YWAM and the Power of Life Coaching in Missions

Guest Writer Sarah Bultman

YWAM Coaching is a catalyst for revival!

Could adding a life coaching element into a missions program like YWAM be important?
I believe the answer is yes! Coaching is not just a helpful tool for growth; but in a missional context it’s a catalyst for revival!

Discipleship Training School (DTS)

YWAM is the largest missions organization in the world, drawing thousands of young people who are eager to make a difference in the world. I joined YWAM because I saw how transformative the DTS experience can be for people, and the potential they carry as they go home. In DTS people are changed. They realize how selfish they are, they realize how beautiful it is to serve, they see people living in poverty without the hope of Jesus, and experience how life-giving it is to join Him in His mission to reconcile the world to Himself. Students leave DTS filled with love for God and dreams of making Him known. But what happens when the excitement fades, and they return home?

That’s when I started to notice a pattern.

Some students struggle with uncertainty after DTS and mission trip.

After DTS, many students struggle. They’ve just experienced a life-altering season of growth, purpose, and deep community, only to return home and face a sense of disorientation and uncertainty. The friends they’ve made, the sense of mission, and the daily encounters with God feel distant. The normal rhythms of life can quickly feel mundane in comparison. What’s worse, without a clear sense of purpose or direction for what to do next, many students fall into confusion, frustration, guilt and spiritual stagnation. I began to see that many of them weren’t just struggling with adjusting to life back home—they were struggling with a lack of purpose, feeling disconnected from God, and sometimes even facing depression or worse.

This wasn’t just a YWAM issue; anyone who has gone on a life-changing mission trip or had a transformative experience knows that the return to “normal” life can feel like a crash landing. But with YWAM, because the program is longer, the experience often more intense and the depth of relationships formed so deep, when these students return home without a vision for what’s next, they can get stuck looking backwards and the results can be very challenging. Over the years I’ve seen students come back from their DTS excited about what God had done in their lives, but months later, they were uncertain, disconnected, and struggling to continue pursuing God’s call or even God Himself. And that’s when I started to think: What if we could help them build clarity and momentum while they were still in the DTS program, so that when they went home, they could hit the ground running?

That’s where coaching comes in.

I’ve always been passionate about coaching because it helps people discern what God is saying to them, empowers them to take responsibility for their journey, and helps them see the bigger picture of their lives. As a life coach, I’ve walked alongside many people as they’ve discovered the dreams God has placed in their hearts. I’ve seen how coaching unlocks clarity and purpose, not by giving people answers, but by helping them listen to God’s voice and giving them the tools to move forward with confidence. This is something I realized could make a huge impact for YWAM’s DTS students. I started thinking: What if we could provide coaching for students throughout their DTS journey, so they wouldn’t leave the program feeling lost and uncertain? What if they could leave DTS not only with a heart full of passion for God but with a clear, actionable plan for what comes next?

So, I started coaching students during their DTS experience. At first, I coached them just once or twice throughout the program, but I quickly realized that wasn’t enough. I remember working with one group and noticing that only about 50% of the students had a clear plan for when they went home. I thought, What if I could coach them more frequently throughout the whole program? So, I started coaching students multiple times during their DTS: during their lecture phase, during outreach, and during their debrief. And the results were markedly different!

By the time they graduated, 90% of the students I coached had a clear short-term plan for when they returned home. But the real breakthrough came when I checked in with them two months later, which is typically the hardest point for returning students. The other group that didn’t get a clear plan, only 20% of students are thriving spiritually, emotionally, and practically by the second month after they return home. But in this group, 72% were doing well. They were thriving because they had a clear purpose as they went home.They knew where they were going and what they were working toward. They weren’t just surviving—they were excited to move forward and live out their specific “God dream” they had discovered during DTS.

This was a major turning point for me as a coach. I realized that when students leave DTS with clarity and a vision for their next steps, they are able to face the challenges of re-entry with strength and resilience. They can keep growing spiritually, emotionally, and relationally, even in the “mundane” aspects of life. Coaching had helped them move beyond the excitement of DTS and into a real, sustainable walk with God. It gave them the tools to carry that fire with them, wherever they went.

What makes coaching so effective, I believe, is that it is future-oriented, solution-focused, and empowers people to find their own answers. It helps them discover their God-given vision and purpose, and it empowers them to take action. The coach doesn’t step in as the expert; instead, they help the person being coached discern God’s voice and take steps toward their goals.

Moving forward with hope through the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

This is what coaching uniquely brings to the table: it doesn’t just help people with the now, but it helps them look forward with hope, confidence, and clarity. By asking questions that reveal the person’s true heart and goals, coaching activates the Holy Spirit’s guidance and invites people to partner with God in creating their future.

I realized that if we could coach students through their DTS experience—not just at the end but throughout their time in the program—it would dramatically change the way they transition back to life after outreach. They wouldn’t be left wondering, “What now?” Instead, they would have a clear sense of direction, knowing exactly how to move forward in partnership with God.

New Vision!

Now, I’ve started teaching coaching to YWAM staff, helping them integrate coaching into their ministries. I’ve taught week-long seminars and three-month courses to staff from YWAM bases all over the world—Southeast Asia, Australia, Africa, Mongolia. The staff are excited about the impact coaching can have on their students, and they’re eager to start using it to help students live with purpose after DTS. What’s been even more exciting is that it’s spreading. YWAM bases in places like Kona, New Zealand, Fiji, and even right here in the Pacific Northwest are beginning to integrate coaching into their own programs. It’s becoming a movement within YWAM, and it’s already making a profound difference. The ultimate goal is for every YWAM student to leave DTS not only with a heart on fire for God but with a clear sense of purpose, knowing who they are, what they’re called to do in their next season of life. Whether they’re called to missions overseas or to make an impact in their own community, my dream is that they would leave DTS confident, and empowered to walk out their calling. Coaching gives them the tools to do this—it helps them translate what they’ve learned in DTS to their next steps. It helps them stay aligned with God’s will and continue to make a difference wherever they go.

Making His name known and spreading His Kingdom

My hope is that every YWAM student would go forward with the same clarity and passion they had during DTS, whether they’re called to serve in the mission field or in Walmart. Because I believe that, no matter where they go, they are called to make His name known and spread His Kingdom. Coaching isn’t just a tool for growth; it’s a catalyst for revival.

1200 YWAM Bases around the world.

Sarah’s Bio

Sarah Bultman has the privilege of raising up the next generation of Christian world-changers through her work with the Birch Rise Coaching and YWAM. Her passion is to see Kingdom-minded people raised up and thriving so that the Gospel will saturate every part of society and reach the ends of the earth. After attending Alaska Bible Institute she served in South Africa and Zambia part-time for 12 years. Sarah has created promotional videos for mission organizations and helped launch two child sponsorship programs. In Zambia, Sarah was a part of starting an orphan home and a school for special needs children. While in the states she worked for the Brinkman Adventures, an audio drama that inspires children by dramatizing real missionary stories. She is the author of the Brinkman Adventures curriculum and was the co-host of the Brinkman Podcast. She currently works as a life and business coach helping young missionaries launch and fulfill the dream God placed on their hearts.

You can find Sarah on the web at birchrise.com and email her at sarah@birchrise.com

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