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How do You Move Mountains?

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I love the mountains.

I love waking up in a dew-drenched tent after a frigid night under the stars and feeling the stiffness of my legs as they stretch and creak like the wood of an old house. I love the shock of crisp mountain air as it surges into my lungs while I desperately try to warm myself up in the dawning sunlight before packing up for the day. I love feeling the tenderness of my shoulders and hips as I strap on my pack for the journey ahead. I love everything about being in the mountains. But, some days, it feels like the mountains don’t really love me back.

These are the days when getting out of my tent seems like the worst idea I’ve ever had; when I wonder if I even have what it takes to carry my pack just one more mile; when I really wish I wasn’t a leader and didn’t have to set an example. These are the days when what I usually love seems more like an insurmountable obstacle than a life-giving adventure.

One of these days occurred while overseas last fall. I was co-leading an outreach team with Youth With a Mission (YWAM), a large international Christian mission organization that trains and sends young missionaries all over the world. Our team was deep in the mountains of Asia working in an extremely remote village with people who had never seen foreigners before. The living conditions were rough, to say the least, and from the time we woke up until we went to bed we were interacting with the local families and trekking to other nearby villages (who had never heard the name of Jesus). It was amazing, but as the week wore on it reminded me of those days back home backpacking in the mountains: When everything in me says, “Stay in your tent;” when I doubt if I have what it takes; when I doubt if God is really with me, and if He really can use what little I have to bring to the table.

It wasn’t until the end of our outreach, as our team trekked through the heart of some of the tallest mountains in the world, that I could reflect back on our time. I remembered how disheartened I felt some of those days, waking up feeling like there was no way that I could do it. But then God reminded me of what He said to His disciples: He told them that if they had just a mustard-seed amount of faith, that mountains could move! And He wasn’t kidding! On those mornings, when my faith was but the size of a mustard seed, God said, “I can use that”. Those were the days that God used me in more miraculous ways than I ever could have imagined. He taught me that when He says, “Ben, you bring a mustard seed, and I’ll move the mountains,” He means it.



Do you want to see how God can make your faith the size of a mustard seed grow?


Find out more about our Endurance Discipleship Training School!

Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?

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Most of us have heard this at least once, and it goes something like this: We’re going through a difficult season and someone well meaning tells us, “God won’t give you more than you can handle” and, at first, it seems comforting. The idea that we won’t receive overbearing circumstances sounds like a wonderful statement to cling to. But, what happens when we are stuck in a season that seems too much to bear? I have to say, I don’t think the above statement is entirely true and it’s no longer comforting because there is a far better truth for us. If you want to know what I mean, keep reading.

What happens when we are stuck in a season that seems like it’s too much to bear?

Last year was one of the toughest seasons I’ve gone through. I would like to believe that I can do it all, and nothing is impossible with a strong-willed heart and your chin held up high. Needless to say, my perspective changed. Whether it was anxiety, a dream falling through, unmet expectations, or the loss of a loved one, nothing in my head or my heart said, “You’ve got this”. It was much more than I could handle. l was left with hard questions such as, “God, I thought I heard your voice?” and, “How could you let this happen to me?”. The result was pent up anger and no immediate answers. I was hurting. However, God worked through this situation by addressing the question of, “Will I get more than I can handle?”.

Instead of posing this question we should be searching our hearts and asking these in response: 1) Where do I place my hope? 2) Where am I cultivating my strength?

Our hope is not in good circumstances nor in a perfect life. Our hope, as stated in Hebrews 6:19, is “a steadfast anchor of the soul that enters into the inner place behind the curtain”. In the Old Testament, God dwelled with his people through the means of the tabernacle, the High Priest only being able to draw near to the presence of God once a year. When Jesus came, he anchored us into the Holy of Holies and, by this, we are able to draw near at any time to the very presence of God. Our hope is spelled out in the Gospel: Christ died and rose again, redeemed us and opened the way for us to draw near to God and be in a relationship with him. While we are still living in a sinful world that is full of suffering, our hope lies in what Christ accomplished at the cross.

We are living in the current reality that God is with us.

We also have a choice to make: take on the world in our own strength or in the power of Christ. The Apostle Paul said it best in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

We are left with two assurances: First, our hope is in Christ, not in the circumstances we see around us. Second, we’re not supposed to be able to handle life on our own, we are supposed to be living in the power of Christ because he is with us!

So this is how my story went: God challenged where I placed my hope. Was it in my own strength or in him? I could let bitterness towards circumstance and tragedy take hold, or to allow his grace to pour into all of my questions and all I couldn’t understand. It wasn’t an easy process, but it was worth it. When you allow for God’s grace to reign in your life…everything changes. Life’s circumstances do not speak for the hope I have, Christ does. I don’t want to claim that I can work through life on my own, I want to live a life of hope and experience the grace of God. I don’t want to be falsely comforted in thinking I can do it all, instead I want to be assured that Christ already has.

Yes, you will get more than you can handle, but you will never get more than God can handle. We have the power of Christ to help us in our weakness and the assurance of steadfast hope. When life gets tough, we don’t always get answers. But, Christ did not die for us to fight through life on our own. In our own strength we cannot possibly take on the world, but Christ has certainly overcome it.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Want to spend some time learning how to put your hope in Christ instead of your life circumstances? Join us for a Disciple Training School!


Yes! I want to find out more about Discipleship Training Schools at YWAM Montana-Lakeside:

What’s the Point Anyway?

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Purpose, Joy, and Satisfaction. At the end of the day, isn’t that what we want to see produced in our lives through what we do and who we spend our time with?

I’ve thought about this ever since I could remember. As I was growing up, I can see that I attempted to try to find something, or someone, that was going to give me purpose, real joy, or satisfaction. My career choices ranged from becoming a Canadian Mountie (cops on horses… don’t ask) to being an astronaut, all the while searching for Mr. Right. These were the things I assumed would bring me purpose, joy, and satisfaction in life. However, looking deeper I realized that these things would not fulfill my desires: A job would simply be something I do, money would be something I temporarily have, a man’s brokenness together with my own brokenness would not bring fulfillment, but only more brokenness. Excuse my dreariness, but at the end of the day it all kind of seemed well… pointless.

In my 11th-12th grade years of high school I was really feeling this sense of pointlessness and I found myself asking questions like,

“What does my life actually amount to?”

“Why do I have these desires if they are impossible to obtain?”

Then, God broke onto the scene. I had been a “Christian” my whole life, but believing in Jesus didn’t make much sense to me beyond the avoidance of hell. Suddenly, the God of all creation gave me purpose by telling me that He loved me and that He had a plan for my life. A few years ago, He asked me to let go of my path to college and go do something called a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Montana for 5 months. I’ve been in Montana ever since and I’d like to share why.

I developed a relationship with Jesus and what I have discovered is that the desires I had (for a dream job, the dream guy, and the dream life) have been fulfilled in my relationship with Jesus. I now know that my purpose is to love Him and to love others, because He first loved me. I have experienced actual joy in the midst of circumstances that should only have made me hopeless, and it’s because His character is unchanging and His promises do not fail. He has become my satisfaction as I’ve come to realize that what my heart truly desired is actually Jesus. He fulfills it all. He is the only way, the only truth and the only life (John 14:6).

So what am I doing with my life?

Whatever He asks me to do. If the reason why I wanted to pursue those things in the past is already completely fulfilled in Jesus, then I have freedom to go wherever He is leading me without a fear of losing Him (who is my fulfillment).

I mess up and look to other things to fulfill me, but He faithfully brings me back to a place of remembering that it is only in Him that I am fulfilled and made whole.

I am not perfect, so I’m still learning how Jesus is my fulfillment. I mess up and look to other things to make me happy, but He faithfully brings me back to a place of remembering that it is only in Him that I am fulfilled and made whole. This is an ongoing process, but the more I look to Jesus the more I stop looking to other things. Now, whatever I do with my life, whether I someday pursue a career, get married, or live in the middle of a jungle giving the gospel to an unreached tribe, it will be centered around Christ, because He is where true fulfillment comes from.

So I want to challenge you to think about this:

Do you see Jesus as your fulfillment and purpose for what you do with your life?

Or are you trying to make what you do give you your purpose, joy, and satisfaction?


Yes! Tell me more about a Discipleship Training School:

Finding Heaven on Earth in the Outdoors

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Question: What happens when you get outdoor educators, hikers, environmental stewards, guides, gear junkies, outfitters, Leave No Trace gurus, thrill seekers, camp counselors, trekkers, travelers, backpackers, mountaineers, conservationists, adventure racers, mountain bikers, whitewater river rats and dirtbag climbers doing life together?
Answer: A beautiful picture of the kingdom of God.

During a 2004 thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail God showed me what “on earth as it is in heaven” looks like today in the 21st century. Jesus really means for things to happen on this earth, and this side of eternity, as they are happening perfectly and beautifully in heaven right now. His kingdom and his ways, which were ushered in through the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus, are still flourishing in every arena of life and society, and, in particular, in the outdoor scene.

Living in community and caring for those in need. Thinking about and discussing deeply the meaning of this life. Creating space to hear each other out and to consider other perspectives. Crying, laughing, celebrating, hurting, forgiving and encouraging. Time and time again, I see these guideposts for healthy Christian living which were written about in the Bible being lived out in both Christian and non-Christian outdoor communities alike.

The Endurance Discipleship Training School (EDTS) at YWAM Montana-Lakeside exists to do whatever it takes to know God and make him known in the outdoor industry and to the ends of the earth.

The Endurance Discipleship Training School (EDTS) at YWAM Montana-Lakeside exists to do whatever it takes to know God and make him known in the outdoor industry and to the ends of the earth. Being an international Christian missions organization that trains and sends young missionaries, YWAM and EDTS endeavor to engage individuals across the globe with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We seek to live out the kingdom in, and among, the outdoor industry. Calling out where we see “heaven here on earth” is our great privilege. Sharing about the King within communities who have never heard of Him is our calling. Going to the least, the most remote, the forgotten and praying that their lives would be impacted on earth as it is in heaven is our joy.

Be Part of It!

Yes! I want to hear more about the Endurance Discipleship Training School

How Do I Know That I Can Trust God?

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I have been a Christian since as long as I can remember. I was blessed to grow up in a home with two godly parents who taught me from the moment I was born that Jesus was THE answer and, more importantly, walked this out in their daily life. However, watching someone live their life for God and doing it yourself are two very different things – not to mention adopting a lifestyle that is 100% dependent on another being is, frankly, unnatural. Even as children we rebel against our parents because at the heart of all humanity is a lust for independence. Despite growing up in the church and calling myself a Christian, it took me a long time to come to a place where I truly depended on God and trusted him with everything. Honestly, I’m still working on it.

The question I had (and often still have) is, “How do I know I can trust God?” I wasn’t convinced that I could surrender everything to him and still land on my feet. How could anyone have that certainty? For me, the answer came through one of my favorite apostles, Peter. In Matthew 14, Peter steps out of a boat to walk on water towards Jesus. This is an act of faith and trust in God (because most people have a really hard time walking on water). My question is, “How did he know it was going to work?” How did Peter know he could walk on water? I’m guessing he didn’t know if he could, but he knew Jesus, he knew Jesus was good, and he knew he wanted to be with Jesus. For Peter and for us, the key to trusting God is knowing God. He stepped out of the boat because he had faith in Christ to enable him to get where he needed to be, which was by Jesus’ side.

For Peter and for us, the key to trusting God is knowing God.

For all of us this is the answer. Our faith in God is entirely dependent on our knowledge of God, which comes through proximity and intimacy with him. If you are wrestling with trusting God, I encourage you to spend time in the Bible, even if it is just a verse a day. Also, come to him in prayer. When you pray don’t make it some grand speech, just talk to God as a friend and leave time for your friend to respond – wait upon the Lord.

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” Psalm 37:4-5

Commit yourself to God, set yourself before him in the Word and in prayer. Get to know him, then you will have the faith to move and you will see him act. The more we understand him, his nature and his character, the more apt we will be to step out of the boat towards him. Step out of the boat even if, like Peter, you panic and start to sink. Jesus will be there to pull you out, save you, and set you back on solid ground or…water.


Our Discipleship Training School is a great place to learn how to trust God more.

I want to hear more about a Discipleship Training School

Overcoming Our Default Settings

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The printer in our staff office is my enemy… to the point that the thought of needing to print something gives me anxiety. Honestly, I do not mix well with most technology but printers especially seem to harbor a certain vendetta against me. My personal struggles aside, I think we all have experienced printing a single sheet and then panicking when forty unwanted sheets are spitting out at you. After regaining composure and murmuring a quiet apology to the family of trees you just gave a pointless end to, you reset the default settings.

Default settings run our lives in many ways from the alarm clock preset to the same time every morning or the GPS set to avoid traffic. This week, I’ve been fixated on this concept of my own personal “default settings”.

What if instead of fear, I was set to courage? What if instead of doubt, I was set to faith? What if instead of self-preservation, I was set to generosity?

The fixation began last week when I realized that my default setting is often set to undesirables. One small glitch in the schedule and I sat there impatient, annoyed and wondering why it was impossible for anyone to get anything right ever. Needless to say, I was being irrational. The Holy Spirit whispered gently and lovingly something along the lines of, “You’re being ridiculous, calm yourself” and I sat there embarrassed. The next morning, after a couple hours of internally beating myself up about my lack of maturity, I sat and listened as the Lord spoke to me about this concept of my “default settings”. He opened my eyes to these areas where through life or my own defenses, I had reset myself to a setting He never intended me to be on.

I started to take a closer look at the unsavory areas of my heart. What would it be like if instead of immediately reverting to impatience, I was patient and gracious? What if instead of fear, I was set to courage? What if instead of doubt, I was set to faith? What if instead of self-preservation, I was set to generosity? It’s the same lesson we all hear about allowing the Lord to refine us, but this new visual somehow struck a chord with me. So, I began to pray. With unashamed honesty about my faults, I gave control over my “default settings” to the Lord, asking Him to change me from the inside out.

Did I wake up the next day perfect? No. Is there a glow about me and birds following me dropping rose petals as I walk? Not yet. But to be honest, I can feel a shift inside of me. Something about taking away the permission I gave myself to default to those ugly things and giving permission to the Lord to reset me has awakened something in me. I encourage you, friends, to do the same. Be gentle but honest with yourself and take a look at your “default settings”. Are there certain things you would like the Lord to work on in you, things you would like to be reset? I can’t promise you that it’s going to be enjoyable or easy, but I can promise you that the Lord is good always and in all ways.

A reset sounds great. Please tell me more about your schools and programs!

Are You Willing to Take the Leap This Spring?

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I walked into the office of the grocery store I worked at and turned in my two week notice not knowing exactly what I would be doing after those two weeks ran out. I had started an application to attend the Discipleship Training School (DTS) run by Youth With A Mission (YWAM) that started on January 2nd, 2016. The problem was that date was approaching in less than 3 weeks! As this problem weighed more and more on my mind, I started to doubt that I would be able to attend this school. I didn’t have the money together, and I didn’t have my application turned in yet. I rushed home after clocking off from work, finished my application, and hoped that it was not too late to be accepted. As I clicked ‘submit’ on my application, my fear turned into relief as I remembered what God was asking me to do – to dive deeper in my relationship with Him.

I’m so thankful that God gave me the courage to submit my application after I thought it was too late because DTS completely changed my heart, my view on God, and the way I want to walk out the rest of my life!

DTS was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Coming to a place where everyone is invested in the advancement of the Kingdom of God was exactly where I needed to be. The first 3 months I learned about the love and passion that God has for me, my friends and the whole world! I started to see more of who God has called me to be as a man, a friend to others, and a follower of Christ. After these 3 months, we all went on a mission to Ukraine for 2 months to spread the truth that there is hope in the name of Jesus! Seeing others give their life to Christ on our outreach deepened my desire to do whatever God called me to do. After my DTS ended, I felt God calling me to continue chasing Him and help others do the same! I applied for DTS staff, was accepted and now I’m continuing to grow in my knowledge of God’s heart and I get to help the nations of the world know God’s heart too!

If I had believed that it was too late to attend a YWAM DTS and given up on my application, I would not be where I am today. I am forever thankful that God pushed me to submit my application even though I thought it was too late. If you are reading this and want to follow God on an adventure this Spring, I want to encourage you that it’s not too late! Maybe God is calling you to apply to the Discipleship Training School in Montana starting April 3rd, there is still time! Sometimes God’s calling for our life seems to stretch us beyond what we think we can take. But keep in mind that the Lord knows the plans He has for you! Are you willing to take the leap to follow the plans God has for you?

I want to take the leap and find out more about the Revive Discipleship Training School:

Are you looking for more than the American Dream?

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The American Dream.  You know the one.  Get good grades. Go to college. Get a good paying job. Fall in love. Get married. Get the giant house with the white picket fence. Have kids. And continue the life to ensure that your kids can live the American dream too. But what if that American dream wasn’t your dream?

Towards the end of my senior year of high school, I determined that my dream was not your stereotypical American dream at all. My dream involved far more adventure and far less money. My dream involved something more. This sure came as a shock to everyone when I graduated valedictorian of my senior class and didn’t go to college. That’s right. How many valedictorians do you know would choose to forgo a full-ride to college to instead travel halfway across the world to follow God and a dream? Not a lot. But I was sure that I was meant for far more than what society expected of me. And I am still sure of this. So how exactly did I ignore the requests and demands of society and follow that still, small voice of God saying “I have more for you”? Well let me tell you; and hopefully by the end, you will see how you can gain the courage to step outside of your comfort zone and seek more for your life too.

First, I learned exactly whose opinions I should seek.

Too often do we look to our peers, society or our culture to confirm our actions and decisions. But the truth is that there is only one person who we really need to look to when it comes to confirmation and affirmation, and that is our Creator. In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus shares with the crowd of people the need to let go of anxiety and look to God for all they need. There is a need for faith when it comes to trusting God with your future.  Many times, His plan will look exceptionally different than what the world is expecting. Just look at the way Jesus arrived on the scene. The Jews were expecting a conquering king, and instead Jesus came as a tiny baby in a lowly manger who would eventually die to save mankind. (Mark 10:45) Don’t be afraid if God calls you to something out of the ordinary, because that’s where you can experience the extraordinary.

Second, I learned to dream bigger.

Gone are the days when you could never rise above the situation you were born into. Everyone loves an underdog story; and I’m going to let you in on a secret, God is the biggest fan of an underdog story! Countless times throughout the Bible, God uses the least of humanity to bring about the greatest change. Just look at the story of Israel conquering the Promised Land. They were far smaller than the other nations; but with God, they conquered and overcame. (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) They dreamed bigger and trusted God for the things they never could have achieved on their own. Like the Israelites, I trusted God when it came to my future and believed that He could take me into bigger things. With that faith, I traveled to New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, China, Israel, and back again all in the span of six months for the sake of sharing the good news of Jesus. And God wants to use you too. He wants to work through you to bring glory to his name and manifest his power in the nations.

Third, I gained a passion for the Great Commission and started to walk it out.

In simpler words, I decided that I wanted to live in obedience to God by living a life devoted to missions and the spread of the good news that overwhelmed and transformed my life. Do you want to see the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) fulfilled and obey the last command of Christ? Then guess what?! You have a heart for missions too. And missions doesn’t have to be big and crazy, traveling to the ends of the earth to eat snakes and bugs and dying for the gospel. Missions can be done right in your backyard or in your workplace or in your own family. I got to start living out my dream for missions when I did a Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM and got to travel to all the countries mentioned above to share the good news of my Savior, Jesus. God used this first experience to call me into a lifestyle of missions. Today, I get to teach the Bible daily to students who are eventually going to be sent out into the mission field and spread the gospel to people I could never have reached. And it all started with me saying “Yes” to the bigger plan that God had for my life.

Adventure is calling you too.

As I look back, I wouldn’t trade my decision to forgo the “American dream” and instead adventure with God for anything. The experiences I have had, the people I have met, the miracles I have seen, and the faithfulness of God I have witnessed far outweigh any white picket fence dream in my mind. Stepping outside of my comfort zone and dreaming big with God took me to a place I never could have imagined three years ago. The fact that I get to study and teach the Bible to eager students is one of the biggest and most unexpected gifts that this path led me to. My story radically changed when I handed the reins to God and started to let him lead. He has got a wild crazy adventure in store for you too. Are you ready to go along for the ride?

Yes, I want to find out more about the Revive Discipleship Training School:

 

You’re Going to Meet Jesus!

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“You’re going to go do a DTS? You’re going to meet Jesus!” A stranger looked at me with tears in his eyes, as this shocking statement hit my heart. Meet Jesus? I already have! I was not sure what this statement meant, but it was the third time that someone had leaned over a table and said this to me as I prepared to follow Jesus into missions. I was going to do a DTS (Discipleship Training School), and all I knew was that the doors were opening and money was coming in; in mysterious and mind-blowing ways. I also kept meeting these people called “YWAMers” who, when they heard I was going to do a school with this organization, would almost always respond by saying, “you’re going to meet Jesus.” Sometimes I was confused and taken aback by it, but this statement hung in the air.

It was the longing of my heart to truly meet Jesus and to learn what it actually meant to follow Him, a concept that I’d tried to embrace but miserably failed at. I felt constantly unsure, afraid, and convinced that if I made the wrong move Jesus wouldn’t love me anymore. How could I follow Him, lay everything down, and give my life to share Him with those who are lost? I didn’t even feel like I knew Him, and the things I had been told about Him, didn’t seem to match my broken, sinful experiences. I had run away, I was far, far away and I didn’t know how or why God would use me. But I took these tiny steps. I felt blindfolded, when I was actually just blind, but I heard what I thought might be Him and followed.

I followed Jesus to Montana and He met me there. I had never seen the love of Jesus, I had never experienced real relationship with God, but had only heard about and hoped for it. It was in following Him that I experienced it. So, enamored with His grace, I continued following and I’ve followed Him to different cities and countries around the world learning about His love for the magnificent peoples and cultures He created.

And you know what? I haven’t stopped meeting Jesus. I meet Him daily and I follow Him daily. Will you? Has He called you to the nations? Is He calling you to know Him and make Him known to others? Following Jesus is a daily thing that guides our lives. What is that quiet voice saying to your heart? Will you listen? Will you follow?


Thinking about following Jesus into missions? Learn more about a YWAM Discipleship Training School!

A Discipleship Training School is a 5 1/2 month intensive missions and discipleship course. The journey begins in Lakeside, Montana where students get to learn and grow in the Lord followed by traveling to an outreach location to make God known in the nations.