FYM Final Program Evaluation
Radical discipleship for college students
wanting to follow Jesus' model
1.
How has this program impacted your relationship with God?
• He has made me more confident that
I hear His voice. He has taught me more about His Holy Spirit
and how to pray using His direction.
• Let’s just put it this way…I
hear the Lord now! I never knew that it was possible to know Him
as well as I do now, and it blows my mind to think of how much
more He has to show me and teach me about Himself. I have learned
so much! I guess I just have to become more His….more devoted
to Him, quicker to listen and obey, and eager to see Him glorified.
My eyes are so much less focused on me and so much more fixed
on Him. I have changed a lot.
• This year has been great. I have
grown in intimacy with the Father and I am hungrier than ever
before. I always heard that ignorance is bliss. That’s not
true! I have realized my need to be in the presence of the Lord
24/7. There were things in my walk with the Lord I didn’t
even realize were wrong. Now that light has been shed, I can walk
closer to my Lord. I have learned a lot about listening prayer.
I did listen to God, but it has become a daily part of life and
it comes so naturally. I almost can’t imagine a day what
a day would be like without ATL’s. The Lord’s revealed
a lot to me about being the Bride of Christ. Who I am in Christ!
I feel more confident than ever that the Lord’s plans will
prosper me. I’ve grown in the knowledge of the Old Testament
through personal study and I never realized how particular and
perfect the Bible is.
• I came here with nothing. I knew Jesus and knew He had changed me, but I had nothing more to go on. This year has laid a foundation for my life. I am called to a fulltime ministry and because of this year, I was able to identify this calling and get the base I need to fulfill it. Through discipleship and experience, I learned more than I ever would have imagined.
• He has taught me a ton, especially
through the books we did in discipleship. Communion with God was
great.
2. What would you tell
prospective FYM participants about the program?
• Try hard and you will grow more than
you can imagine.
• This is an exceptional program that
God will use to refine many young people, as long as it continues
to seek His guidance for the future, while keeping the core of
its foundation intact. If a young person is looking for a year
to be in service, then this is what they need.
• I would tell them that this has been
the greatest year of my life and if any part of you feels like
the First Year Missionary program is what the Lord is calling
them to, then they should jump in without hesitation.
• I would say that this program has
completely changed my life. There has been no other thing I’ve
done that has brought me closer to God. Be prepared for hard times,
but those times are when God is growing you the most. If it was
easy, it wouldn’t be worth it. Not only is my spiritual
life amazingly better, my actual life is better for having come
here. I can remember many times when I questioned whether I was
supposed to be in Philly or not, but that was just doubt. I can
think of very few people that would not benefit immensely from
being an FYM. In summary, I give it two thumbs up.
• Get ready to be broken and put back
together again. This program will change your life…..every
part of it. You will be stretched more than you ever thought you
would be and loved more than you ever thought you would be. It’s
a challenging year that teaches you to count the cost and to step
out of that mold the world thinks we should fit into.
• Be open. There is so much God wants
to grow in you and teach you. BE OPEN! Not only to new teaching,
but to everything! Don’t come here with plans. Be open to
the Holy Spirit in your life.
3. How would you evaluate
the group discipleship time?
• The discipleship was probably my
favorite part of the year. I experienced a ton of personal growth,
mostly from Communion with God. I think it was great to have two
discipleship leaders; it gave us a real rounded view of the Bible,
not just one person’s theology.
• The family atmosphere was so important!
Vulnerability is what helped us grow, and being with people we
were truly comfortable with along with being in our own homes
was very good. I enjoyed the guest speakers when we had them and
would even suggest a few more, but I think it’s so important
to keep the family atmosphere.
• I enjoyed how it wasn’t all
Bible study; it was also worship, talking about our problems,
the leaders encouraging us. The leaders were very strong and led
by example. Their own passion for the word of God spilled over
into our lives and we caught the fire. They were both well versed
in Scripture and also willing to admit when they were wrong.
4. What do you think
of your internship?
• The ministry here is just plain incredible.
I feel like I’ve been able to see the most difficult parts
of ministry to the most joyful parts of ministry. The ministry
here is ripe in some ways and bone dry in others. I loved it.
• My internship RULED. I loved that
they were open to whatever the Lord led us to ad we were not confined
at all. All of us were amazingly blessed by that.
There were tons of amazing ministry opportunities, almost too
many, ha-ha. There was so much room for the Holy Spirit to work,
it was awesome!
• I think working consistently with
one ministry in several different facets helped me learn what
a real Great Commission Christian is.
• I loved having the freedom of choice
at the beginning of the year. There are so many choices, and although
some churches we are close to would love more of our help, I believe
we should still leave full freedom up to participants.
• My internship was great. I thought
it went so well. As far as scheduling goes, I would warn the new
folks not to go crazy and seek to fill up their schedule as quick
as they can. I filled mine up right away and found myself just
having to turn down a lot of stuff because I had committed to
things too soon in the rush to feel settled. The ministry opportunities
are wonderful and there are just tons of them. I really enjoyed
the fact that I was out on my own a lot. I guess I just learned
a lot about responsibility and just about life in general.
5. Any other general comments?
• This will be a year that I will think
about forever and continually thank God for the growth that has
been a direct result of this program.
• This has been probably the best year
of my life. I have learned the most, grown the most, ministered
the most, and met some of the best people ever. I’m pretty
sure that this year has pushed me into a life of missions.
• Praise God that I got the chance
to be here. I don’t know how to explain how much I have
changed, but I know that I’m different now and that I’m
closer to the Lord than ever. Thank you so much for everything
and for giving the nine of us a chance to be stretched. I’ll
never forget this year and I really feel like it’s just
the beginning for all of us. Thank you.
• This year rocked! The leaders rocked
and if I had to hand pick ‘em, I’d choose the same
ones!!! I don’t want to leave y’all!
•The FYM program changed me. It opened me up to the realities of God and I am more in love with Jesus than I have ever been before. The leadership laid the foundation and the example, and that is why it is SO important that they remain unified on all fronts at all times. The FYMers were totally different young adults who had one thing in common: a love for the Savior. I did not know a lot about what I believed and the relationships, experiences and teachings from this year were the water that grew me into the beginnings of a spiritual warrior. I’m gonna serve Him as long as I live now.
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