Our goal in the Family DTS is to strengthen marriages in the Body of Christ so that couples and families will bring glory to God in all that they do. The result: future generations will be raised to know the Lord. Our Family DTS is designed for students who are currently married (whether they have kids or not). We deliver all the course content of a YWAM DTS (Click for an overview of the program), but focus on marriage and family in a way no other DTS can (or should) do. (Single parents click here to check out our Crossroads DTS!)This course is about reaching the nations through strengthening the family unit and championing the youth within our families. Once the complete family has received missions training, they are able to effectively go out into the nations, locally or internationally, to make God known and bring glory to Him together.In the Family DTS, our vision is not only to change the parents’ lives, leaving the kids wondering “what in the world has happened to my parents”, but to have the children also experience some of the same things personally. Family DTS & Foundation School is a transformation of the heart school, not focused on worldly aspirations, success, or academics, but on intimate relationship with God and each other. We believe in the importance of giving children the same truths that their parents are receiving. The Family DTS & Foundation School provide the perfect atmosphere for married couples and families who want to discover God’s purpose for their whole family.
I attended family discipleship school at YWAM Chico in California in the fall of 2020.
There’s so much I could say about being part of the school, it has been transforming for my family.
For me personally it has been instrumental, I received much needed healing and deliverance from childhood abuse, trauma and recent struggles with anxiety that had left me feeling hopeless.
In our marriage, there is a renewed excitement and passion to serve God together. We came to DTS very broken from years of carrying things, as well as having experienced some fresh hurts and traumas from complications due to Covid season.
I knew our family needed to be discipled, but had no idea how to go about it, and when I first heard about FDTS, I thought there was no way we could afford it and be able to take the time off from work. But then God got our attention when Covid hit and we were at a stand still. The doors to YWAM Chico opened up, as well as all the resources and finances needed were miraculously provided by friends, ministries and even strangers. God takes care of His children! The best part I would say is how our girls were learning the same things at the same time as us. Foundation School is amazing! Overall, the curriculum, the staff and the support at Chico FDTS were wonderful! Our outreach time in Uganda will always be in our hearts as something so valuable we did as a family! I pray you consider taking this step of faith!
Lizeth Gonzalez Fall 2020
What DTS meant for our family
“When God called us to go to DTS we thought this is crazy. We have five kids and Caleb was working a job with good pay but we rarely we able to see him. We were living in what we thought was an average Christian life.
We could not even begin to imagine what DTS would expose and grow in us. We realized that things we thought were too painful to even mention could not be healed without going through them.
We lost our daughter at five years old and through that we had begun to believe things about God that we hadn’t even realized.
Through DTS, these things were healed one by one and God showed us who He really is. Our relationship with each other in our family has only grown closer and continues to do so even now.
My desire was always missions, but we felt like what life had handed us had made it impossible.
Now a year later I sit writing this in Mexico. As a family we get to serve God and serve people and there is no greater joy. However as much as our lives changed as parents, so did our kid’s lives. They have become passionate and bold in their faith of who God is. YWAM help develop in our children their identity in Christ.”
Amy Finch Fall 2020
Fall Quarter: September 2024
Outreach location: TBD
Lecture fees $3,795.
Outreach fees (adults and children) $3,500-$4,000
Children’s fees* during lecture phase:
0-2 years: $150
3-4 years: $525
5-8 years: $900
9-13 years: $1,150
14-18 years: $1,350 (Includes school materials, room & board)
*Child fees are based on the age of the child on the last day of the outreach phase.
Fees cover food, transportation, housing, and school expenses.
Additional costs may include extra immunizations, visa, and/or passport costs.
Costs subject to change.
Foundation school is a heart transformation school for children aged 5-17 years old. Our topics are coordinated with the Family DTS, but our school is open to children from families in other schools at YWAM Chico. The heartbeat behind Foundation school is that “it starts in your heart.” Our desire is to walk alongside the kids as they build their own foundation in the love of Christ, helping them tune in to His voice, and share His love with those around them. Colossians 2:7
Our heart for you is that this would be a time of growth in seeing yourself as the precious treasure you are in Christ. Also, that you would build your identity in your personal relationship with God through His Word, through encounters with His heart, and through dreams, prophetic words, and God-centered relationships.
We believe that by making loving God’s people a priority, whether across the nation or in your own back yard, it will transform not only their lives, but yours as well.
Our conviction is that God is asking each one of us to hold our hands and our hearts wide open to what He is going to do and we can’t wait to see the fruit of our united “yes” to Him.
– Peter and Shelly Christianson
