YMI launches TREK

ABBOTSFORD, B.C.

On September 7, 1997, about 30 young people will arrive in Abbotsford, B.C. to begin TREK--a new nine-month program of Youth Mission International (YMI). TREK consists of a two-month discipleship training phase followed by a seven-month team ministry assignment. According to YMI director Randy Friesen, "TREK is a hands-on discipling program for young leaders who have a track record of service and a commitment to the local church."

Steve Klassen, who is now working half-time for MB Missions/Services, will direct TREK on a half-time basis. Dave and Heidi Gray, alumni of YMI from Fresno, Calif., will function as full-time staff during the two-month training. Nathan Reiger, an MB Biblical Seminary grad, former director of the Vineyard School of Discipleship and now a part-time faculty member at Columbia Bible College, will serve as part-time staff. Randy Friesen and other visiting speakers will also invest heavily into the lives of TREK participants.

Discipleship training

The intended focus of TREK is discipleship. It begins with two months of training in Abbotsford, where participants and staff will seek to grow together in a community atmosphere. Visiting speakers are already scheduled to come from partner agencies Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services, the Canadian MB Conference Board of Evangelism, Mission USA, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Columbia Bible College and Bethany Bible Institute. Klassen assures that TREK "is an opportunity for denominational agencies like MBM/S to sit with, and indeed recruit, young leaders preparing for further service". Spiritual disciplines of worship, Bible meditation, group intercessory prayer and inductive Bible study will be practised.

Part of the vision of TREK is to teach young people the importance of the local church as God's instrument in the world. With this in mind, TREK teams will be linked with local churches in the greater Vancouver area, where they will get involved in a variety of ways during their training in B.C.

Some of the overall vision for TREK comes out of a proposal Ray Harms-Wiebe and Steve Klassen submitted to several MB agencies in January of 1996. MB Missions/Services and the Canadian Conference Board of Evangelism had designated $10,000 toward the proposed training centre for 1997, which has now been redirected toward TREK.

The support YMI-TREK is receiving from B.C. MB Conference churches and schools is also very encouraging. Columbia Bible College has offered to help with such things as food, transportation and classroom space. Several churches have offered space. Housing however, is still not finalized.

Abbotsford is an ideal location, set in greater Vancouver, where MBs enjoy tremendous diversity and worship in as many as 11 different languages. Resources for cross-cultural training abound and are easily accessible. For example, the Arabic Evangelical Church, led by pastor Samir Youssef, has eagerly adopted the Jordan-bound TREK team. The Jordan team will relate closely to Samir and his church during their training. Hedy Reimer, former missionary to Mexico, has volunteered to teach the Peru team Spanish. Other team/church matches still need to take shape.

Service

Five teams will be commissioned at the end of October to serve in the following locations:

* International teams will serve in Peru and Jordan. The Peru team will work with MBM/S missionaries. The Jordan team will be trained in Abbotsford by members of the newly formed MBM/S Muslim Ministry Team. In Jordan, they will attend the Amman Language Institute and be in regular contact with Arab World Ministries.

* Domestic teams will serve in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Visalia, California, where they will be working with MB churches.

* One unique team, called the Mobilization team, will travel in North America recruiting and representing YMI to the MB constituency. This team will be available for special youth or mission-emphasis events from November, 1997 through May, 1998. It will be based in Abbotsford, where the members will return periodically for rest and training.

Debriefing

At the end of the seven-month assignments, all teams will return to Abbotsford for a one-week debriefing period. Though TREK may be a slightly different educational model than those MBs presently own, YMI is committed to working in unity with the existing MB schools and training networks. TREK participants will be encouraged to consider further training in other MB institutions and to see TREK as one building block toward their growth and maturity as servants in the body of Christ.

Steve Klassen, TREK Coordinator

Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 36, No. 14 Home Page