YUGO Ministries
  Information Packet
   (Online Version)

What is YUGO? Construction
YUGO's Doctrinal Statement Ensenada Outreach Center
Goal #1: Reaching Mexicans
 Interns Needed
Goal #2: Teaching and Training Mexicans Longer-Term Opportunities
Goal #3: Mobilizing North Americans Financial Policies
Life on YUGO's Evangelistic Outreaches Get Involved and Contact Us!
Evangelistic Outreach FAQ  
Mercy Ministries  

 

YUGO
As the Spanish word for "Yoke," it reminds us that Christ said "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me . . . (Matt 11:29 NAS).  It is an acronym for our U.S. incorporated name:
Youth Unlimited Gospel Outreach.   It is also a statement that even YOU can GO and help fulfill God's Great Commission to bring the Gospel to every nation.

YUGO was incorporated as a non-profit mission sending agency in the U.S. in 1965. Canada YUGO began incorporation as a sister organization in November 2000.  Our purpose is: to evangelize Mexico while challenging and mobilizing the church in Mexico and North America to be involved in missions.

In Mexico, YUGO's resident missionaries work to evangelize Mexicans, plant churches, and train Mexican pastors at two Bible Institutes founded by YUGO.

In North America, YUGO's unique ministry brings teams (of mostly young people) from the United States and Canada to enhance our church planting efforts in Mexico. You and your group can be a strategic part of this program. In the process, you will see God answer your prayers, perform miracles and challenge your heart -- all through first-hand experience!

Goals

YUGO Ministries has always operated with three basic goals in mind:

1. Reach Mexicans with the Gospel
2. Teach Mexicans to win others to Christ and make disciples of them.
3. Challenge and mobilize North Americans to get involved in World Missions.

Keeping Focus

The order of these goals is important.  Our number one priority is not to give Americans and Canadians an experience of crossing the border into Mexico.  Rather, we strive to keep focused on reaching and teaching Mexicans, and to train, as best we can, those who participate in our ministry.

Sometimes young people believe that their trip to Mexico with YUGO is going to be another camp experience.  This attitude can be a problem on both sides of the border.  It is best to understand and communicate that the purpose for coming is to serve -- not to have a good or "fun" time. This is not a summer camp experience.  However, many have found that the greatest joy comes through serving.

Priority in the Churches

The New Testament norm for making disciples is through the local church.  This is the reason why all of our ministries at YUGO are aimed at either starting or strengthening churches.  Each outreach team or ministry project is designed to work with a pastor or missionary who is involved in the process of "growing" a church at one point or another.  This is also critical from a legal standpoint.  An invitation from a Mexican citizen enables us to help them with the work they are doing without breaking Mexican law.

If all of our efforts on an outreach are directed at reaching goals (1), (2), and (3) through a local church, then we are not only helping that church, but we are also giving our participants valuable experience in missions and church growth that they can use to minister back home.

  • We believe in the Bible, as the divinely inspired and authoritative Word of God, without error in the original manuscripts.
  • We believe in the triune Godhead in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, executing distinct but harmonious offices in the works of creation, providence and redemption.
  • We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, death, bodily resurrection, present exaltation at the Father's right hand, and His coming again.
  • We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and regenerating, baptizing, sealing and indwelling all true believers.
  • We believe in the personality of Satan and his present control over unregenerate man.
  • We believe in the fallen and lost estate of man, whose total depravity makes necessary his new birth.
  • We believe in the reconciliation of man to God through faith in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
  • We believe in the resurrection of the saved unto everlasting life and blessedness in Heaven, and the resurrection of the unsaved unto everlasting punishment in Hell.
  • We believe in the Church, the indivisible Body of Christ, bound together by the Holy Spirit, consisting only of those who are born again, for whom He now makes intercession in Heaven, and for whom He shall come again.
  • We believe in Christ's great commission to the Church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, baptizing and teaching those who believe.

 

YUGO's primary way of reaching Mexicans with the Gospel is through people like you and churches like yours who bring teams to Mexico to minister for one week.  Each team is assigned a Mexican community in which to work.  They work with Mexican pastors to help their churches grow.  Each team works through an established Mexican church, or a church in the process of being planted. These churches, afterward, provide follow-up for those who receive the Lord as a result of the ministry.

The Outreach Program is very structured.  It is designed to reach the full spectrum of ages in the Mexican community.  Each team is responsible for conducting four ministries (explained below) in their community.  The tasks for each will be divided among the team members.

The Four Ministries

Children's Ministry
YUGO's Children's Ministry is designed to be like a Vacation Bible School.  It includes Bible lessons, memory verses, crafts, activity sheets, games, etc.  There are two sessions of the Children's ministry each day, one during the day and one in the evening.

Sports Ministry
The Sports Ministry is designed to attract teenage boys.  The team initiates a game of soccer, basketball, football, or whatever fits the local circumstances.  During half-time, the team presents the Gospel through a concise, evangelistic lesson or testimony.

Women's Ministry
The Women's Ministry is intended for teenage to adult women.  It is very relational. There is a discussion-oriented lesson and a craft.  Sharing the Lord is done through conversation related to the lesson.  Question sheets and craft materials are provided.

Evening Ministry
The best opportunity to reach the men is in the evening.  Most Mexican men work during the day and are not available in the afternoon.  The Evening Ministry is similar to a church service.  There is time for singing, testimonies and a sermon.

These four ministries have proven to be very successful. Through them, YUGO sees approximately one Mexican person receive Christ for every participant who comes to Mexico. In other words, if we have an outreach of 300 people, we would expect to see about 300 Mexicans give their lives to Jesus.

Each team is responsible to fill out "Decision Cards" with the names and addresses of the people who receive Christ, and give them to the Mexican pastor so he can follow up on them.

Interpreters

The question often arises, how are we able to conduct effective ministry with a language barrier? The answer: through interpreters.  Each team needs to recruit three interpreters from their home community.  These interpreters need to be competent in both Spanish and English.  It is preferable that the interpreters take part in the training process so they can enhance the training with their own knowledge of Mexican culture and practice the lessons with those who will be teaching.

YUGO does have a limited number of volunteer staff interpreters who are available to teams (particularly from northern states and provinces).  However, we do not have a large number, and we cannot promise that enough will be available to help any particular team.  There is a daily charge for using YUGO's interpreters which covers their registration and transportation.  A section on how you can recruit interpreters is included in our training materials.

Literature Ministry

One key tool in any missionary's toolbox is literature!   This is why YUGO provides all its ministry teams with a complete supply of tracts and New Testaments in Spanish.  Included are tracts for children, teens, adults, and those who have just received Christ.  These Spanish tracts are designed to make communication of the Gospel easier and more effective.  New Testaments are also provided for those who come to know Christ during YUGO Outreaches.

 

YUGO is not interested in leading people to Christ, and then abandoning them to struggle through the Christian life alone.  The following are ways that we encourage the Mexican church to grow spiritually as well as numerically.

On the Outreaches

Decision Cards
One of the first steps we take to train Mexicans, is to make sure they receive basic discipleship after receiving Christ.  To facilitate this, YUGO provides a "Decision Card."  These cards ask for the person's name and address, and need to be filled out by the teams as people receive Christ.  Then they are given to the Mexican pastor, so that he can follow-up on the new believers.

New Testaments
YUGO provides a free New Testament in Spanish to each person who comes to Christ through the Outreach Ministry, provided that they are able to read and do not already have a good Bible.

Tecate Mission Correspondence Course
Tecate Mission provides a comprehensive correspondence course free of charge.  It is designed to give the new believer a basic understanding of the Scriptures.  As the student progresses through the program, they are given a New Testament, and eventually a full Bible free of charge.  Registration cards for this course are provided to all ministry teams.

Supplementing the Outreaches

Instituto Biblico Logos — Mexicali
Many pastors in Mexico do not have sufficient biblical training. They are committed to evangelism and service to the Lord, but they need additional training.  Because of this, in 1985, YUGO helped found and build a Bible Institute in Mexicali, Mexico called Instituto Biblico Logos (Logos Bible Institute). The Institute is currently training Mexican pastors to lead their congregations more effectively.

Instituto Biblico de la Gracia — Tijuana
In 1997, YUGO also established a second Bible Institute at our Tijuana Outreach Center, the Grace Bible Institute.  There, we are developing trained Christian leaders in the three-million-plus city of Tijuana.

Christian Education in Local Churches
Many Mexican church leaders are unacquainted with the most effective Christian education methods. Full-time YUGO missionaries are involved in helping individual Mexican churches develop a better Christian Education program.

* More information is available at YUGO's Bible Institute ministry web page.  

 

We make no apologies. We're after your heart!

Not only are we striving to reach Mexico for Christ, but we are trying to reach the United
States and Canada for World Missions.  We want to show people of all ages the tremendous
need of world missions and the profound impact that you can make.  This is not just another camp experience or cross-cultural challenge.

A wonderful result of this ministry is that your group will probably change.  Most likely, they will not see things the same way when they return as they did when they left.  Many youth pastors have told us that their groups have reached a spiritual maturity that they never would have reached without some hardships, frustrations, obstacles, and rewards that a short-term missions trip provides.

On a YUGO Outreach, your group will learn teamwork and will gain a true perspective on reality.  The following participant testimonies illustrate this:

"This is my third year coming to Mexico with YUGO. Each year I have been encouraged and each year I feel more and more God pulling my heart toward the mission field. The first year I thought my mission field would be my church so I have worked faithfully there for two and a half years. Now I'm really feeling that I want to go out of my 'comfort zone' and totally experience the missionary life and serving God in areas that have never heard the Good News."  - - Lisa

"Each year I see not only the work in the villages, but God's power, miracles and provision, too. I think most of all, YUGO helps me and others see reality - spiritual reality - and helps me regain a correct perspective of what it is to be a Christian, to bow down before God and to live each day what I believe, not just for one hour on Sunday." - - Greg

"When I first came here, I did not know what to expect. I was nervous about teaching a lesson. I was afraid to be up in front of people talking. But, the Lord took care of everything and even though I did not speak well, I got my point across. At the village, I realized that the people are willing and ready to learn about Jesus Christ and accept Him into their hearts. The Lord made me realize how lucky I am to have all the things I have. So many things are taken for granted. I have learned to appreciate them more. Just like the people of Mexico appreciate what they have. The Lord has touched my heart and this is an experience that I will never forget. It has made me closer to the Lord spiritually. Working with the women and children was such a joy."   - - Stephanie

 

Life on YUGO's Evangelistic Outreaches

The Daily Schedule

Morning Schedule at Outreach Headquarters
7:30 am       Optional Morning Watch
8:00 am       Breakfast
8:00 am       Leaders' Meeting
8:30 am       Team Meetings
9:30 am       Training Time
10:30 am     Chapel
11:30 am     Quiet Time
12:00 noon  Lunch
12:45 pm     Check-out and leave for field

Afternoon Schedule in the Village
1:30 pm       Arrive and canvas the area
2:30 pm       Afternoon Ministries
4:00 pm       Break for Planning,Prayer & Dinner
6:00 pm       Evening Ministries
8:00 pm       Leave for Outreach Headquarters

Evening Schedule at Outreach Headquarters
8:30 pm       Check-in and Snack
9:00 pm       Prayer and Share
11:00 pm     Lights out!

YUGO has to use a couple different schedules for the various outreaches. The schedule for the Acuna conferences differ slightly from the "normal" one (see box on right), but all schedules include the elements given in the example shown here.

Each ministry team will have opportunities to serve throughout the week by helping to prepare lunches and clean up after meals, and by helping to keep the facilities and grounds neat and clean.

These assignments are made randomly, and every effort is made to keep the assignments fair.

If your group needs to allow for an early departure, arrangements can probably be made with the Outreach Director.   These arrangements should be made prior to your arrival at the Outreach Headquarters.

Departure from the Outreach Headquarters at the end of the week occurs only after we have cleaned and organized the area.  You can plan on leaving the Outreach Headquarters by noon on the last day of the Outreach.

Daily Chapel Time

Our goal in organizing our Outreaches is to provide quality speakers who are aware and excited about World Missions.  While there are many "youth speakers" available, we have found that few of them are tuned in to what God is doing in His Church around the world.  We look for speakers whose style appeals to a youthful audience!

Recognizing this, we have worked long and hard to develop a core of qualified and interesting speakers and worship leaders for our chapel programs.   If you are aware of any speakers and/or music groups that we should contact, please let us know.  Our chapels are always a highlight and we appreciate your input and help.

Accommodations

YUGO Outreach teams are housed at base camps in Mexico.   In Tijuana, participants may sleep in dormitories, though on larger outreaches, some will need to bring tents.   For the Spring Outreaches at the Instituto Biblico Logos in Mexicali, teams also provide their own tents.  For the New Year's outreach in Mexicali, there is sufficient dorm space for the teams to sleep inside.  In Acuna, the Outreaches are centered in a local christian camp and the teams sleep in dormitories. 

Daily Meals

Participants rate YUGO food as excellent!  The breakfast menu includes pancakes, breakfast burritos, eggs, and the like.  On departure day, we will have cereal and pastries available.  Lunch is the main meal of the day on most Outreaches.  This is some of the best "camp" food you'll ever taste! The menu changes from year to year, but you might have barbequed hamburgers, pasta shells, burritos, taco salad, or chicken enchiladas.  All lunches include veggies and something to drink. Dinner is served picnic style.  Each team will be given sandwiches, fruit, chips, soft drinks, and a dessert snack. You will take this with you each day and eat it someplace near your ministry location.

WARNING: The outreach schedule is intense. Experience has shown that participants who do not eat every meal and drink plenty of liquids may become ill.

In the Communities

You will be assigned to work with a local Mexican contact.   He is usually the pastor of a church, or might be in the process of planting a new church.  You are there to encourage him and help his ministry grow.  Your job is to come prepared to conduct all the assigned ministries.  However, sometimes you may need to shuffle things around a bit in order to make them effective.

For example, you might wind up doing your sports ministry in the evening rather than in the afternoon.  Or, you might need to adapt the Women's Ministry for a smaller group.  Overall, the key is to go in with a plan and be ready to change that plan as needed.  Your Mexican contact will let you know how and what you will need to change in order to make your ministry most effective.  If you need a YUGO staff person for any reason, we would be happy to come to your assigned community to help you work things out.

* For more information about YUGO's outreaches, including upcoming dates, please see Outreach Information.

Mercy Ministries

If you are moved by the desperate, physical needs of the poor in Mexico, we have the perfect ministry outlet for you!  While YUGO Ministries is largely focused on evangelizing Mexico by using the zeal and energy of American and Canadian youth groups, we do not want to forget the Mexican people's physical needs, especially the very poor.

YUGO's Mercy Ministries program acts as the feet, hands, and heart of Christ to reach Mexican people in a very practical, hands-on way.  You can be a part of Mercy Ministries by helping us build food kitchens and homes.  Also, you can come on Care Days, Work Trips, or bring a medical team to work in the villages.  Some opportunities open to you to show God's love are:

Breakfast Programs

In Mexico, schools turn hungry children away on the premise that they don't learn and are disruptive to the rest of the class.  Consequently, these children grow up with little education, which hinders their chances of rising above their poverty.  To address the needs of these children, YUGO has begun a number of breakfast program ministries in the areas of Ensenada, Mexicali and Tijuana.  Your donations will help provide breakfast or lunch for children before each school day. 

Shelter Program

Want to help build a home?  Our Shelter Program provides needed shelter for very poor Mexican families for roughly $4,000-$6,250 (U.S.) each.   You can help us transform hazardous shacks into suitable living spaces, and provide them a cleaner, healthier environment to live in.  You and your group of willing volunteers can either financially sponsor a house to be built, come down to build a home, do roofing, or actually help preserve existing homes.

Project Joy

Send a Christmas gift to a needy child in Mexico!   Often, poor children in Mexico do not receive any Christmas gifts because their families are too poor to afford the expense.  Through Project Joy, you can provide a little Christmas joy to a poor child by sending him a shoebox gift.  To participate you must buy a small gift for a child (guidelines are sent upon request), indicate the age and sex it is intended for, wrap it in a shoe box, enclose $5 for duty, and mail it to us. If you are interested, please call our office for specific guidelines and more information.

Care Days

Come down to Mexico for a day or two to help share the love of Christ.  Our Care Days give you an opportunity outside of our traditional Outreach program to come for a weekend to do children's ministry and more.  You can tell a Bible story to Mexican children, provide a simple craft, bring food and clothes to give away, share a meal with the children, and much more!  Your group of junior high, high school, college age or adults can come for only $35 (U.S.) per person. For more information contact YUGO's U.S. or Canadian office.

Care Trips (Work Trips)

Want more opportunities to help?  Care Trips, also known as work trips, provide a broader missions opportunity including construction trips, work weeks and special projects.  Again, your group of junior high, high school, or college age adults and older can come and help build a church or a kitchen, and/or a much needed medical clinic.  You can also bring a volunteer medical team, or join us on special project trips. 

For more information on these and additional opportunities, please see our Mercy Ministries web page. 

Construction

YUGO's purpose is to help build the "church" in Mexico.  While Mercy Ministries has many construction opportunities that reach out to the community, there are also times when church growth is hindered by lack of adequate facilities.  If building is your passion, we can accommodate you!  We want to do what we can to help church "structures" keep up with the needs of their growing congregations.

YUGO's own facilities need up-keep as well.  We want to continue to expand our youth and family evangelistic outreach programs.  Sometimes our facilities are unable to accommodate all the people who want to minister with us. We are expanding the Tijuana Outreach Center.  We have plans for a dining hall and other buildings that will be a great blessing during the Outreaches.  It will also be used by Grace Bible Institute students.

Instituto Biblico Logos in Mexicali also requires up-keep.  There is always maintenance to be done there, as well as expansion needs.  We need a new multi-purpose building that will give us space to expand the kitchen.  It will also give the school more office space, allow for the expansion of the library, and have adequate room for the booming new Awana program.

If you are interested in doing a construction project with us, come help us build a home, a Mexican church, or work on a YUGO facility, we want you to join us. We will try our best to match project needs with your budget and available time.

 

Ensenada Outreach Center

If the regular YUGO program does not fit your schedule or particular ministry interests, we offer our Ensenada Outreach Center, to further adapt to your specific needs.

EOC

EOC is located 4 miles south of Ensenada in the sleepy little pueblo of Chapultepec. It is a safe, enclosed campus within walking distance of the local beaches.  The community is cleaner and more representative of the Mexican culture than cities along the border, and the climate is unusually temperate and comfortable for ministry all year round.  Ensenada is often overlooked for short-term mission efforts because of its reputation for tourism.  In fact, tourism involves less than 1 % of the 600,000 people in Ensenada, and less than 5% of these people are evangelical Christian.

At the center, we encourage you to use your creativity to fit your group.  (We can provide VBS materials at an added cost).  Ask yourself, "what are the strengths and gifts of our group?" Maybe it's building a house for a poor family.  Maybe it's working with indigenous people groups. Maybe it's ministry to children through drama, puppets, mime and VBS.  Maybe it's street ministry. Maybe it's a mercy ministry of feeding children or holding a medical outreach.  Maybe it's sports ministry.  Whatever your interests are, we will coordinate all ministry opportunities for you and provide interpreters if needed. To make reservations, please contact Teri Littlefield.

The Facility

Our facility is able to hold groups up to200 people and provides a close-up look at what missionary life really is.  We lodge our guests in dorms with hot showers, all within a protected setting.  We also provide three meals a day in a comfortable dining area.  Separate meeting areas are available for your group to have devotions and ministry time.  We want your team to be bonded, unified and ready for work or ministry.  We encourage you to come alongside us, and assist us in our on-going ministry opportunities.

* You may visit our Ensenada Outreach Center web page for more information.

Interns Needed

As an extension of our short-term missions program, we invite you to come intern with us.  Then you can know God's will in the area of missions with first-hand experience. We desire to touch the world by giving you a window to World Missions. You can intern with us in one of two programs.

At our Tijuana facility, YUGO's Summer Staffing Team (SST) program provides an opportunity for college age and older people.  As a "camp worker" you will help make it possible for over 1,500 people to serve in Mexico during the summer. This ten week position also allows you to earn up to $1,000.  Please see our Summer Staffing Team web page for more information. 

If you serve as an intern in Ensenada, you will experience hosting others in ministry, assisting with feeding programs for the poor, helping with medical clinics and possibly being part of a construction team.  Internship opportunities in Ensenada are available year-round and for a variable length of time. You may contact Scott for more information.

 

Longer-Term Opportunities

Volunteer Opportunities

YUGO Outreaches cannot run without the help of those willing to serve as Volunteer Staff!  Staff duties include: helping in the kitchen, conducting training meetings, serving on trash detail, coordinating special services (bathroom detail), working in YUGO's little store, helping with first aid, coordinating the check-in/out procedures, coordinating literature and films, and many other positions.  If you think you would like to help on Volunteer Staff for a week or two, we would love to have you.  Staff positions are free, but we do need you to register in advance so we know who is coming to help.  Please contact the U.S. YUGO Office. You may come for just one week or several weeks!

Summer Staffing Team

YUGO's Summer Staffing Team (SST) program provides an opportunity for those 17 years of age and older to spend a full summer (10 weeks) with us helping to staff our youth outreach ministry.  Each SST participant raises support to cover their cost in the program.  They also have the opportunity to raise an additional $1,000 (U.S.) to be paid to them for school expenses or general use after the summer.

Interpreter Opportunities / Summer Interpreter Team

It is next to impossible to be effective in ministry without verbal communication.  Hence, YUGO has a great need for interpreters.  Most teams come to Mexico with three interpreters from their own home communities.  This is ideal.  But, some teams (particularly from further north) have a harder time recruiting interpreters.  They ask us to supply additional interpreters.  If you speak both Spanish and English fluently and would like to serve as a Volunteer Staff Interpreter, contact Brian Andrews. You may come for one week (during Christmas), or for one or more weeks during the Spring Summer.  If you are interested in interpreting for the entire summer, ask about our Summer Interpreter Team.  This is a ten week program during our busiest time of year (and most needed time for interpreters!).

Short Term Opportunities

YUGO (U.S.) and Canada YUGO have opportunities from three months to two years.  Some of these short term positions will allow you to work in our U.S. or Canadian offices.  Other positions involve assisting at Logos or Grace Bible Institutes in Mexico, helping in church planting ministry, or working with a Mexican pastor in a local community.

If you have had three years of Spanish language study or speak Spanish fluently, you can start children's ministries in a Mexican church.   This may involve starting a music program or a youth ministry, either of which greatly expand a church's outreach in their neighborhood.

We also have short term positions in our Mercy Ministries programs.  We need people to assist with medical clinics and children's feeding programs in poor Mexican communities.

If you have musical talent, you can also serve for one year in Mexico.  You can lead worship in a local Mexican church and direct worship for chapel services during our evangelistic outreaches.

Career Opportunities

As a missionary sending agency, YUGO is not be able to function without career missionaries.  As YUGO and Canada YUGO continue to expand, our need for more career people grows.  We need church planters, Bible institute instructors, office staff, construction supervisors, food service workers, graphic arts specialists, Christian Education trainers, and support personnel.  If you or someone you know is considering a career in missions, we would LOVE to talk to you.

 

Financial Policies

YUGO Ministries is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.  We are audited by an independent auditor each year to ensure that we handle the Lord's money in a manner ethically, responsibly and in accordance with all laws.

How are YUGO Missionaries paid?

We are often asked how we are able to run our Outreaches for such a reasonable price.  The reason is simple.  YUGO missionaries are not paid by the registration fees.  All missionaries (including administrative missionaries working in the U.S. or Canadian offices) raise support from churches and individuals who believe in this ministry.  Our secretarial staff are paid hourly out of YUGO's general fund.  In this way, we minimize your costs to minister with us.  This also ensures that our missionaries are prayed for and supported by other believers and church groups.

Pray, Go, Give . . .

Winning somebody's heart for missions means more than convincing them that they should pray for missions or be willing to go to the field.   It also means encouraging them to give financially to World Missions.  The faithfulness of God's people in this area can be the difference between having the tools to be effective, and not having those tools. A missionary with no money cannot feed his family, and will not be able to stay on the field.  So we encourage participants to support this ministry and others that are doing a work for God's Kingdom.

The first way we do this is by taking an offering on the last day of each Outreach.  Money from this is designated by the YUGO Board of Directors to meet specific needs on the field.  Another way we do this is through a series of three letters sent to adult participants, and parents of student participants asking them to support YUGO financially.  These letters are simply an opportunity to be financially involved in what YUGO is doing.  Once the three letters have been sent, people who chose not to respond are removed from our mailing list.