YWAM Information Technology

The way we view YWAM affects the kind of IT systems that we build.

To illustrate how our view of YWAM affects IT, this lets look at the area of web presence of YWAMers and YWAM ministries. Leaders across the mission see different things when they see YWAM.

If we look at YWAM and see individual YWAM staff and their needs then we will build solutions that are person-centric. We will build systems that help our staff to create web presence separate from the base where they are studying or serving. For the person moving from base to base, this means that their move does not affect the way that their information is presented to the world. In this approach the context for the person's web presence would be the whole mission.

If however we look at YWAM and see groups of people working together, we will approach things in a quite different way. For example, we may approach things from a base-centric or team-centric way. A base oriented solution would offer staff and students the opportunity to create a web presence in the context of the web presence of the overall base. The individual's pages, blogs, photo albums, and so on will be presented as a part of a bigger whole that is smaller than the whole mission.

There are also variations here. For some parts of YWAM the natural grouping my not be at the base level. YWAM in some countries may have a desire for a highly integrated strategy that creates a national-centric presence for YWAM, its bases and all its staff.

And of course, lets not forget the family of ministries. When some leaders look at YWAM the first thing they see is the UofN or Kings Kids. If that is true, then the systems that they build would be oriented around the needs of that group. We could call this family-of-ministry centric.

The way we look at YWAM is linked to the way we look at life in general. If we come from a more individualistic cultural background, we may see YWAM in one way. On the other hand, if we are from a more group oriented culture, we may tend to see YWAM differently. For many YWAM leaders, separating the person from the group to create solutions makes no sense at all. For others, it makes perfect sense.

When we are talking about our IT needs, lets be clear about what is at the centre of the needs we are seeing! Are we seeing this need as primarily the need of many individuals or is it a group need. These multiple views of YWAM are part of our mission. Which view comes more easily to you? Would you naturally focus on individuals in creating solutions, or would you naturally focus on bases or teams?