What Can I Do After DTS?

You just finished DTS. You encountered Jesus in new ways, stepped out on outreach, and probably grew more than you expected. And now the quiet question shows up: What do I do next?

That question can feel exciting. It can also feel overwhelming. The good news is you don’t need a five-year plan right now. You just need your next obedient yes.

Let’s walk through a few realistic options and some simple next steps for each.

Return and Serve

For some, the next step after DTS is staffing with YWAM. Staff don’t just help out, they carry vision, shape culture, and lead. Sometimes that looks like:

• Organizing training programs or leading outreaches
• Mobilizing young people for missions
• Leading worship or creating media to inspire others
• Managing practical needs behind the scenes

If staffing stirs something in you, the next step isn’t planning out your entire future, it’s starting a conversation. Here are some next steps:

• Talk with the staff intake team and team leaders you’d like to join.
• Clarify expectations around finances, time, and responsibilities.
• Pray about committing to a defined season, knowing your intended duration helps the team match you to the right role.

Staffing isn’t an extended DTS. It’s a meaningful step into leadership and ownership. For many, it becomes one of the most formative seasons of their lives, not because they had all the answers, but because they said yes to growing while taking on new challenges.

Get Further Training

DTS is foundational and through it you were able to scratch the surface of so many areas. If God stirred something specific in you: leadership, Bible teaching, justice, the unreached, it may be time to go deeper.

Instead of overanalyzing, simply notice where you felt alive during lecture phase or outreach. What topics kept stirring you? What feedback did others give you? Often, clarity begins by paying attention.

If further training feels right, you could:

• Research secondary schools in YWAM or other training programs.
• Talk to someone who has done further training and ask how it helped them.
• Make a simple 6-12 month preparation plan (saving money, finding mentorship, reading intentionally, or learning a language).
• Ask one trusted leader, “Where do you see me needing to grow next?”

Training isn’t about doing more. It’s about going deeper.

Go Back Home, Differently

Going home is not a step down. In some cases, it’s the most obedient choice.

DTS wasn’t about relocating everyone to a mission base. It was about transformation. The real question isn’t whether you leave YWAM, it’s whether you carry what God did in you into every day of your life.

Before dismissing this option, consider asking: What if going home is actually obedience?

If you return home, you could:

• Meet with your pastor or church leader and share what God did during DTS.
• Commit to one missional rhythm (weekly prayer for the nations, evangelism, serving locally).
• Lead a small group at your church or start a Bible study group at your school. 
• Build Christian community so that you stay connected and gather others, don’t drift into isolation.
• Set a three-month check-in point to reflect on growth and direction.

Going home doesn’t mean leaving missions. It means living mission where you are.

Step Toward the Nations

For some, DTS awakens something specific: a region, a people group, or a burden that doesn’t go away. If that’s you, don’t rush it, but don’t ignore it either.

Instead of trying to figure out your entire future, try asking: Is this desire growing over time? Calling tends to deepen, not disappear.

If you sense a longer-term direction, consider:

• Praying regularly for that specific people group.
• Learning about their culture and language.
• Seeking mentorship from someone serving cross-culturally.
• Beginning to develop support-raising skills early rather than waiting until the last minute.
• Plan a trip to experience the region and get connected with local missions work there. 

Long-term missions requires depth, endurance, and preparation. It's not run on adrenaline.

The Question Beneath the Question

After DTS, the real question isn’t, “Where should I go?” It’s, “Will I keep saying yes?”

DTS trained you to hear God, obey Him quickly, fail forward, choose joy, and take responsibility for your walk with Jesus. Those habits matter way more than your location.

Where you go matters. But who you’re becoming matters more.

While you're figuring out what's next, try this:

Take ten quiet minutes this week and ask: “Jesus, what is my next clear, obedient step?”

Not your entire future. Just your next step.

Write it down. Share it with someone you trust. Hold on to that word.

DTS may be finished, but your missional life is just beginning.

Start here. Go anywhere.