PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Foundation of the Discipleship Training School (DTS)
The DTS focuses heavily on building your relationship with the Father. We believe that hearing God’s voice, experiencing His love, and knowing your identity are the foundations of a supernatural lifestyle. Through teaching and mentoring, you will:
- Experience the Father’s love daily
- Learn how to clearly hear God’s voice
- Live from your identity as a child of God
- Demonstrate the gifts of the Spirit in daily life
- Develop Christ-like character
- Grow in trust / faith in God
School Structure
The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a full-time, residential program accredited by the University of the Nations and lasts six months. The DTS is split into two parts: the lecture phase (3 months) and the outreach phase (3 months). The next schools are:
- DTS staff (Basic Leadership School): 14 January 2019 – 12 July 2019
- DTS Only: 20 January 2019 – 5 July 2019
Lecture Phase
In the lecture phase, you will grow through a combination of community living and classroom learning. This phase consists of:
- Life-transforming teaching
- One-on-one mentoring
- Small groups
- Practical workshops
- Community life
- Local ministry
- Practical service on campus
Outreach Phase
In the outreach phase, you will take the message of God’s love to those in need. Through the outreach, you will be able to put into practice what you learned in the classroom through an intense, cross-cultural experience. In the outreach phase, you will:
- Demonstrate God’s power and love through service and supernatural gifts
- Minister to “the least of these” from a different culture
- Share your personal testimony
- Teach and preach God’s word
For more information see the international outreach section.
DTS STAFF (with BLS) – 6 months:
Learn Leadership through staffing a DTS
DTS staff
The BLS (Basic Leadership School) provides leadership training as you staff the DTS. This is an accredited second level school with the University of the Nations (UofN) and is designed to develop your leadership skills through teaching and practical application. As part of the BLS practicum you will:
- Facilitate DTS small groups
- Plan & lead outreach with the school leader
- Mentor DTS students
- Be a part of school leadership meetings
The teaching and personal discipleship aspect of the BLS will consist of:
- Additional teaching from resident staff and DTS speakers
- Personal feedback on leadership practicums
- Weekly one-on-one mentoring
BE EQUIPPED:
Grow in Your Calling Through Personal Discipleship
Personal Mentoring
At the beginning of the DTS you will be matched up with a staff member who will serve as your mentor, or as we call it, your ‘one on one’. With him or her you will have the opportunity to develop a relationship that encourages your personal growth during the school. You will meet together weekly for a time of sharing, praying, and discussing what is on your heart. Our desire is be a listening ear and to walk alongside you in a personal way, helping you to process and grow.
Experience the Father’s Love Daily as You Learn to Clearly Hear His Voice
Learn How to Hear God’s Voice
Relationship with God is the heartbeat of our school. It is out of our love relationship with the Father that we are called to “live and move, and have our being”. Yet, many struggle to establish that deep connection with God, where meaningful dialogue flows freely and they can clearly hear His voice.
As part of the DTS lecture phase, you will learn how to hear His voice through a weekly DVD teaching by Mark Virkler entitled “4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice”. This course has transformed people’s relationship with God all over the world through very practical and specific teaching. This teaching has enabled even those who have struggled for years to hear God to finally have breakthrough.
Through this course, you will learn how to quiet yourself in God’s presence and begin writing what He speaks to you. Our DTS has built into the schedule a time for practicing hearing God on a daily basis. Through these times with God, you can find a deeper place of wholeness and healing that enables you to live each moment out of relationship with the Father.
Let Spiritual Truths Become a Daily Reality in a Live & Learn Environment
Live and Learn Enviroment
Through the DTS Live & Learn Environment, you will not simply acquire spiritual truths in a classroom setting. Rather, as you live life together with students and staff you will learn to respond by the Spirit in actual life situations and challenges.
We believe that life transforming training is best taught through life itself. Jesus produced disciples by inviting them to live with Him, eat with Him, talk with Him, and He showed them how to live in every circumstance. Through the DTS, you will experience this kind of training that produces lasting transformation.
Find Wholeness and Encouragement Through Prayer Ministry
Prayer Ministry
Throughout the school, there will be opportunities for you to experience different kinds of prayer ministry. Opportunities to receive prayer include your one-on-one, times of “soaking”, and prayer ministry from speakers. Opportunities to pray for your classmates include worship, small groups, and during free time. These times are meant to stir up all God has placed inside of you, and encourage you to live out of your relationship with God. Our expectation is that through these times you encounter God’s love in a deep way.
Be Transformed by Biblical Truths From International Speakers
Teaching
In lecture phase of the DTS, you will be equipped through teaching that speaks to the heart. The lecture phase is not about filling your head with knowledge, but allowing the Holy Spirit to mold you through biblical truth. To help facilitate that, teachings will include workshops and times of discussion. Topics will include:
- Intimacy with God
- The Father heart of God
- How to hear God’s voice
- The gifts of the Holy Spirit
- Prayer and intercession
- Spiritual warfare
- Love, sex, and relationships
- Evangelism and missions
- Finding your calling
- and more
Each speaker brings with them their own unique take on the world. You will have chances to interact with them not only during class, but also in more informal settings – during breaks, meals, or free time.
In addition to the weekly speakers, there will be a class once a week on ‘Hearing God’s Voice’ that will continue throughout the lecture phase. For more information on this important aspect of the DTS, see the section on Hearing God’s voice.
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BE RELEASED:
Impact The World with Radical God Encounters
Practice Healing and the Prophetic
God’s love is radical; God’s love is supernatural. You are a carrier of that very same love. In the DTS you will have opportunities to demonstrate God’s unconditional love through gifts of the Spirit and through simple acts of service.
In the DTS you will:
- Pray for people’s healing on the streets
- Prophesy in various settings
- Learn to trust God to move in miraculous ways
Demonstrate the Gospel of the Kingdom to the Nations
Bring the Good News of Jesus to the Nations
In the outreach phase, you will put into practice what you have learned through serving people of another culture in an intense, cross-cultural experience. Past schools have gone to the Middle East, Mozambique, Indonesia, and India. They have served in numerous ways such as:
- Preaching in local churches
- Youth / kids ministry
- Teaching English
- Meeting practical needs of local ministries
- Serving in a leper colony
- Outreach to slums
These are activities that will vary depending on the outreach location and the needs we encounter.
Partner with Local Churches & Ministries to Bring Transformation in Slovakia
Local Outreaches
During the lecture phase you will have opportunities to minister to the people of Slovakia. You will partner with different ministries (both Catholic and Protestant) to bring transformation and revival in this nation. As part of local outreach you will:
- Share your testimony in local schools
- Participate in various forms of evangelism
- Work with the poor in Slovakia
- Pray for people on the street
STUDENT LIFE:
Be Part of a Fellowship Living Together in His Grace
Community Life
DTS is a place where friendships flourish by living daily life together on campus. Shared meals, small groups, and free time all provide avenues to connect with staff and students in meaningful ways.
As part of the DTS community you can:
- Experience the Father’s love daily
- Grow & make mistakes in a safe place
- Experience God together
- Make friends from different cultures
- Enjoy recreational activities (Have fun!)
- Work as a team
- Share the gospel together
Our DTS is a community based on relationship where personal growth & ministry happen naturally.
Let the World Know His Love through Our Unity
Experience an Ecumenical Community
The DTS is an ecumenical school where Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox are all welcome as both staff and students. While we acknowledge the differences in these traditions, our longing is to see the body working together through what is common to us all: relationship with Jesus.
When God’s people come together in unity it incarnates God’s love in a very real way. Jesus prayed His people would “be one as We are one…[that] the world will know that You sent Me.” In the DTS, you will experience people of different theological backgrounds join together to share the love of Jesus.
Share your Heart in A Safe Small Group Environment
Small Groups
Several times a week you will have the opportunity to meet together in a small group with other students, led by a staff member. In these groups you will be able to share what God is doing in you, to discuss the teachings from the week, get to know your classmates, and to pray for one another. It is a time where you can experience the changes happening inside your fellow classmates, and grow as you are encouraged by the testimony of others.
Worship in Freedom and Pray from His Heart
Worship & Intercession
The DTS places an emphasis on enabling you to live in God’s presence. Therefore, we begin each day with a corporate time of worship and prayer. You will:
- Praise & honor God for who He is
- Be saturated in God’s presence
- Intercede with His heart
- Declare what God is speaking
We will intercede for the nations by lifting up specific countries, missionaries, and issues of injustice. As part of the lecture phase, you will receive teaching on how to lead intercession and put this into practice throughout the school.
Build Character Through Practical Service on Campus
Campus Work Duties
An important aspect of discipleship is learning to serve well. Your daily practical duties on campus will give you opportunity to learn how to serve well – an important aspect of discipleship. These duties include things such as:
- Housekeeping
- Maintenance / grounds
- Hospitality
STUDENTS SAY:
“For me DTS was about living in an international, ecumenical community, discovering my limits, extending the boundaries of my faith, experiencing God’s supernatural power, a taste of Hebrew understanding of the Bible, exploring the Gospel of the Kingdom, learning to hear God’s voice, interpreting dreams, clarity in my calling and so much more than I ever expected. What has God prepared for you on your DTS?”
– Eli from Slovakia
“The team here is very well rounded and helps facilitate the presence of God in a manifest way. I’m so thankful for the staff who were kind and gentle in the areas that God was doing a work in me. The DTS helped bring up gifts that God had placed in me to surface and it was so good to be a part of local outreaches seeing these gifts of God bless others. The teachings were great and helped bring framework, with a supernatural focus, to the things of God. The school really brought a lot of clarity even to the call God has placed on my life.” – Christopher, USA
“Don’t miss out on doing a DTS! What I learnt and experienced over these months has not only marked my life but turned it upside down. Learning who my heavenly Dad says I am has brought me so much freedom. I have encountered God in ways I never knew were possible and I have made friends (perhaps family is a better word) for life. I strongly recommend this DTS.” – Tonje from Norway
ADMISSIONS & COST:
School Admissions
To apply for either DTS staff + BLS or the DTS you must fill out this form and pay the application fee. If you have any issues with the application form or payment, please email . Each application we receive is prayed over to determine if we can accept the applicant. Process time is usually 2-3 weeks.
Application Fee
To apply for the DTS, you will need to pay a €50 non-refundable application fee.
School Dates
- DTS staff (BLS): 14 January 2019 – 12 July 2019
- DTS Only: 20 January 2019 – 5 July 2019
-Prices
- DTS staff (with BLS) – € 1500*
- DTS student (6 months) – € 4250*
Scholarships are available for up to 50% of the lecture phase fees (not the whole price of the school). There are a limited number of scholarships, and preference will be given to students from developing countries, and students from Slovakia.
* These prices do not include any flights, visas, vaccinations, or travel insurance
University of the Nations Accreditation
The DTS is the entry level course into YWAM’s international University of the Nations (U of N), which has campuses in over 100 countries. Once you complete your DTS in Slovakia you will earn 24 university credits that can be applied toward a degree with the U of N. After finishing the BLS you will get an additional 12 university credits with the UofN.ABOUT:
Meet your DTS leader: Jo is a charismatic Brit, married to Steve, with three teen/young adult kids. With 20 years of homeschooling experience, and a love of creativity, she enjoys activating people in worship,prayer & dance. She relaxes best with a cup of English black tea, dark chocolate and a sappy film.
Meet your BLS leader: Steve originally hails from Michigan, USA but, along with his wife Jo, has lived in Slovakia since 1994. A storyteller by nature, he is a really fun guy who tells lots of amusing tales & quirky jokes. He is passionate about discipleship and life coaching but also enjoys doing practical work around the YWAM center.
Meet your assistent DTS leader: Chase is a delightfully peaceable American man, who very much enjoys ultimate frisbee, or any frisbee sport. He enjoys encouraging others in their passions and speaking truth into the lives of those around him. He can be found listening to and telling stories with just about anyone who is open.
Location
The campus is set in the beautiful countryside of central Slovakia, in the village of Lucatin.
Lucatin:
- Population approximately 600.
- Located in the valley of the river Hron
- Part of the Banska Bystrica Region
- Located 17 kilometers (about a 15 minute drive) from Banska Bystrica.
Banska Bystrica is the nearest town to Lucatin, and has a beautiful city square, complete with a fountain.
Banska Bystrica:
- Population approximately 80,000.
- Historical city with churches from the late Middle Ages
- Numerous castles located nearby
FAQ
Do you accept couples and families?
We prayerfully consider each application we receive, and we have accepted engaged & married couples before.
What age is the DTS+BLS for?
We usually accept people aged 18-35, but we pray over each application and exceptions are possible.
Do I need to pay all fees in one go and upfront?
If you are unable to pay upfront, please contact us. Payment plans are available for special cases.
What if I don’t have all the money. Can I not come?
We have seen many miraculous provisions of the Lord during the DTS for finances. Therefore, even if you don’t have all the finances you can still apply. After you have communicated where you are at financially we will pray and let you know how to proceed with this faith venture. Part of the DTS is learning to be stretched in your faith and learning to trust the Lord in new ways!