You can read about our previous entry regarding the WELC here.

I met up with Renee after a few days of separation at YWAM Amsterdam on Saturday the 29th of March. She had spent the past week with a group of others from various parts of YWAM Europe praying for YWAM, the leaders, and for the upcoming Western European Leadership Consultation (or WELC – I think this is the fi). That Monday, we traveled with a few friends from YWAM Northern Ireland two hours east by train to a small village called Delden near the Germany-Netherlands border. We were arriving for the WELC, unsure of what to expect (my previous experiences with YWAM gatherings outside of Northern Ireland, although very limited, is that they tend to be very enthusiastic and “Pentecostal-ish”; I’m not opposed to these adjectives, but I prefer them in small, evenly spaced doses).

I was very pleasantly surprised with the ‘consultation.’ Although the schedule was full, it wasn’t overwhelming according to YWAM conference tradition; although over 200 people were there from all over Western Europe, it felt somewhat more intimate (and 200 isn’t necessarily a whole lot either). Through the four days of the WELC, we had some lectures, talks, discussions, worship, interaction, prayer, and working groups (sort of like seminars with small group discussion and think-tanking). In our free-time, I enjoyed catching up with old YWAM acquaintances from other parts and hearing what was going on with them, as well as meeting new folks.

Most constructive, however, were the specific points we tried to cover during the consultation, either in lecture, discussion or our working groups. A lot of ideas were traded, and new thoughts voiced. Here’s an idea of some of what we discussed throughout the week:

• Update on what is happening with YWAM globally, YWAM in Western Europe
• Working together as a multi-generational YWAM (the Abraham, Isaac and Jacob generations), now that YWAM is 40+ years old with three generations of leaders.
• YWAM and the ancient traditions – exploring how YWAM can be a greater part of traditional denominations (especially the Catholic world in Western Europe)
• YWAM & the emerging church.
• Defining the word ‘base’ – What is a base? I highly recommend the wiki over at the YWAM Knowledge Base on the subject.
• Homosexuals in YWAM
• Pioneering new YWAM teams.
• Immigrants and asylum seekers, opportunities for YWAM to work in those communities.
• Do big bigger bases suck too many resources away from smaller bases?
• The church in exile – The role of missions in a post-Christian Europe. (Transcript/summary of Jonny Clark’s talk at the YWAM Knowledge Base)
• Risk taking.
• The 4k project, Omega Zones, and world evangelization (more at ywam4k.org).

And a lot more. -Mikael

Relevant links:

• The YWAM Knowledge Base Wiki has a category with summaries of all of the main talks and devotions given at the WELC ‘08. A lot of the points listed above are further explained at this link. A great resource.
• Sixteen photos are available from our time in the Netherlands and at the WELC in our photo galleries.
• Donovan Palmer’s blog – Donovan is the national director for YWAM England. He had a couple sweet posts on his blog regarding the WELC ‘08, the first one a great post about the WELC in general (here), and secondly a nice video blog interview with Stephe Mayers, YWAM’s regional leader for western Europe (here), which I highly recommend.