Text and image from Family DTS Kona
Always wanted to do a DTS and never got to it?
Life happened and now you’re married, maybe even have children…
What happened to the dream of being missional, global and radical?!
Missionary life is not limited to young singles. Join the thousands of families that serve and travel, knowing God and making Him known.
The Family Discipleship Training School is about reaching the nations and transforming communities by developing mission-minded families and launching healthy families into international missions. Our goal is to see the end of divorce in the Body of Christ so that their marriages and families will bring glory to God in all they do and so that future generations will be raised to know the Lord. Intentionally designed for married couples, this school provides the perfect foundation for marriages and families who want to discover God’s purpose for their family.
What’s different?
A Family DTS only takes on students who are currently married (whether they have kids or not). We deliver all the course content of a DTS, but focus on marriage and family in a way no other DTS can (or should) do. We prepare our teachers for married students who desire to do missions and ministry together. This unique situation creates an amazing learning environment for our students and gives teachers the opportunity to bring marriage applications to every aspect of their teaching. We don’t want to see only mom and dad trained as missionaries; we hope to see every member of each family grow in their calling to the Nations. In addition to this, alongside the DTS runs the Foundation School, in which the children go through the DTS teaching, creating a Family learning journey.
This is truly a school of discipleship. We knew it wasn’t going to be a vacation and that there would be lots of hard work involved but I don’t think we anticipated just how intense it would be. It feels like spiritual heart surgery and rehabilitation at the same time… I’m very grateful to be here and would encourage anyone who wants to grow closer to Jesus, to come do one.
My kids are all growing leaps and bounds (beyond anything I could have imagined), we are learning to be intentional in our marriage and our love is being strengthened day by day. Thank you, God, for keeping my marriage when I had no strength to do so, myself.
A father of a family doing the FDTS in Hawaii
DTS Topics
Discipleship Training School (DTS) is not merely academic. Its purpose is to help students understand God on a personal level. Topics covered in the schools typically include “The Character and Nature of God,” “The Holy Spirit” and “Evangelism.” The DTS curriculum is designed to familiarize students with the traditional Christian perspective on God’s identity and His desire to lovingly relate with every human. The school also includes practical elements that will help students connect with God individually and explain to non-Christians how to do the same.
The DTS consists of a Lecture Phase and an Outreach.
Lecture Phase
Because every student in this DTS is currently a husband or a wife, our training can be uniquely designed to combine all the elements of a traditional DTS, but with a focus on marriage and family life. No other DTS can do this. We can see God’s original design for this world come to life through families who follow God’s ways (Genesis 1:27-28).
The Lecture Phase of the school is 12 weeks. It includes a different topic every week about God and/or Christian disciplines in a classroom setting.
Outreach
This is designed to help each member of the family, from the youngest to the oldest, discover their God-given talents. Everyone will play a role on outreach and learn how they can do so in the context of their individual families as well as in the Body of Christ.
The outreach varies from 8 – 12 weeks in length. The trips are a team function, meaning every DTS student participates in outreach with members of their class.
Foundation School
Foundation School is for children age 4-17. Foundation School’s goal is to teach biblical principles and equip the whole family as a ministry team. Parents will need to arrange for a nanny to care for the children younger than 4 years old. The Foundation School only admits children who turn 4 before arriving at the base.
Beyond DTS
We hope more and more families will gain a vision for the nations and look for ways for their family to work long-term in missions. We also believe that many couples may hear a call to strengthen families in their home nations, and Family DTS will lay an excellent foundation for such a ministry.
To build on that foundation the University of the Nations offers courses in more than 160 nations worldwide, including in the area of Family, youth and children. The university also offers a variety of degree options. From bachelor’s to doctorate degrees, students can learn in an atmosphere geared specifically toward reaching all spheres of society for the Kingdom. For more information on what courses and degree programs the UofN offers, see the UofN website.
Upcoming Schools