeing greater impact and fruitfulness in our world.