At the end of June our province entered Phase 3 of BC's Restart Plan for COVID-19, with guidelines and extra safety precautions for sectors in Phase 2 still in place.

People can now take part in smart, safe and respectful travel within British Columbia, and the following businesses have also reopened in accordance to certain measures:

Our  Chronological School of Biblical Studies (CSBS) graduated early July. We celebrated our students with a ceremony in a park and maintained physically distanced house bubbles.

We have now begun promotions for our next CSBS this September, for students located in Canada. This school will be in-person and have a maximum of 8 students.

Our staff continue to work remotely from home, while we search for a new location. After a lot of prayer we have decided to move to the Commercial Drive area in the Grandview–Woodland neighbourhood of East Vancouver. We have a rich history in this location and felt God direct us to plant here.

Please join us in prayer for provision of a building and finances.

Our staff also continue to volunteer weekly at CityReach Care Society and Whole Way House. Partnering with these local organizations has been a mutual blessing for us and the people we serve.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,

We are now in Phase 2 of BC's Restart Plan for COVID-19. For our province, what this means is restrictions have lifted slightly to include the following:

The only school we have operating right now is our  Chronological School of Biblical Studies (CSBS) which continues online, and will be graduating at the beginning of July.

We will be running the next CSBS this September, for students located in Canada. This school will be in-person and have a maximum of 8 students.

Our Thailand and Cambodia short-term mission trip has been postponed to August. Contact us if you are interested in joining or have questions about the trip during COVID-19.

As we moved out of our Training Centre last month, our staff continue to work from home. We have also been serving in the city by volunteering weekly at a number of local organizations including CityReach, Salvation Army, and Whole Way House.

We continue to follow guidelines and take advice from the BC and Federal Government health authorities.

Please pray for us as we continue to ask God where our next location should be and financial provision for a building.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,

As you may have seen on our Instagram or Facebook, we are in the process of moving out of the YWAM Vancouver Training Centre. We have been fortunate enough to be released from our lease early, which is a huge answer to pray for us.

All YWAM Vancouver staff and students will continue to work/class from their homes. We are currently praying and seeking the Lord on what the future will look like for us in terms of the type of building and where we should be in the city.

Our Chronological School of Biblical Studies continues online, with the third and final quarter commencing last week. Our students are still in Vancouver, and will be connecting with staff via Zoom.
Our two staff members who previously presented symptoms of COVID-19, have both recovered and are healthy again.

Every day we are monitoring guidelines from the government health authorities, and are referring to the BC and Federal Government websites for regular updates.

Please pray for us to continue to be obedient to God's call for us while we remain here in Vancouver. Please don't hesitate to contact us should you have any prayer requests.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,

British Columbia's provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, declared COVID-19 a public health emergency on March 17th. The British Columbia Government then declared a provincial state of emergency on March 19th.

British Columbians are being asked to stay home as much as possible to reduce the possibility of spreading  the virus to others and if anyone if showing any signs of illness in whatever form are told to stay inside.

Physical and social distancing is also being mandated, requesting all to keep a 2 metre distance between yourself and others should you need to leave your home.

Across Vancouver, public parks, including playgrounds, tennis courts, skateparks etc. have been closed, in addition to restaurants, coffee shops and bars, which are take-out only.

In response to this, YWAM Vancouver staff and students continue to work/class from our homes and follow the guidelines given to us by the British Columbia public health office.

Last weekend, all students (but one) from our Snowboarders and Skiers Discipleship Training School (SDTS) travelled home.

The University of the Nations (UofN) approved all Discipleship Training Schools from the first quarter of 2020 to graduate their students who had successfully completed 11 weeks of lecture, waiving the 8-12 week outreach phase which normally follows. They will therefore be able to apply for further studies in secondary schools or as staff should they choose to.

Our Chronological School of Biblical Studies continues, with all classes being conducted via online video calls.

As a staff, we are connecting every day in our respective departments via phone call or video. We are also prioritising weekly staff meetings, times of prayer, devotionals and social gatherings online.

At present, two staff members have shown symptoms of COVID-19. Both have had medical assistance and are taking serious precautions to self-isolate as dictated by the BCCDC.

Please pray for us to remain in the Lord in this unique season and ask Him what His purpose is for us at such a time as this! We pray for you too, and welcome you to contact us should you have any prayer requests.

Every day we are monitoring guidelines from the government health authorities, and are referring to the BC and Federal Government websites for regular updates.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made his announcement this morning regarding additional measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19, we have also decided to take additional measures here at YWAM Vancouver.

As of today, March 16, 2020, all YWAM Vancouver staff and students will work/class from home until further notice.

Currently we have two schools underway including our Snowboarders and Skiers Discipleship Training School and Chronological School of Biblical Studies. Both of these are continuing, but will operate remotely maintaining appropriate levels of social distancing as required. If students would feel safer returning home, they have been given the option to do so.

If any staff, students or anyone in their home present symptoms, even if they are mild, they are being asked to continue to stay home and self-isolate for 14 days.

YWAM Vancouver staff and student shared housing will also be undergoing a deep clean. Frequently used spaces, surfaces and objects will also be sanitized on a regimented basis.

Staff and students who are currently abroad, will be returning home and self-isolating for 14 days.
All communication and meetings will be happening online. We have stressed the importance for the YWAM Vancouver community to stay connected and to continue meeting virtually. As a community we need to support each other in this time, and have provided a channel for any prayer or practical needs to be communicated.

Please pray for us to continue to seek the Lord's wisdom regarding how best to respond. We also pray for you too, for good health and for hope in Jesus Christ our Lord Saviour.

As discussed, we will continue to monitor guidelines from the government health authorities, and are referring to the BC and Federal Government websites for regular updates.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,

As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow, we are committed to the health and safety of all of our staff, students, teams, their families, the wider YWAM Vancouver community and those in our city.

B.C. health officials have announced new measures to curb the spread, including a ban on gatherings of over 250 people and a plea for people to stop all non-essential travel outside of Canada, including to the United States.

These decisions have already impacted us significantly and we have prayerfully decided to follow their recommendations. As a result, the following changes have been made to our schools, programs and ministries:

In an effort to prevent the spread of the virus, we have set a number of sanitation and hygiene measures in place here at YWAM Vancouver. We are asking staff and students who are presenting any symptoms to stay home, and recommending those who can, to work from home for the next couple weeks.

Please join us in praying for those sick, those at risk, and those walking through this crisis without the Lord. We are expectant to see how God uses what the enemy intended for evil for His good! We are all in this together and pray that God remains the guide in all of our decision making and not fear. He is sovereign!

We will continue to monitor guidelines from the government health authorities.
For additional information about the Coronavirus in Vancouver please go to the BC and Federal Government websites.

We pray that you will remain safe. We are deeply grateful for your patience and will keep you updated on the next steps moving forward.

May the peace of God be with you all.

On behalf of YWAM Vancouver's Leadership Team,