Matt Short

These past weeks have been the busiest ones I’ve ever spent here. God is SO good to keep me sane. I’ve spent the majority of my time preparing for the school which is just around the corner. The rest of my time I’ve spent training my staff and helping them begin with the work they’ll be doing.

This past week and a half my staff and I have spent living up the street from the base in a separate house, growing, learning, and studying together. I’ve really enjoyed the time I’ve gotten to spend with them and I’m excited to see how God’s going to use each one of them. I have two guys and three girls on my staff team, and there is 20 students on our school. I’m glad it’s a slightly smaller school especially with only 5 staff members. The acceptance process has been sort of ironic as well. A couple times now we’ve reached 22 or 23 students but each time a couple people back out, so it seems that 20’s a good round number to stick with.

The school begins on October 5th. We’ll have a week of administration things to do and simple short teachings like “Devotions” or “Worship” each day. The second week we jump into things with a couple over seas speakers coming to teach on Backpacker Evangelism. With that broad focus I hope the students will quickly grasp the vision of what we do on outreach and pursue it on their weekend activities. From there, on the third week we go into more intimate and deep topics such as “The Lordship of Christ” and “Father Heart of God”.

All this to say, things are flowing smoothly, though they may be stressful from time to time, God is guiding me with every step. I’ve found it slightly difficult to step right into this job without evident direction but that only helps me to rely on Him more. God is faithful through every trial and tribulation we’ll EVER face. He’s been there done that, no matter what you can imagine. And THAT’S an encouraging thought.

God Bless

YWAM Oxford Base Vision Statement
Our vision is to develop and maintain a Christian community where young men and women from many different nations can come and grow in their love for God, His work, and His world by way of short term, Bible based courses, practical cross-cultural field experiences, and hands-on leadership training.

Backpacker’s Discipleship Training School Vision Statement

Our vision is to radically impact the GLOBAL NOMADIC YOUTH of the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to reach out to these intrepid adventurers by way of relational (friendship) evangelism, hospitality, and discipleship training. We will travel alongside them, eat with them, live life with them, and share the love of God with them. We will be their family. We see them searching. We see them being transformed by the places they have seen and the people they have met along their journey. We refuse to be bystanders. We insist that we have what they are searching for and we commit to sharing THE TRUTH with them, even if that means we are cold, hungry, lonely, and road weary. They are on the heart of God and so on our hearts too.

     It’s been a full and challenging time leaving again but now I’m here and well on my way in leading. I’ve spent the past week trying to get my head around all that I need to get done for the ever approaching school. It’s quite easy for me to look at all that needs to be done and feel overwhelmed, but I’ve found my strength in the knowledge that God has appointed me for this and has given me all that I need to succeed. With every day I have to look at the tasks I can get done only for that day and expect nothing more.

     My girlfriend gave me a journal before I left and in it was this verse:

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

And though I do not face trials and tribulations that scorn the flesh nor burden the body, I carry with me the cross that I will bare for these 7 months. I am happy to be here accomplishing the Lords work, but with each day I wake to a task beyond myself and must persever that God may be glorified.

     I feel more at home here with each and every day and am becoming more and more excited about my school. At the moment I have 3 female staff, 2 male staff and 17 students but we are expecting somwhere between 20 to 25 students. I have a board where I place they’re pictures along with their names and where they’re from. As that board begins to take shape, with more and more pictures my excitement builds. I’ve never been too good at loving strangers as Christ would have but these students are already feeling like family, even though all I’ve done is read they’re applications and seen their faces.

     Beyond that I’m really excited to be blessed with the staff I have! MAN, God is GOOD!!! I have one returning staff girl who’s stinkin funny and real good at getting people motivated. I have two staff girls that were on last years school and I KNOW they’re going to be great leaders. There’s one staff guy who was on last year that I approached on grad week to ask him to come back and he is. The other staff guy I’ve never met but have enjoyed talking with via e-mail and sounds like an incredible man after God’s heart.

     Those who are praying for me. Thank you and keep it up… I am deeply greatful. God has kept me safe and without want this entire trip. Continue to pray that God would bring staff in, it’s not TOO late. As well, continue to pray that my focus would remain set on what needs to be getting done. My memory isn’t the greatest so I work well from to do lists, however I want to make sure I’m not missing things.

Thank you and God Bless,

Your brother in Christ,

-Matt Short

As some of you may know I’ll be returning to New Zealand for another Backpacker’s Discipleship Training School (BDTS) in August. And well, if you didn’t now you do. =)

I’ll be leading this year’s Backpacker’s Discipleship Training School with hopefully somewhere near 8 staff and 30 students. I’ll be gone from August 4th to March 2nd, a total of 7 months. Even though the school doesn’t begin until October 5th I’ll be arriving two months early to schedule speakers and train the staff. The teams will go on outreach December 20th so they can spend Christmas with the first few backpackers they meet. The students will then graduate on February 20th and return home.

Working this summer as well as donations have allowed me to raise over $2,000; however, I am still in need of almost $5,000 of support for this trip. I know this is right where God wants me so I have no doubt He’ll provide. It’s actually quite a simple goal to achieve. If I were to have 25 people give only $25 a month over the 7 months (that’s only $175 total per person) almost all of my expenses would be payed for.

Expenses Breakdown

Plain Ticket= $1,868

Room and Board ($75 per week)x(22 weeks on base)= $1,725

Personal Expenses ($40 per week)x(32 weeks)= $1,280

2 Month Outreach (Approximately)= $2,800

Total=$7,673

Please prayerfully consider supporting me in this ministry.

Thank you and God Bless