The Need: There are so many needs in our hurting world. As Christians, we recognize that the greatest need in our world is a spiritual one. Billions are lost. Billions are searching. Billions need to know that there is hope. The needs of our time are not unlike the needs of Jesus era. The call to Jesus disciples today is the same one it has always been: a call for modern-day missionaries to bring eternal hope to a lost world. We have much work to do, and with the recent 2020 visions, the need for missionaries and leaders to be raised up is greater than ever. In this next decade there are literally hundreds of churches that we are hoping to plant all over the world and we need many disciples to be sent out to plant churches, strengthen existing churches and build up local missions. We must pray for the harvest workers to be sent out: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:36-39 The Mission: Jesus commissioned all disciples to carry out the ongoing work of his ministry. The mission is simple. The first disciples of Jesus were trained by Christ and then sent out to teach and train others. They were commissioned to go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. After adequate training, disciples of Jesus today should follow these same instructions given to us by Christ. It is time for many of us to go! Some will take the OYC by freeing up their time locally and give themselves to their local church. But many have been called to leave their local congregations and go make disciples somewhere else. In order to save the world we must be willing to leave our local churches or we will never reach the many that have not heard. In the 80s & 90s many dreamed of going on mission teams all over the world. Sadly, this is not the case today. The OYC is an effort that will prayerfully inspire thousands of disciples through prayer, counsel and fasting to go on a missionary journey for God! In order to grow the church we must be willing to leave our comfortable situations locally and go! Our greatest growth periods in our movement were when we were planting churches and had this missionary spirit to reach the world. Many in middle-to-large churches are not being stretched in their faith because
there are too many cooks (leaders) in the kitchen (local congregation). As they say, small churches are trying to grow bigger and bigger churches are striving to feel smaller. The OYC gives disciples the opportunity to stretch their faith to greater proportions by going to a place in the church either locally, domestically or internationally where needs are not being met and where they can be used by God in a greater way. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 What is the One-Year Challenge? Simply put, the one-year challenge is an opportunity for young but mature disciples to spend a short season of their lives serving in a focused way on the mission field for Christ. The call: Some time before you marry or enter a career, take one year out of your life to serve as a full-time volunteer in foreign, domestic, or local missions. In the spirit of Isaiah 6:8, go to your local ministry leaders and simply say, Here am I, send me! In cooperation with their local ministry leader, who will have information on several different foreign, domestic, and local opportunities for serving in the one-year challenge, candidates will come up with a plan that best meets the needs of the ministry they plan to serve, while also fitting their own skills, talents, and life. The Plan: In a practical way, we are constantly looking for ways to carry out the daunting task of making disciples of all nations. While Christians of all ages are working together to win the lost world, we believe that the younger generation plays a key role in evangelizing the world. While marriage, family, and career opportunities are all blessings that can be used for the glory of God, they also present practical responsibilities that might limit the mobility of a missionary lifestyle. In other words, young and single men and women who have yet to enter a career are uniquely fit to serve on the mission field in a very effective way. Perhaps if we provide more opportunities for young men and women to devote this special season of their life to the mission field, God will provide more workers in the harvest field. Good News in 2012: The harvest is plentiful and the workers are growing! God has been moving in the campus ministries as hundreds of people in the last seven years have taken the OYC! Many have gone on to enter the full time ministry, plant churches, be raised up as leaders and help countries be evangelized. At the World Discipleship Summit in San Antonio, a OYC mixer was provided with 30+ mission teams and churches being facilitated. An estimated 350+ disciples came to this mixer! So many people were in the room that we had to move chairs and many did not even get
into the room, which had a capacity of 150! Church leaders had two minutes to present their site, followed by sign-ups and great fellowship. Through prayer, fasting and getting advice from local leadership, many took up the challenge: of that 350, an estimated 100 disciples went on the OYC this y e a r. T h i s w a s s u c h a n encouragement and many went on to plant churches and infuse ministries both internationally and domestically. God is moving among this younger generation and young men and women are dreaming to win the world for Jesus Christ! The mantra of decades ago is being said again, Campus Today, Tomorrow the World! Support / financing: Committing to the one-year challenge is also a commitment by the candidate to raise their own support. While some ministry opportunities may offer limited compensation, there is no guarantee that any financial support will be available. As the apostle Paul made tents to support his own needs while he preached on the mission field, volunteers on the one-year challenge must find ways to support themselves. Some have raised enough money to go full time in the ministry for a year or more. There are many ways to find funding. Ideally, volunteers could raise support from family or friends that believe in what they are doing. They could also begin saving years in advance, knowing that they plan to spend a year on the mission field in the future. They also could find a temporary part-time job to pay the bills during their time on the one-year challenge. Foreign/International O.Y.C There is endless opportunity to serve in international missions. The needs are great and the stakes are high. There are many areas in the world where mission work will require men and women of great courage to face life-threatening circumstances. While we need to pray for God to open a door to the closed-off areas of the world, there are many places that are open for mission work, and need more workers right now! Deciding to serve in a foreign region will take a lot of prayer and wisdom. In order to be effective on the foreign mission field, disciples must not only be equipped with zeal, but also with foreign missions training. The campus committee of the ICOC wants to ensure that we send OYC missionaries to foreign sites where they can be useful and productive where they can flourish, not flounder. In an effort to provide OYC prospects with foreign locations that have both a great need and also great leadership in place to train and guide the volunteers efforts, the campus committee will keep an up-to-date directory of suggested foreign missions opportunities.
If your church would like to apply to host students who are taking the International OYC, please complete the OYC Site Application (page 6-7). A foreign missionary who is taking the OYC will work directly with the leadership in the foreign church. Going to serve will mean first going to learn and train. Ideally, prospective OYC missionaries will spend time training in the language and culture of the foreign mission field before the OYC begins. Domestic O.Y.C. Every region within the ICOC fellowship is involved with domestic missions. New churches are being planted every year. The campus committee shares a vision of having a dynamic campus ministry on every university in the nation. The only way these dreams will become a reality is for strong disciples to go! If your church would like to apply to host students who are taking the domestic OYC, they will be asked to meet the criteria for being a OYC site & complete the OYC Site Application (page 6-7). Local O.Y.C Perhaps the greatest needs of the mission field are right at home in our local cities and churches. For most churches, funding is down and staffs are overwhelmed. Encouraging OYC prospects to serve as full-time ministry volunteers in local congregations may be the most practical and effective way to utilize the OYC. Candidates should work with their local ministry leader to find the best place to serve. Many churches are in desperate need of middle school, teen, and campus ministry leadership. Singles ministry is too often understaffed and void of leadership. Having OYC volunteers working for one year in one of these ministries could provide a spark that reignites an entire congregation. While serving in a foreign country might sound more exciting, serving locally might be the most powerful way that the OYC has an impact. Is the O.Y.C. Right for ME? While the spirit of the OYC should be embraced by all disciples, some young or weak Christians will be unable to handle the challenges it presents. It is important to understand that no one expects every disciple to embark upon the OYC. No one should be made to feel that they are less committed to the mission or to Christ if they do not or cannot take the OYC. All Christians are called to be evangelistic for a lifetime. The OYC is a unique opportunity that allows young men and women who are willing and able to serve in a special and specific role on the mission field. Some students seeking careers in certain fields (like medicine) may not be able to take a year off immediately after their undergraduate studies. However, a career like medicine lends itself to many missionary opportunities later in life. Other young singles may have family or life obligations that make it impossible to spend an entire year away. But they need not be excluded from the OYC altogether. Perhaps some, in the spirit of the OYC, could spend a vacation week or month in service or on the mission field.
The One-Year Challenge is a challenge. Some may spend a week, a month, a year, or a decade on the mission front. All of us are to spend a lifetime as evangelistic disciples. May God use the One-Year Challenge to inspire us all to sacrifice ourselves for the salvation of others. May God use this opportunity to send out more workers into the harvest field. And may God use the OYC to bring us together as a unified fellowship, working together on the mission field. The Campus Committee -
ONE-YEAR CHALLENGE (OYC): Site Criteria 1. Must fill out the OYC Application. 2. Must be a site or church that is recognized in our fellowship as having a healthy spiritual environment for those going on the OYC. 3. Must have a training program in place that will adequately train disciples going on the OYC. 4. Must be a site where there is a strong ministry couple or trainers that can both shepherd and develop those taking the OYC 5. Must be recommended by regional leadership & the campus committee as meeting criteria 2 thru 4. If your church is interested in hosting disciples for the OYC, please type up the answers to the following application on the next page with your one-page write up of your training program. Please send to Glenn Petruzzi at gpetruzzi@icoc.org and Kelcy Hahn at kelcyhahn@yahoo.com. Kelcy runs the Disciples Adventure website in which all the recommended OYC sites will be available to those who desire to take the OYC.
ONE-YEAR CHALLENGE (OYC): Site application 1. Name of Requesting Church? 2. Name of Evangelist/Elder that will be the contact person/decision maker? 3. Name/position of person who will be training the OYC applicant(s) if different than above? 4. In one paragraph, please state why your church is a viable OYC site (Example: We have a campus with 30,000 students and no disciples on the campus, or We have a ministry in training program, etc.) 5. What are your biggest needs in your church or mission team? 6. Who would train them on cultural awareness issues (International only)? 7. Send us a one-page outline of your ministry training program. 8. Do you plan to pay them? If so, what type of funding and or housing are you providing for the year? 9. What exactly would you be expecting the student to do at your site (Example: To start campus ministry at the University of X)? 10. What do you envision will be different in your ministry after one year with this student serving within it?