YWAM is becoming a common destination among Christians wanting to embark on a Gap Year. Whether it is the year between high school and college, or college / university and a career, short term missions work is a fantastic option that I reckon any Christian should look at doing.

Although the effectiveness of short term missions work has been debated, and will continue to be debated, probably until Christ’s return, I believe that it is an important part of God’s plan for the Church. Short Term Missions not only reach out to people in the outreach locations, it also opens the eyes and hearts of the people taking part in the short term outreach.

Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and make disciples of nations. The more people that get doing this, long term or short term, the closer we are getting to doing what God has called us to do.

You can read about one man’s plan for his Gap Year after university here.