Become a Messenger
With urgency and joyful surrender,
we must respond.
The Messengers Discipleship Training School is for the one burning to declare Jesus where He is not yet known & worshipped! This school will take you deeper in intimacy with God, root you in an authentic God-centered community, equip you to be a bold messenger, and transform your life as you bring transformation to others.
Come with us as we go to the nations to boldly proclaim Jesus.
Transform Your Life
The DTS Experience
Each DTS consists of 12 powerful weeks of training and 8 weeks in the mission field. Teachers, leaders, and field practitioners from around the world will teach on how to grow in your relationship with God and equip you to effectively reach the lost & make disciples. After your three-month training, you and your team will be sent to the nations to share the Gospel and serve alongside local believers to advance His Kingdom.
12 Weeks
Training Phase
– Growing your relationship with God
– Discovering your identity
– Learning to hear God’s voice
– Walking in personal freedom
– Effectively sharing your faith
– Having a biblical worldview
– Hands-on missions training
– Personal 1 on 1 mentoring
– Local outreach
– And more!
8 Weeks
Outreach Phase
– Sharing the Gospel, testimonies, etc.
– Times of worship & intercession
– Cross-cultural growth & experience
– Building relationships with local believers
– Preaching and teaching
– Mercy ministry opportunities
– And more!
Develop Your Passions
Explore a Focus
As a DTS student, you will have several hours a week dedicated to discovering & developing your God-given passions which will enable you to advance the Kingdom in a missional context. Each focus is designed to equip you with creative & practical skills so that you can be effective both on outreach and beyond the DTS.
Choose a focus in your DTS that helps you develop your passion.
Messenger
The Messenger Focus is designed to train leaders to develop the lifestyle, heart posture, and voice of a Biblical messenger.
Music
The Music (Worship & Prayer) Focus will immerse leaders into the heart of God to raise up praying & singing missionaries who are burning with passion for Jesus to be worshiped in the nations!
Basketball
The Basketball Focus will get you rooted in the God-inspired origins of basketball— a discipleship tool to reach the next generation. You’ll go deep in your relationship with God, grow your athletic skills, and be equipped to impact the world through the game of basketball.
Media
The Media Focus will introduce and activate you into a story-centered approach to media. Throughout the focus, you’ll gain key skills, refine your directing and producing abilities, and be equipped to make a lasting impact on the world through social media.
Life-Bearers
The Life Bearers Focus will activate women in the area of maternal health as educators, midwives, and leaders who can boldly share the love of Jesus and meet the practical needs of women in the nations!
Urban Dance
The Urban Dance & Entertainment Focus is in partnership with GX International, a family ministry of YWAM Kansas City. This focus will teach you how to use skateboarding, hip-hop, media, and dance to radically change the culture of entertainment and bring thousands to know Jesus.
School Dates
You can apply for DTS for one of these school quarters.
April 2025
April 10, 2025 – August 29, 2025
July 2025
July 10, 2025 – Nov 28, 2025
Outreach Locations
These are the core countries that DTS students go to for the Outreach Phase of their school. (Please note that these are potential outreach locations and we cannot guarantee that a specific DTS will be going to a certain location for their outreach.)
- Philippines
- Paraguay
- Thailand
- India
- South Africa
- Zambia
- Brazil
Cost Generator
Use the generator to get an estimate of how much your lecture phase will cost.
Costs vary by country and significant discounts are available for students from developing nations.
*ESTIMATE DOES NOT INCLUDE OUTREACH AND OUTREACH-RELATED COSTS.
School Info
Click the tabs below to get more information on our schools.
Explore a Focus
As a DTS student, you will have several hours a week dedicated to discovering & developing your God-given passions which will enable you to advance the Kingdom in a missional context. Each focus is designed to equip you with creative & practical skills so that you can be effective both on outreach and beyond the DTS.
Choose a focus in your DTS that helps you develop your passion.
School Dates
You can apply for DTS for one of these school quarters.
- Sept ’24 Quarter: Sept 19th, 2024 – Feb 14th, 2025
- Jan ’25 Quarter: Jan 9th, 2025 – June 6th, 2025
Outreach Locations
These are the core countries that DTS students go to for the Outreach Phase of their school. (Please note that these are potential outreach locations and we cannot guarantee that a specific DTS will be going to a certain location for their outreach.)
- Philippines
- Paraguay
- Thailand
- India
- South Africa
- Zambia
- Brazil
Cost Generator
Use the generator to get an estimate of how much your lecture phase will cost.
Costs vary by country and significant discounts are available for students from developing nations.
*ESTIMATE DOES NOT INCLUDE OUTREACH AND OUTREACH-RELATED COSTS.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is YWAM?
Youth With a Mission (YWAM) is one of the largest non-denominational Christian missions organizations in the world. YWAM is a global movement of Christians of different ages, nationalities, and backgrounds dedicated to one thing: to serve Jesus all throughout the world. YWAM was started in the 1960s by Loren Cunningham, with the focus of getting young people involved with missions. Now, over 50 years later, this continues to be the focus of YWAM, but now working in more than 1,100 locations in over 180 nations. YWAM has many ministries that are mainly categorized into three categories: evangelism, training, and mercy ministry.
How do I apply for the Messengers DTS?
Hit the “Apply Now” button and fill out the application, which takes about 10 minutes. Then at the end of the application, you can use the link provided to pay the $35 application fee. Once our team receives the leader/mentor reference, they will pray into your acceptance. Upon acceptance, you’ll receive confirmation through an email or call and then receive additional steps to help you prepare for your arrival to Kansas City.
What exactly is a Messengers DTS?
Discipleship Training School (DTS) is the core training program for YWAM. DTS seeks to bring students into a more intimate relationship with God, while also allowing them to discover their passions and part in God’s purposes for the world. The school is split into two phases: the training phase and the outreach phase. The training phase takes place in Kansas City for 12 weeks, while the outreach phase takes place in another nation for eight weeks.
Where does YWAM KC go for outreach?
Our primary outreach locations are in Asia, Africa, and South America, but we also have sent teams to many other places as well.
I really want to go and do a DTS, but I don’t have the finances... What should I do?
We strongly encourage you to start an application even if you don’t have all the finances yet. If accepted, our staff have resources available to help you fundraise and overcome any obstacles that you may face. In addition to these resources, there will be times during the training phase of the school to fundraise for any remaining school fees.
What are some of the things I need to have prepared before I arrive?
Some of the important things to make sure you have prepared are:
- Passport: Make sure that your passport isn’t expired and that the expiration date is more than 6 months out from the last day of your DTS.
- Health insurance: Health insurance is required to do a DTS. If you currently don’t have health insurance, you can purchase insurance through a company we work together with called “Talent Trust.” Please note that this insurance cost is not included in the school fees and will be a separate charge.
