Staff Training: Preparing the Way of the Lord

Posted by Dan and Carole McClelland |0 comments

A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 

"Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 

Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low.

The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 

And all people will see God's salvation."

Luke 3:4-6

As school leaders for the ASL DTS, we are called to be John the Baptists, voices calling in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. That is exactly what we have been doing this last couple years by speaking the ASL DTS into existence and speaking with people we have met (calling in the wilderness).  God has been preparing Dan and I through training and experience in Costa Rica and the last year here in DC for such a time as this! It has been a joy and pleasure!

Rachel, Kayla, Carole and Dan

God blessed us two weeks ago with the arrival of two amazing women, Kayla and Rachel, who will be staffing with us! For the last two weeks, we have been preparing our hearts and minds for serving 7 radical disciples for 6 months! Everyday, we have worshiped God for who he is because he is worthy, prayed together for each other and our students, taught each other kingdom culture pieces (culture of faith, culture of holiness, culture of courageousness, culture of soul winning, etc) that we are setting as a norm for the DTS, read through the book Is that Really you God? by Loren Cummingham the founder of YWAM allowing our faith to increase of hearing the voice of God and getting to know each other by discussing personalities, love languages, strengths and areas of growth and developing individual discipleship plans! It truly has been an amazing two weeks of laying everything bare, cleaning our hearts, renewing our minds and soaking in his presence!

Natalie, Rachel, Kayla, Kim, Carole and Rachel

Our base is launching two DTSs, that will be running along side of each other for the next 6 months.  The ASL DTS and the David's Tent DTS, focused on raising up a generation of priests who minister to the heart of the Lord like David did. This past Saturday, all of the women DTS staff got together at the Hershey house to plan out logistics and discuss roles and responsibilities for the next six months!  Discussing meal ideas, schedules, typing school manuals, reviewing and finalizing budgets and shopping for things needed for the arrival day, June 27th! We recognized that every little shopping trip or discussion about the schedule, we are bringing the Kingdom of God to earth.  By making manuals or deciding meals, we are preparing the way for the students to deepen their relationship with Jesus and we count it a joy to do so!

Prayer Points:

-grace in pioneering

 -joyful attitudes and spirits for all of us

-the joy of the Lord as our strength as this week will be FULL preparing for the students to arrive

-working together as one body

-discernment and wisdom in good decisions for ourselves (spending time with God, enough sleep, etc)

-safe trips for all of the students arriving in DC this Thursday, June 27th

-eyes opened to see God in everything we do and praise always be on our lips

Burning Desire to Worship Jesus myself

Posted by Dan and Carole McClelland |1 comments

Jason our base leader says, "Worship leaders are great but you will never regret learning to play guitar because you will have the ability to worship Jesus yourself." 

For years, I have been satisfied with worshiping Jesus with an IPOD.  But recently God has been stirring something new inside of me. He has placed a desire to worship Him with song and guitar like I have never had before.  I am always asking Dan if he wants to worship because I want to worship.  The last couple of weeks, I have noticed that I have asked more and more and become sad or disappointed when he just wants to do something else.  Last week, when two really good friends, Ryan and Nicole from our DTS in Costa Rica were visiting, I really wanted to worship.  I wanted to worship soooo much.  I was sitting in the living room, and thought to myself, if I could play guitar I would get that guitar right there and I would start worshiping Jesus.  I thought for two seconds and said I do not care, I am going to get the guitar and start learning! And I did! Ryan and Nicole taught me chords G and C and I started practicing.  I have been practicing everyday for about an hour ever since.  My left fingertips hurt from playing but I am learning and I love it! I currently, a week of practicing know 4 chords, G, C, D and E (I think one or two might be minors). 

How did I really get started? So after David's Tent last year, www.ywamdc.org, for more information, our team was having week long worship workshop.  Learning about worship theories and how to play guitar or piano etc.  I thought to myself, what am I going to do this week as I am not musically talented at all! And Dan has tried to teach me guitar and drums in the past with no success.  So I decided to skip the first day of the workshop and go to Gallaudet University for the day (I had been going to Gallaudet, once or twice a week since the Fall semester started so it was not out of the blue but I usually went on Tuesdays but decided I would go on Monday and possibly everyday this week because of the worship workshop).  Well, I am hanging out with a friend Heather when she introduces me to a few other Christians on campus.  I met Neal, Michai and Brandon.  I start sharing about YWAM and the DTS and afterwards, Brandon (pictured below) asks so what is your team doing now? I explained about the worship workshop and that we are learning guitar etc and he said wait right here I have something for you. He left and I waited.  He came back about 5 mins later with a guitar for Rocksmith game on how to play guitar.  He said that he brought the guitar that day and felt like he was supposed to give it away and he did not know to who until I shared about the worship workshop. 

Here I am avoiding worship workshop, by going to Gallaudet and a met a guy, who is Deaf, and he gives me a guitar! You would think that I would listen to God and start learning right there! But it has been about 6 months since that day when I got the guitar but God has been building the desire inside of me to worship him myself and start to play the guitar! And I am loving it! I am so grateful for God using Brandon in my life to jump start something I never knew I had in me! 

 After you read this blog, please say a pray for Brandon! In 10 days, he will be arriving back to DC to join the ASL DTS.  He currently has about 200 dollars of the 3,200 dollars for the lecture phrase of the DTS.  He is trusting in God and has faith that God will provide the rest as he knows he is called to know God and make him known! He became a Christian about 8 months ago and is so excited about falling more in love with Jesus and believing for radical transformation in himself and others during this time!  If you would like to partner and be a part of Brandon knowing God more through the DTS, please go to http://www.ywamdc.com/donate/ and write the donation is for Brandon Burnett, ASL DTS.  Thank you in advance for your prayers and donations! We know that God will provide for Brandon in crazy awesome ways! 

A lifestyle of Soul Winning: Sharing the Gospel at Mini-Golf

Posted by Dan and Carole McClelland |2 comments

I desire to be a woman who lives a lifestyle of soul winning! 

Jesus did it, he was the best evangelist that ever lived.  He "came to seek and to save the lost" Luke 19:10.  He was always proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom of God and sharing the good news of relationship with the Father to people he encountered. In Romans 10:13-14, it states "For everyone who calls on the anem of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?" God gave us a mandate to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" Mark 16:15.  We are all evangelists and have the honor of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others!

God has been moving in my heart about how our witness is not something that we can switch on and off.  It is not oh it is evangelism time so click the on button and lets go share the gospel with people.  Our witness, which means simply to give testimony of what we have seen or experienced, is always being transmitted to the people around us.  Our witness is something that we can not shut off.  It is our attitudes, character, choices and actions that are showing all the time and shows what in life is most valuable.  They are always being transmitted, you can not shut it off.  

Soul winning starts in the places closest to our God.  Hearing his voice and understanding his heart for all to be saved are foundations for it.  It starts with our own intimacy with God. Sharing our faith is the overflow of our praise to God that then brings others into deeper intimacy with God. (Concepts from my DTS, John Stenson teachings on Evangelism)

God has been challenging me recently to live this lifestyle always. Spending time alone with God, always be alert to the voice of God during my day and listening to his heart for the people I encounter, and always having praise on my lips (Psm 34:1) of the good news! If it is asking to pray for a woman (later learned her name was Nicole) at church when I knew Holy Spirit was working in her life or buying lunch for Larry, a homeless man, as I was entering a restaurant for myself.  God has been calling me to live with a greater awareness of lost souls and how He desires to use me to win them to Jesus through my lifestyle!   

So today after church, Dan and I went mini-golfing in Hains Point.  We played 18 holes of golf and I won! After we played I was joking around and said "Ok Dan I won so that means I can tell you to do something! Go tell the gospel to the girl that is working at the mini-golf." He laughed and say ha ha.  As we were walking out, I felt Holy Spirit nudge me "Why not? What would you lose if you shared the gospel with her?" I stopped and said "I am going to tell the gospel to her! It is the best news I have ever heard."

(Picture Dan took from our van in the parking lot)

After a little hesitation and deciding to ignore the thoughts of what others might think, I walked over and started the conversation like this "So we were joking around and said that the person who lost had to share the gospel with you.  You probably heard it many times but can I share the gospel of Jesus with you?"  She, later learned her name was Lavonna, opened the window, stopped everything she was doing and gave me her full attention! I started with the how we were created for friendship with God and how God walked in the coolness of the garden with Adam and Eve.  She say no way, Adam had a friendship with God? Is that in the bible? . . . an hour later we had talked about the consequences of sin is death, God as a holy, just judge, Jesus life, death and resurrection and how to receive the free gift of salvation and make Jesus your Lord.  And said a simple prayer repenting living on our own, receiving God's forgiveness and making Jesus Lord. As we prayed, people came up and she said please wait, Carole keep praying!

Throughout the time, people came to play golf and heard us talking and we would stop and set the people up for golf and then go back to our conversation.  She was hungry and eager to know more of God!  At one point when she was serving a customer, I ran to the van and got my bible, the bible that I got when I first became a Christian.  I gave it to her and she was SO excited! She did not have one! The moment I gave it to her she opened it and asked "Where do I start?"  I suggested the book of John, the stories of Jesus life, she started to open it, with guidance found John and started reading it. We did a bible study on John 1:1-18 discussing Jesus as the Word and Light, and that she was now a child of God because she had received Jesus today.   

(Lavonna and me) 

We exchanged information and plan to get together again.  She asked if I was a preacher and if she could come to my church.  I shared that I do go to church and she is more than welcomed to come! She asked if her boyfriend could come. Of course I said yes.  And she could email me any questions she had about the bible and God.  And she said This is a great day!  I hope that I can share with my family like you shared with me. I encouraged her that she was only called to share what she knew and that God would use her testimony powerfully!  My heart was so full I thought it might explode! I love living a lifestyle of soul winning! Thegospel is truly is GOOD NEWS! And the harvest is READY! 

"I am not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" Romans 1:16