Mission Field · 2026 Summer Issue
We Went to Give, but Received So Much More — A CDTS Outreach Story

People who had already lived through much of life found themselves standing at another crossroads, ready to step onto the road again. They chose to leave behind familiar routines and step into unfamiliar places among people they had never met before. From May 18 to July 17, 2026, 11 CDTS (Crossroad DTS) students, 2 children, and 7 team staff were sent out in two teams to outreach sites both abroad and within Korea.

God Who Calls Those Standing at the Crossroads

CDTS is not simply a missions training school. It is God’s special invitation to singles and couples aged 35 and older who are standing at a crossroad in life. For those who have finished raising their children, left a long-held career, or find themselves at an unexpected turning point in life — asking “Where and how should I live now?” — CDTS is a community that seeks the answer to that question together.

In the classroom, students deepen their relationship with God, discover their calling, and develop their personal gifts. They also come to understand God’s heart and plan for the whole world, being trained to respond to Jesus’s Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” This outreach became the place where that training was tested and lived out in real life.

Two Teams, Two Continents, One Love

The two teams were sent out in different directions.

The overseas team headed to Country A in Central Asia, and to the Philippines and Malaysia in Southeast Asia. In regions shaped by Islamic traditions and rich ethnic diversity, the team sowed seeds of the Gospel and joined in the work of God’s Kingdom shoulder to shoulder with local churches and missionaries.

After returning to Korea, the team traveled through Hongcheon, Pyeongchang, and Yeongwol in Gangwon Province, and Pohang and Gyeongju in Gyeongbuk Province. This was ministry that shared God’s love not in major urban centers, but in smaller and often overlooked communities.

The two teams ministered in different places, but the God they experienced was the same. Wherever they went, they encountered the same Father—His love and His heart unchanged from one place to another.

Those Who Went to Give, and Received Instead

What left the deepest impression during this outreach was the ministry to children (refugees) and to people with disabilities. When team members first stepped into those settings, honestly, they went in thinking they had something to give. They believed they had the experience, the preparation, and the love to bring. But the field was different. Faced with children who ran toward them with bright smiles despite the language barrier, and with people with disabilities who worshiped God wholeheartedly despite their physical limitations, the team members found themselves deeply moved.

“We went to give, but instead, we were the ones who received far more.”

One student’s confession spoke for the heart of the whole team. The children’s innocence, the unwavering faith of people with disabilities, and the love communicated without words began to soften hearts that had grown hardened over the years. In the very place we went to serve, God was, in fact, serving us.

Transformation Beyond the Classroom

Throughout the training period, there were excellent lectures — deep teaching from the Word, outstanding speakers, grace-filled worship. The students expected that these times would surely bring about change. But the real change actually happened in the outreach field, in ways they never could have imagined.

An unfamiliar environment, unpredictable circumstances, and life in community 24 hours a day with team members of different personalities and backgrounds. In the midst of it, hidden parts of themselves surfaced, and they were forced to face things within that they had long avoided. Through the process of clashing with one another, forgiving, and joining hands again, the students learned things no lecture could have taught them.

“I experienced change because I lived in community. I discovered parts of myself I never would have seen if I had been alone.”

This is at the heart of CDTS training: meeting God not only through knowledge, but through life; not only through theory, but through relationships; not only in the classroom, but in the field.

Outreach Overview

  • Duration: May 18 – July 17, 2026 (approx. 2 months)
  • Participants: 11 students, 2 children, 14 team staff (27 total)
  • Overseas Ministry Sites: Country A, the Philippines, Malaysia
  • Domestic Ministry Sites: Gangwon (Hongcheon, Pyeongchang, Yeongwol), Gyeongbuk (Pohang, Gyeongju)
  • Key Ministries: Children’s ministry, ministry to people with disabilities, community service, evangelism, partnership ministry with local churches, partnership ministry with domestic YWAM bases
  • Team Structure: 2 teams
  • Ministry Recipients: Local children, people with disabilities, local residents, local church members

Vision Ahead and Prayer Requests

CDTS is not simply a school for individual spiritual growth. It exists within God’s greater plan for Korean society, families, and the nations.

When mature Christians aged 35 and older, beginning the second half of their lives, discover their calling, receive training, and go out into the world, the impact does not stop at personal change. Families are restored, workplaces and communities are transformed, and the missions capacity of the Korean church is newly built up. In particular, when people equipped with life experience and maturity are raised up for the mission field, they can become long-term, faithful workers for God’s Kingdom rather than serving only in short-term roles.

Please Join Us in Prayer

  • That the students who learned through this outreach would be raised up as witnesses of God’s Kingdom in their own everyday lives.
  • That those trained through CDTS would carry the influence of the Gospel into their families, workplaces, and communities.
  • That the students God has prepared for future CDTS sessions would courageously respond at their own crossroads.
  • That the seeds of the Gospel sown abroad (Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Malaysia) and within Korea would bear abundant fruit.
  • That God’s wisdom and grace would overflow upon the CDTS team staff and community.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

Those who responded to the call at their own crossroads are still walking that road today. We pray that God will continue to guide each step of their journey.

CDTS Outreach Team Group Photo

1Q CDTS Deokpyeong Jang | UofN Jeju | YWAM Korea

CDTS (Crossroad DTS) is primarily for singles aged 35 and older, and for couples, who are seeking new direction at a crossroad in life; couples may join regardless of age. Students deepen their relationship with God, discover their calling, and develop their personal gifts. They also come to understand God’s heart and plan for the whole world, and are trained to respond to Jesus’s call: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”