Matt Short

The Lord is SO faithful! So true to His words! and SO gracious! Over the past year I’ve gotten a desire to shoot documentaries of missionary work. While I was home this summer my aunt and uncle helped me try to figure out what that’d look like but that didn’t go anywhere fast, haha. They can testify to my lack of direction, confusion, and frustration while I was trying to figure out what to do. I felt it was something I was suppose to pursue but, to be honest, I’m just TOTALLY clueless! haha, I thought about buying a video camera but that seemed quite zealous seeing how I would’ve had no clue what to do with it, nor anywhere to put the footage to edit it.

Since being at the base I’ve become friends with a handful of really cool brothers in Christ who have a similar calling and have been a huge encouragement. To bring this testimony of God’s goodness to a close, I am now heading up the media for the Backpacker’s Discipleship Training School with another staff member and learning tons! I’m beginning to refine my focus and learn what I’d like to make documentaries of. The base only has one kinda crummy video camera so most of what we shoot is on little digitals but Praise God, it works! The school is graced with a number of students who know their way around photography, video producing and the editing of both so I’m SUPER stoked to see how this job will play out. On top of all this, we are to be receiving in the mail several of Adobe’s best video editing programs. Though I did not have the tools, the Lord has blessed me with a way to run after the passions He’s given me. Looking forward to outreach, I would love some sort of video documentary to be a large part of the trip I lead. I see this place and time in my life now as a launching pad for me to take this passion into the nation of Asia, specifically China… if ever possible. The base director here at YWAM Oxford is the National Director of Frontier Missions and is big into developing new ministries so I’m in a great place.

God Bless and keep on keepin on

I can’t get over God’s goodness… actually, more like God in general. He blows me away, and I think that’s absolutely right. He’s SO incomprehensible, SO indescribable, SO awe inspiring, SO indispensable, SO beyond us that it’s REDICULOUS for us to not praise Him. Think about the loftiness of the simple statement “God is good”… there’s so much wait in that one statement you could go on singing that your entire life and not run out of awe. I mean the seraphim crews around all day singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come.” LUCKY PUNKS! haha Too often we put bounds on God as if we understand Him though, at least I feel I have in the past. As if we serve a God who we get… that’s such a foolish thought! I am proud to say I know things about my God but DO NOT know Him. If I did, would He be Go? God alone knows Himself. Ever since I left Auckland in April worship has struck my interest. Simply because of its ability to express the little that we do get, in the best way that we can, to give glory back to God. He deserves SO much and yet everything we give Him is SO finite in comparison to His infinite self. Think about this, “God DOES NOT need you!” haha. I don’t know about you but I’m getting off my high horse in thinking I am God’s own blessing to Himself, as if He needs some help waging eternal warfare on the Devil. I don’t know, that’s how I understand it. 

Beyond this I’ve been chewing on the idea of success and greatness. Even in Christian circles we can press greatness as a state of success true followers all achieve. Yet how contradictory of martyrdom that is! haha. Greatness is not measured by the amount of souls you’ve seen come to know Christ, your status in your church as a leader, nor your good deeds among men. I must correct myself to prevent from getting lost in the meaning of words. This is greatness when looked at from a religious non-believer’s point of view. Greatness in God’s eyes is something FAR different I am simply suggesting. Who is “greater”? Billy Graham or the man who never saw a soul come to know Christ a day of his life but spent every day sharing the gospel and Gods love with the homeless who lived in the next box over. I couldn’t make that judgment, but I think it comes down to one thing, “What have you done with that which God has given you?” This is greatness as I understand it right now, “Obeying God in what you know He’s told you to do, and making the most of how He’s made you.” If you have more to add please feel free to add… =) 

This next week I will be moving down the street to another house where I will be joined by a number of other staff members for a week of leadership training. We will be praying about outreach locations, plans for the school, and for our students. I’m SUPER excited about this next week because it’s also a time to grow together as staff before we try to lead together. The school starts in about two weeks on October 7^th and I can’t wait! It’s looking like we’ll have somewhere around 30 students and only 5 or 6 staff. We’re kinda itching for more staff members but will make due if this is all we get. Keep the school in your prayers and praise God for His goodness. 

As of right now I’m preparing to return to New Zealand, August 7th, to staff a Backpacker’s Discipleship Training School for Youth With A Mission at the Oxford base. Their website is www.ywamoxford.org. This trip will consist of two months for leadership training then the school which lasts 5 months. As staff I will sit through the classes and learn along side the students but be in a position of counseling or small group leader. My job will be to help the students through the lecture phase and then lead an outreach team.

What is YWAM and a DTS anyway?!

Let’s cover some common questions before I go any farther. Youth With a Mission (YWAM) is a non-profit, non-denominational, international organization whose goal is to raise up the youth of every generation to jump head long into missions work… to discipline them, equipping them, and sending them out. The YWAM motto is “To know God and to make Him known.”

I’m stoked to see the developement of this page. I’m hoping to make it into a place I can remain in good contact with family and friends as well as having a place to show everyone what I’m doing. I’m TERRIBLE at spelling and grammar so this should be comical at times but hopefully I won’t lose anyone to badly along the way. Props MUST be given to my sweet as unkle Bryan who has set me up with this site. I for sure wouldn’t have my own website right now if it weren’t for him. Him and my aunt, Carol, are SUPER supportive of my missions work and are an amazing blessing to me!

Especially since I have no set plans as of yet how this is all going to work and look, suggestions are TOTALLY welcome. So you can always e-mail me at gtm_short@yahoo.com

 Sweet as,

Peace out kids