Why I went on SBS

I completed my SBS (School of Biblical Studies) at the YWAM base in Sunshine Coast, Australia, from September 2022 to June 2023.

Before that, I had attended a DTS (Discipleship Training School) at the YWAM base in Tijuana. I had just come through one of the hardest seasons of my life and found renewed life in Christ.

For the past five years or so, I had been battling depression, which had taken a significant toll on me. I engaged in a lot of partying and tried to drink away my problems. When I woke up, I would either play video games to escape into a virtual world or work incessantly to avoid dealing with my real-life issues.

For a long time, I tried to fill the “God space” in my heart with all kinds of things. But it wasn’t until I went on DTS that I found my way back to God. My mother had told me, “I would never force you to do a DTS, but it is a must.” Somehow, that logic stuck with me, and I decided to go on DTS. There, I finally gave God permission to change me. I found so much truth in Him and decided to follow Him with my whole heart again. After the DTS, I stayed on campus for a month as a volunteer. During this time, God took away my depression and healed me completely. I had a friend who also encountered God for the first time on DTS. I thought to myself, “Man, I miss being a new Christian; they have so much fire and love.” Then God spoke to me, like a whisper in the wind, saying, “It’s not about being a new Christian; it’s about being in my Word.”

I took that to heart and started reading His Word in a whole new way, seeing things I had never seen before and falling more and more in love with who He is. I decided to take on the biggest challenge I had ever undertaken. I decided that if I was to believe in the Bible, I should read the whole thing—not just read it, but study it. I chose to do an SBS, as it was a secondary school to my DTS and offered everything I needed. It involved nine months of study, where I would go through the Bible five times, make my own commentary, understand the historical background, the context of when it was written, theology, and devote myself fully to Him without any distractions. I started researching where I could do this. COVID-19 was still a concern, but the first website that popped up was YWAM Sunshine Coast, which accepted vaccinated people (and later opened for all). I thought to myself, “What an opportunity to dive into His Word and explore a bit of Australia,” a place I’ve always wanted to go.

Start of SBS

I’m not going to lie, it was tough. I already wanted to give up on the first book, Philemon, and it wasn’t that long. I should also mention that I have never been good at school. All of a sudden, it didn’t quite feel like I had made the right decision. However, I had a good coach who told me I was making great progress and that I could do it. I had never been told before that I was good at school, so I was confused but also happy. It didn’t matter what other teachers had told me I could or could not do. What mattered was what God said! He called me to be here, and He would give me the strength to continue with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

After this, I started making a lot of progress in my studies and saw a lot of amazing things through the lens of the SBS motto: “The Bible is written for us, not to us.” This means that when you read or study the Bible, you have to think about the original hearers and readers, and then consider how we can apply it to our lives today.

Reading the Bible with this method brought it more to life, making me think differently about how to approach it—not just as a dusty old book, but as the living Word that lives in us. We will never fully understand the entire Bible, as every single verse has so much to unpack, and all the time on earth isn’t enough.

Being on SBS

I learned so much about the fear of the LORD and how beautiful it is that our God has a Name, Yahweh. I also grew fond of the Old Testament, seeing how much it is still needed today and how much there is to learn from it. It is packed with wisdom, history, and values that are important.

I made great friends, people I will cherish for the rest of my life. We grew together in our knowledge of the Bible, which brought us closer than casual friendships usually do, as it connected us on a spiritual level. They became my family very quickly. It was the best feeling when one of us, excited about a discovery in the living Word, would run to share it. We would sit in awe of how awesome our God is. Of course, these discoveries sometimes led to different theories, like “Did Adam and Eve have bellybuttons?” I know it’s silly, but these types of questions could explode into huge discussions, which were fun to dive into. We would stop at some point, but my point is that we had the time to do so. Our main goal for nine months was to study the Bible. We didn’t need to worry about work, friends, family, or many of the things we had to deal with in everyday life at home. These things still mattered, but our main focus was the Bible. It was surreal for a person like me, who had many difficulties with concentrating and studying, to fall so in love with it. This was a testimony to how great our God is and proof that the Bible is the LIVING WORD and that anything that comes through Him is possible. I had always counted my problems as big and never saw any end to them. But when I stopped telling God how big my problems were and started telling my problems how big my God was, everything became clear.

I would be lying if I said this wasn’t hard. There were many hours of study. It wasn’t until halfway through the year that I made some changes to my schedule, like getting up early and going to bed early. This small change made a huge impact. Getting at least eight hours of sleep does wonders, and rest is so important. I know a lot of people don’t get eight hours, myself included. I challenge you to try it for a month, then look back and see the change in your attitude, energy level, and how much you accomplish with enough sleep. Rest is important—God rested after creating the world. He even made the seventh day holy, the Sabbath. It is not lazy to rest! Resting is also not about looking at a screen all day. It’s about enjoying and relaxing with family, friends, going to church, reading a good book, and reading the Bible. These activities give you energy instead of taking it away. After studying a bit in the morning, I would work out. Since we had so many hours of studying, sitting down and not moving much, it was necessary to work out to clear one’s mind. Eating healthy was definitely a must as well, and the YWAM base was very good at providing nice meals ready for us to either make or get served.

I really grew a lot during my time in SBS by gaining more knowledge of God’s Word and developing a desire to do more for His kingdom here on earth. After returning from SBS, I began leading Bible studies, volunteering two days a week at my church, and being a part of the young adults group. I have delivered several Bible preachings for the young adults in my church and have also gone out to other churches to teach the Bible, preach, participate in Q&A panels, and share testimonies.

I dedicated just nine months of my time and allowed God to lead me further into His plans for me. Walking with God has changed my life completely! I would recommend any Bible school to anyone I meet because it’s such a special time where you can devote every second to Him. I am excited about the new adventure that awaits in YWAM Colorado Springs and ready for the challenges that lie ahead.