TOHU WA BOHU

Pronounced “Toe-hoo Va Vo-hoo,” this Hebrew word means “chaos” and is used in Genesis to describe what the world was like before God gave form to the formless and order to the disorder.

As humans made in His image, we are invited to be imitators of Him – forming and bringing order to what’s around us just as He did. As Christians, we participate in God’s continued creation as His Spirit works through us achieving His perfect plans of restoration.

Here is a bit about how we have had the opportunity to do just that during our past few months serving with Youth With A Mission Adelaide in South Australia.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty…Then God said, ‘Let there be…’ and so there was…and God saw that it was good.” – Genesis 1

A Season of Change

We (Melinda and Tanner) have the privilege of being a part of YWAM Adelaide during a unique time in their ministry; a transition from primarily focusing on local outreach to a clear goal of establishing better training, evangelism, and outreach both locally and abroad. During this long process of learning, growing, and changing as a ministry, we have been given roles to assist in bringing order to the chaos.

Tanner:

Being a Property Manager may not sound like a very exciting job if a caretaker is all that comes to mind… However, since stepping into this role at YWAM Adelaide I have realized that my responsibility is not just to clean and repair, but more importantly: to improve. There is room for improvement in just about every aspect of life, but in this role of overseeing our buildings and property, it’s easy to see so many opportunities for bringing new order to the chaos. During this described change of focus at YWAM Adelaide, John 15:4 has been our overarching verse to remind us that we are called to know God first before we can make Him known; that we are to abide in Jesus, never losing our focus on our relationship with Him over focusing on our work. To create an abiding culture at our centre I’ve been able to direct many improvement projects to our indoor and outdoor community spaces, prayer spaces, and study spaces, allowing us to learn and grow together as a centre before we challenge and strengthen each other to go out and practice what we learn.

“Abide in me and I will abide in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me”
– Jesus (John 15:4)

**Tanner leading our DTS work duty students in improving the base by creating new community spaces**

Melinda:

As Director of Communications at YWAM Adelaide, a lot of my time is spent behind a computer screen. At first, I found this challenging as it seemed “less important” than being on the “front lines.” However, God has been reminding me about the value of communication and that everything exists because he communicates! If God never said, “Let there be Light” … we wouldn’t have any! Good communication is essential to healthy relationships, strong community, and effective ministry. Communication is a key to bringing order out of chaos. And so it has become my privilege to develop our base’s channels of communication so they better represent who we are, what we believe, and what God has called us to do. It is also how we can invite others to join us in this mission as students or staff. I’m amazed by the ways God has opened doors for me to apply both my passion for art and University Marketing education to further his kingdom!

Check out YWAM Adelaide’s social media accounts for some of Melinda’s work and to see more of what we are a part of here!

FACEBOOK: YWAM Southands Adelaide
INSTAGRAM: @ywamsouthlandsadelaide

Training, Evangelism, & Mercy Ministries

Every YWAM base has ministries in these three categories: training, evangelism, and mercy. Here at YWAM Adelaide, we are currently running a Discipleship Training School (DTS) and a School of Christian Missions (CM) that challenges students to live out their faith on a whole new level. We frequently send out small teams to common public spaces like shopping malls or parks to introduce Jesus to those we meet. We also assist in the operation of 5 weekly local ministries that build relationships with children, youth, and adults in the depressed suburb of Elizabeth and downtown Adelaide. All 3 of these ministry categories assist in bringing order to chaos in the mind, heart, or body.

Even though our main roles are in Maintenace and Communications, we get to support the DTS by running workshops, share our faith on evangelistic outings, and serve the community by being a part of an after-school program (Kids Club), youth drop-in (Street Light), and soup kitchen (Do Unto Others).

**Street Light – A youth drop-in at Elizabeth’s shopping centre that aims to build relationships and positively impact the lives of local young people**

From Chaos to New Creation

Despite all the work there is to be done, bringing people to interact with God’s love is the simple heart of everything we do. There is nothing more exciting for us than seeing Jesus restore relationships, relieve addictions, cure sickness, spark hope, and redeem lives to Him. Ultimately, He is the one to bring perfect order to a disordered heart, creating beauty from a chaotic life. We are His hands and His feet, ready to serve.