YWAM Sendai Community Commitments

This page details some commitments and expectations we have for all full-time YWAM Sendai staff.

Be a YWAMer

DTS

It is necessary to have completed a YWAM DTS in order be a full-time YWAMer anywhere in the world.

YWAM Purpose, Beliefs & Values

It is also important to make a commitment to the YWAM Purpose, Beliefs & Values. All Japan YWAMers are expected to not only know what YWAM is about, but also live it. We ask all Japan YWAMers, new and old, to refresh themselves regularly on what it means to be a YWAMer.

YWAM International & Japan

All Japan YWAMers are expected to commit to the wellbeing of the whole YWAM family, both through prayer and through attending gatherings. This includes YWAM International and YWAM Japan.

Personal Relationship with God

All Japan YWAMers are expected to have an active, ongoing spiritual life which inspires and challenges other YWAMers and the local Japanese people. This means investing in one's personal relationship with God by keeping spiritual disciplines such as regular prayer, Bible study, and worship. Also to wholeheartedly participate in corporate times of worship, prayer, and intercession.

Of course, things aren't always rosy, so we encourage everyone to be real and honest about how they are doing spiritually also, reaching out for prayer.

Time

All staff must make a commitment to attend all scheduled weekly meetings. On top of this, our expectation is that each of our staff manage their time well, giving around 35 hours per week to “work” (not including meals, personal time with God, personal skill development/hobbies, fellowship with each other etc.). What would this look like?

Category	Hours per Week	Description
YWAM Sendai Functioning	7 hours (20% of time)	All scheduled meetings, weekly worship and training, weekly intercession, role-related work, etc.
Ministry	28 hours (80% of time)	Event prep, kokubuncho, DTS/school prep, meeting Japanese people, prayer walking, evangelism, language study (no more than 14 hours) etc.

Note on Language Study: For all new non-Japanese speaking staff, up to 50% of ministry time can be spent studying the Japanese language for the first year in Japan – leaving at least 14 hours for ministry. After the first year, please discuss with the YWAM Sendai leaders about how much time to spend on language study.

Communication

As we all live in separate homes, we need to communicate well both in person and online. We need to aim to over-communicate, rather than under-communicate. Especially as our community grows (and pioneer new communities!). All Sendai YWAMers are expected to be active and attentive to all communication done over Discord.

Japanese Language & Culture

Joining us in Japan means God brought you to Japan in order to love the Japanese people. In order to do this, you will need to both speak to and listen to people's hearts. All Japan YWAMers are expected to develop a passion to learn Japanese culture and language, and to keep learning even when it gets tough.

One good way to learn is to pursue opportunities to be immersed in Japanese-only settings (e.g. church). This can be difficult, especially at the beginning--but it is worth it! Also, food is a huge part of Japanese culture. We encourage you to try everything at least twice (even if you're not too sure!) and cook Japanese food at home and as a community. This attitude will speak volumes!

Learning this language requires discipline and good strategy. We encourage each YWAMer to set achievable goals in language study and to stick to a study schedule. We are in this together, so we ask everyone to keep each other accountable. As we want to be a multilingual YWAM community with Japanese as our common language, we also challenge each YWAMer to speak in Japanese together in their locations and ministries. A great way to practice (and stay humble!).

There are many opportunities to practice and learn the language in Sendai. Please seek them out! Read this page for a suggested plan to learn this language.

Local Church

Though we as YWAMers worship together and function as the Body of Christ, we expect that all Japan YWAMers will pursue relationship with local Japanese believers and get stuck into the places where they are worshipping and being church. Whether they enjoy singing ancient hymns or contemporary songs, we desire to love and serve and be a refreshment and encouragement to God's people here in Sendai.

Financial Support

All staff are required to raise a minimum amount of monthly support in order to join us. You can find this information here.

We require this amount as each staff member is responsible to make all required monthly payments in order to live here: rent, utilities, phone bills, health insurance, etc. YWAM Sendai is not responsible for your finances, so missed payments could mean penalty fees, jail time, or even deportation.

There is always need for ongoing fundraising. This is due to a combination of rising living expenses here, as well as decreased financial support over time. It is vital to communicate regularly to supporters and churches, both for prayer support and for financial support. It is also important to make trips to visit supporters and churches around once every two years for a month or two in order to renew connections with supporters, churches, family and friends.

YWAMer Fees

As each YWAMer is financially supported in order to live in Japan, YWAMers' needs are met. Though this is the case, YWAM Sendai has expenses that are not met because we do not have our own regular income. In order to meet these needs, we ask that each YWAMer pay a monthly staff fee of ¥6,000.

The following are ways in which this money may be used:

• At least ¥1,000 goes to the YWAM Japan National Office
• Fund to purchase and maintain a building (for office, meetings, cafe, school lectures, public worship etc.)
• Emergency fund (disaster relief etc.)
• Ministry events
• Admin costs (printing, website, office supplies etc.)
• Purchasing shared assets (computer, projector, instruments, vehicle etc.)
• Community meeting supplies (coffee, snacks etc.)
• Fund to purchase and maintain a vehicle
• Hospitality (hosting guests, volunteers & teams)
• Donate to local churches and ministries
• Rent and utilities (if there is YWAM accommodation)

Please feel free to ask us specific questions regarding the staff fee. We want to be as transparent as possible in regards to community finances!