Our Purpose
Awake Nations Ministries' purpose is three-fold:
1. Discipleship: Training young men and women for the work of the ministry through our dynamic Ministry Training School. Students not only receive bible classes and teaching, but also hands on experience in ministry and administration. Our goal is to create intimate discipleship that only comes through deep, personal relationships. Upon completing our school, students will have adequate bible knowledge and training, first hand experience in ministry and administration, and deep lifelong relationships with their peers. The Ministry Training School is raising up a new generation of leaders. We are literally "shaping the youth that will shape our tomorrow".
2. Local Church Training: 90% of the world's youth population live outside of the United States but receive only 10% of the ministry. It is our desire to bring fresh and dynamic training to local churches in the area of youth ministry. We train the local body how to effectively reach young people in their communities. We show them how to disciple these young people and minister to their needs in a relevant way. If we are not reaching the next generation then anything we do for God dies with us. We must be able to effectively minister and train the next generation so that when it's their time to carry the torch they will be ready.
3. Awake Youth Conferences: Awake Nations Ministries will travel extensively throughout Latin America partnering with local churches in order to host radical and passionate youth conferences that will ignite passion for God among the youth. Awake Conferences will bring fresh, relevant music and messages that minister to this generation and challenge them to arise to what God has called them to do. It is our desire to see a youth revolution throughout Latin America; a revival among young people that reaches the four corners of the earth. Awake Conferences will also serve as a learning platform for students in our Ministry Training School. They will be heavily involved in the planning, organizing and serving required by these events. They will also be able to minister at different capacities at these conferences for first hand ministry experience.
J.D. Heiney is a third generation preacher and second generation missionary. Having grown up in ministry and as a missionary kid in Venezuela, the Lord called J.D. to full-time ministry at the age of 16. God birthed an intense passion for the youth of Venezuela and Latin America in his heart and after graduating from High School in 2000, J.D. attended Decatur Master's Commission in Decatur, Alabama for ministry training. While in Master's Commission, J.D.'s vision for Venezuela grew stronger and thanks to the wonderful discipleship and mentorship of DMC director, Danny Gibson, J.D. began planning Venezuela's first Master's Commission program. After two years at Decatur Master's Commission, J.D. began his career in missions and returned to Venezuela where he youth pastored at Destiny Church International in Caracas. This was an incredible learning experience as God began defining more and more the specifics of J.D.'s calling.
"The Lord spoke to me so clearly while I was youth pastoring and showed me that I wasn't called to be a typical youth pastor. It wasn't until I invited some of my youth to go with me to a church I had been invited to speak at that I truly came to an understanding of my purpose in the kingdom. I allowed some of the young men to speak in the church, just to give them an opportunity that they might never have otherwise. When I did that and saw how it affected them; how it changed many of their lives, I knew right then that I was called to disciple and raise up ministers."
Today, J.D. is the founder and president of Awake Nations Ministries,
a ministry with a vision to ignite passion for God among the
youth of Venezuela and all of Latin America.
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