What is eXtreme Walk?
For the answer to this question, click here.
What will I do on XW?
eXtreme Walk is an opportunity to learn from and serve alongside local church planters. What you do will involve being trained by the locals to share the gospel and make disciples in their culture, language, and community. Sharing the gospel can take many different forms - all of which depend on prayer for effectiveness. Embodying Christ’s love along with local Christians is a major part of this. You will live among the people you seek to reach with the wholeness that Jesus brings. Making disciples involves investing yourself - your time, your energy, your life - into a few faithful, available, and teachable disciples. Our prayer is for you to share the gospel extensively and invest yourself intensively in a few people while the local workers and other missionaries invest in you.
How long is XW?
From pre-field training to the final debrief, eXtreme Walk lasts about 11 months. The rough and flexible timeline: Pre-field training - 3 weeks; language, culture, and discipleship training (on-field) - 3 months; ministry deployment - 7 months; debrief - 1 week. We try to allow enough time on the field for you to build deep and meaningful relationships and see the Lord transform lives through those relationships. And we try to keep it short enough so you can commit to it freely and confirm how the Lord is calling and leading you.
How much does it cost?
We try to place you at the same economic level as the local workers you serve with, but we also aim to take care of you. The cost for eXtreme Walk varies from country to country, but the average cost is about 12,000 USD, everything included.
What does the cost of eXtreme Walk include?
Airfare
Room and board
Language learning
Visas
International insurance
Training and Debrief
Etc.
How much involvement with local people will I have?
You will be immersed in the local community, learning their language and culture from them. Our prayer is that you can develop deep, transforming relationships with the local people. As a part of eXtreme Walk, the XWers in a certain country get together every 4-6 weeks for a mini-debrief retreat. Your XW team leader (called a Sherpa) also regularly visits each XWer. So while you are immersed in the local community you are also connected to the on-field missionary family and the other XWers.
Who will I work with?
OMS International has a worldwide church planting ministry called Every Community for Christ, or ECC. As a part of this ministry, OMS trains and sponsors national workers to plant and multiply churches. eXtreme Walk places a new missionary on one of these ECC teams, to learn from and serve under the supervision of trained and experienced local church planters. We have found that XWers are a great blessing to the local ECC teams.
Will I be in charge of or have to lead others?
You will not be in charge of your church planting team. An experienced local worker will lead your team. However, as you learn from your team, you will be challenged to take on leadership responsibilities as you use your spiritual gifts and ministry skills to invest in others.
Is language learning a part of XW?
Yes, unless you are already proficient in the language of the people. Normally we dedicate the first three months of XW to language, culture, and ministry training. If you are already proficient in the language, you will still need to spend time in culture and ministry training.
Is there ministry and discipleship training involved?
Yes. eXtreme Walk as a whole is meant to be a formative experience, deeply impacting the way you follow Christ. We try to make practical ministry and discipleship training a major part of XW. We lay the foundation in pre-field training. We give culturally contextualized discipleship training during the first three months along with language and culture training. After that, you will hone your ministry skills and learn new ones from the local workers leading you in the context of very real ministry situations.
Will there be other eXtreme Walkers or other missionaries there?
Yes. The number of XWers depends on how many apply and are accepted, of course, but pre-field training involves all the XWers going to different countries. Language/culture/discipleship training includes all the XWers in your country. Depending on the country and ministry situation, two XWers might be on one local team of church planters, but many times there will be one XWer per local church planting team. All the XWers in the country would then get together every 4-6 weeks during the last seven months. There will also be full-time missionaries to receive you and provide a support network, wisdom and encouragement.
Why the focus on new worshipping groups?
We are called to make disciples. But what happens when new disciples lose contact with other believers? Since relationships are so central to our “ministry of reconciliation,” we focus on giving our new disciples a community in which to grow in personal knowledge of God. This new community of believers embodies God’s character in the local community. We emphasize ministry with local churches and starting new churches because the church is the community in which disciples grow and the means through which God communicates His character to the lost. The local church serves the community by sharing the good news and demonstrating God’s love through deeds of compassion.
Will there be any opportunities for community development, sports ministry, micro business, health service, education, agricultural development, or other specialized ministries?
Maybe. If one of these or another ministry is important to you and you are wondering if it could work with eXtreme Walk, the answer is maybe. If the ministry can be done in partnership with the local church to reach the needs of the community, as a means of sharing the gospel and making disciples, under the supervision and approval of the local church leader, then yes! If it can’t be done that way, then no. We want you to use your unique gifts and abilities as a means of discipleship. Do you lead worship? Then we want you to teach a few others to lead worship well and use it as a means to guide them closer to Jesus. Do you have a passion for sports or teaching children? We want you to be able to use other ministries as a means of discipleship in the local church. That way the ministry won’t end when you leave. The disciples will be the fruit that lasts for eternity.
Who can go on XW? What are the requirements?
eXtreme Walk can be very stretching and difficult emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. On eXtreme Walk, learning a foreign language, cultural adaptation, and spiritual warfare often happen at the same time. Because of this, we ask that applicants:
Be at least 20 years of age with a couple of years of either work or study experience.
Have a dynamic relationship with the Lord and a desire to be totally His.
Be involved in some kind of ministry with their local church.
Regularly share their faith.
Sense the Lord leading them to take an eXtreme Walk.
Fit the specific requirements of the field of service: some fields can accept single men, women, or couples. Others are limited.
Raise financial support for their eXtreme Walk ministry.
When does XW begin?
eXtreme Walk begins in both January and July of every year.
When is the application deadline?
The application deadline for the January XW is Oct. 1, and the deadline for the XW beginning in July is April 1.
How do I apply?
The first step is to fill out the Getting to Know You form and we will contact you and send you the application and the steps to service.
What happens after I apply?
After you apply, we send your application to the field for consideration by field leadership. Upon your acceptance, we will send you lots of stuff to begin your preparation, put you in contact with your XW team leader, and help you begin the adventure of fundraising.
Where can I go on XW?
The countries offered for XW can change from year to year. Contact us to find out the latest opportunities. (Current opportunities include Brazil, Central Asia, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, The Philippines, Spain, and maybe others).
What does XW prepare me for?
We try to use eXtreme Walk to make a long-term, personal investment in you so you can be prepared to follow the Lord wherever He leads. We try to make it a life-shaping opportunity that impacts the way you make disciples for the rest of your days no matter where you go, whether back to the field, to a different field, or back to your home country. Generally, you will be more prepared for cross cultural ministry with a focus on discipleship and church planting. Many who have completed XW have noted growth in faith, prayer, language, culture, spiritual leadership and church leadership. They have a deeper understanding and appreciation of community and discipleship.
What are my options for service after XW?
The options of further service that we offer include:
Become a Sherpa, and lead and serve an XW team. Help train them and guide them through their 10 months on the field.
Join the missionary family on the field working with local churches.
Join the missionary family working in a support ministry.
Help share a missions vision at home to send more workers to the harvest field.
Seek out more education to meet the needs you’ve become aware of on the field.
Let your experiences on eXtreme Walk impact the way you relate, serve, and make disciples at your local church and wherever you go.
These are only a few options, but we desire you to go wherever the Lord leads you.
Can I get academic credit?
We can work with your academic institution to meet their language, service, or academic requirements. On some fields, you can get academic credit through a local seminary for your cultural and theological studies. We will work with you on a case by case basis to see if you can get academic credit.
What about my student loans?
Ask about our student debt program. We may be able to help.
