Mercy Ministries is that area of Christian service that focuses on addressing other people´s needs in practical ways. Generally mercy ministry projects are aimed at people who for whatever reason have fallen through the safety net, and are struggling to survive. Such projects can cover a variety of scope such as, the giving of medical or agricultural aid, emergency relief, community development, counseling, construction work, micro enterprise, practical acts of kindness, orphanage work, homeless ministry, helping people with AIDS, ministering to landmine victims or prostitutes, health education, refugee work, establishment of preschools and other educational facilities and much much more.

The Mercy Ministry DTS is part of the YWAM training program and has an emphasis on reaching out to the poor and needy. These schools are excellent learning opportunities for people who want to serve God in practical ways in the area of mercy ministries in the medium to long term.

The Mercy Ministry DTS was first designed by David Skeat who ran these schools in Albury Australia before moving to Melbourne where he now works as YWAM Australia´s National Director for Mercy Ministries. The Melbourne Mercy Ministry DTS is the re-establishment of this program. 

The Mercy Ministry DTS program is 3 weeks longer than the conventional DTS as it takes on extra subjects that are pertinent to mercy ministries. Lectures are led by people who have a proven background in mercy ministries or their field of expertise. Many of these lecturers are totally awe inspring in their presentations. During the lecture phase some mini outreaches are done into local areas or country towns such as Albury and Mildura.

The outreach phase takes place in locations where the teams can be involved in meeting the practical needs of the poor and needy.

The most recent MMDTS had 13 students from 5 nations and sent outreach teams to East Timor / Bali and Thailand / Burma. 

The Thailand / Burma team worked in refugee camps, provided medical care in hilltribes and worked in orphanages. The East Timor / Bali team worked in a poor region called Hera where they were involved in health care, a building program, education and they also ministered at an orphanage in Bali.

On returning to Australia the teams went on outreach to Sydney and Newcastle before returning to Melbourne. 

The students of the MMDTS had a great time and some of their stories appear below. One student said that the school had ruined them for the ordinary.

The MMDTS is a live in school the cost of which is approx $4,500 (Australian Dollars) This fee covers lecture costs, board and accommodation. Outreach fees are extra and vary according to the outreach location. This course is AUSTUDY approved for qualifying students.

A MMDTS is a great opportuntiy for people who are thinking of a career path that takes involves the poor and needy. It is also a great first step for those who are seeking to do further studies in areas such as community development, primary healthcare, disaster and relief work, counselling, or other such ares of study.

Want to know more about a MMDTS? Further information is available from YWAM Melbourne or the ARMS National Office. 

The next MMDTS is scheduled to run in Melbourne in early 2009.

An Application form is available in PDF format from our downloads page here .

You can find more information about other DTS opportunities here. 

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