Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 3, No. 2, 1986 Page 37
three-month segments. The first, lecture phase, is geared toward character development
and learning evangelizing methods. The second, or Outreach phase, involves the practical
application of the principles learned.
I began DTS on the island of Hawaii, living in a mansion called King‘s which had been
converted into a combination dormitory and school. The main floor included a lecture room
student lounge/library, offices, kitchen, and a staff apartment. The single men slept in the
basement, and the single women lived on the second floor. Outside housing was provided
for the married couples. I shared a fairly large room with eight other girls, and a bathroom
(two showers and three sinks) with twenty-one of them. We were required to get up by
6:30, and after breakfast and a half-hour of Quiet Time, we assembled in the lecture room
for chapel. Afterwards, we usually had two hours of lecture. But some mornings we were
taught for only one hour, and used the other time for special activities such as practicing in
our SUM group (Special Use Ministry -drama, dance, singing, or puppet ministry), or
meeting with our Flock Group, an informal gathering of about seven students and one staff
member aimed at building relationships and communicating on a more personal level. We
spent three evenings a week in lecture or Bible study. Required reading included The
General Next to God, by [Salvation Army founder] General William Booth. We had to do a
written summary of each chapter of this book, complete half of a Bible study guide, and
answer ten essay questions given at the end of each week‘s lectures. Afternoons were free
or for doing whatever maintenance and housekeeping work we had been assigned. Friday
and Saturday nights were free, and we attended church on Sunday morning and evening.
The schedule was not particularly hectic. There was time for recreation. But we were kept
busy.
After completing the first three months of preparation at King‘s, which, though strained in
some ways, was generally pleasant. I eagerly anticipated spending the remaining months
on the island of Kauai serving God. ‗Me school was divided into three teams and each was to
be sent to a different island with a leader chosen from the student body. My team of twenty
was led by an Australian couple assisted by three ―under-leaders.‖ But what had promised
to be an exciting, challenging experience serving God in a practical way culminated in a fear
that drove me and three other students to escape early one Sunday morning only ten days
before the end of our training. It had become clearer and clearer to us, as our field training
at witnessing progressed on Kauai, that during the initial three months at King‘s we had
been systematically lied to, oppressed, criticized, and condemned by team leaders who had
sought to control every aspect of our lives and who, when we resisted, labeled us
‗rebellious.‘ The experience on Kauai, perhaps because we were ostensibly in a more open
and freer environments only made clearer die essential nature of the YWAM training which
now troubled us. ―Sometimes, just sometimes, I really wonder where it‘s at,‖ a teammate
reflected during our time on Kauai.*
―My spirit is jumpy I feel a bruised Spirit. Where‘s the balance, anyhow? How I long for
home, where my Lord is. Oh yes, He‘s here with us all, but I‘m feeling so confused. I‘d
rather not tell you leaders what‘s going on inside. Yes, I feel I‘ve had too much, too much.
Too much yet not enough -not enough of the other. Emotionally drained ...‖ Not only were
we emotionally drained and confused, but the condemnation by our leaders, speaking
supposedly on God‘s behalf, altered our attitudes towards God. ―I don‘t read the New
Testament,‖ one teammate admitted. ―I have fear that I will come stumbling across
something about obeying your leaders.‖ Another girl said that people ―were on her back for
not reading her Bible.‖ She said that she just couldn‘t read it anymore and that her Bible
had remained closed during the last three weeks of Outreach. Still another teammate
commented: ―. ..[s]everal months before I went to DTS, Christianity was something fresh
to me. I wanted to explore it all on my own, and how I loved it! I felt so innocent! I was
developing a beautiful relationship with God. I had cut the strings with my old boyfriend and
three-month segments. The first, lecture phase, is geared toward character development
and learning evangelizing methods. The second, or Outreach phase, involves the practical
application of the principles learned.
I began DTS on the island of Hawaii, living in a mansion called King‘s which had been
converted into a combination dormitory and school. The main floor included a lecture room
student lounge/library, offices, kitchen, and a staff apartment. The single men slept in the
basement, and the single women lived on the second floor. Outside housing was provided
for the married couples. I shared a fairly large room with eight other girls, and a bathroom
(two showers and three sinks) with twenty-one of them. We were required to get up by
6:30, and after breakfast and a half-hour of Quiet Time, we assembled in the lecture room
for chapel. Afterwards, we usually had two hours of lecture. But some mornings we were
taught for only one hour, and used the other time for special activities such as practicing in
our SUM group (Special Use Ministry -drama, dance, singing, or puppet ministry), or
meeting with our Flock Group, an informal gathering of about seven students and one staff
member aimed at building relationships and communicating on a more personal level. We
spent three evenings a week in lecture or Bible study. Required reading included The
General Next to God, by [Salvation Army founder] General William Booth. We had to do a
written summary of each chapter of this book, complete half of a Bible study guide, and
answer ten essay questions given at the end of each week‘s lectures. Afternoons were free
or for doing whatever maintenance and housekeeping work we had been assigned. Friday
and Saturday nights were free, and we attended church on Sunday morning and evening.
The schedule was not particularly hectic. There was time for recreation. But we were kept
busy.
After completing the first three months of preparation at King‘s, which, though strained in
some ways, was generally pleasant. I eagerly anticipated spending the remaining months
on the island of Kauai serving God. ‗Me school was divided into three teams and each was to
be sent to a different island with a leader chosen from the student body. My team of twenty
was led by an Australian couple assisted by three ―under-leaders.‖ But what had promised
to be an exciting, challenging experience serving God in a practical way culminated in a fear
that drove me and three other students to escape early one Sunday morning only ten days
before the end of our training. It had become clearer and clearer to us, as our field training
at witnessing progressed on Kauai, that during the initial three months at King‘s we had
been systematically lied to, oppressed, criticized, and condemned by team leaders who had
sought to control every aspect of our lives and who, when we resisted, labeled us
‗rebellious.‘ The experience on Kauai, perhaps because we were ostensibly in a more open
and freer environments only made clearer die essential nature of the YWAM training which
now troubled us. ―Sometimes, just sometimes, I really wonder where it‘s at,‖ a teammate
reflected during our time on Kauai.*
―My spirit is jumpy I feel a bruised Spirit. Where‘s the balance, anyhow? How I long for
home, where my Lord is. Oh yes, He‘s here with us all, but I‘m feeling so confused. I‘d
rather not tell you leaders what‘s going on inside. Yes, I feel I‘ve had too much, too much.
Too much yet not enough -not enough of the other. Emotionally drained ...‖ Not only were
we emotionally drained and confused, but the condemnation by our leaders, speaking
supposedly on God‘s behalf, altered our attitudes towards God. ―I don‘t read the New
Testament,‖ one teammate admitted. ―I have fear that I will come stumbling across
something about obeying your leaders.‖ Another girl said that people ―were on her back for
not reading her Bible.‖ She said that she just couldn‘t read it anymore and that her Bible
had remained closed during the last three weeks of Outreach. Still another teammate
commented: ―. ..[s]everal months before I went to DTS, Christianity was something fresh
to me. I wanted to explore it all on my own, and how I loved it! I felt so innocent! I was
developing a beautiful relationship with God. I had cut the strings with my old boyfriend and
