About me.
My name is Jonas, and I’m part of an international team of volunteers with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Whangarei, New Zealand. The team recently relocated, and I’m helping to establish the ministry and the base in this new location.
Where? "YWAM Northland" is a missions base that relocated to Whangārei in 2023. Whangārei is the northernmost city in New Zealand, with just under 100,000 residents and growing. We moved here so we could work more closely with the local community and churches—something that has been going very well so far.
Why? First and foremost, I want to give young people the opportunity to experience a DTS, just like I did. It’s a great environment to take bold steps in faith, meet amazing people, and have life-shaping experiences. My plan is to go into long-term missions, and here I receive both the training I need and the opportunities to grow, invest in people, and build God’s Kingdom.
Who? The team is led by Barry and Letitia Gager, a Kiwi-American couple who have been with YWAM Northland for many years and have taken on the leadership a couple years ago. Many of the other staff were once our students and have since become some of my closest friends.
What is a DTS? The DTS is a discipleship school that I was able to attend in the fall (New Zaland's spring) of 2022. It starts with a 3-month lecture phase, during which the students learn, experience, and grow a lot. With topics like "Hearing God's Voice," "Relationships," and "Identity," you learn a great deal about God's character, yourself, and your relationship with other people during these few months. It was also a healing process for me, and I experienced tremendous personal growth. Equipped and as an incredibly cool group, you then spend the last 2 months in a different country (in my case, Tonga) to help people, share the good news, and have extremely impactful experiences. My highlight is the deep friendships that have emerged from the many highs and lows during this time. The DTS is a course of the University of the Nations, which you could consider a Bible school or, more accurately, a mission school.
Support.
Donations
The financial situation at YWAM is based on the principle that everyone is responsible for their own expenses. The idea is to live a life in dependence on God for financial provision. This provision primarily comes from people who believe in us and what we do. We dedicate our time to serving God and others, and those who feel called to do so support us financially so that we can fully focus on our work. I'm very reluctant to ask for money, especially from friends and close acquaintances. Probably like many others, I prefer not to depend on others and would rather cover the costs myself. Unfortunately, that's not possible for me at the moment. But ignoring my calling to New Zealand is not an option for me right now. So, if you feel called to support me and my work in New Zealand, I would greatly appreciate a donation.
You can either make a one-time donation (for things like flights, vaccinations, or visas) or a monthly donation (for things like housing and food). I appreciate any support, no matter how large.
If you would rather support me in prayer, you can join my prayer-chat on Whatsapp with the link below. I post my prayer requests in this chat on a more or less regular basis.