Hawaii 2012: the details YOU want to know.

How did this come about?  
Jim has been in and out of YWAM since 2003 and Jess since 2008.  We both were students in YWAM Kona’s SBS I (school of biblical studies) in the fall of 2008.  

This past December we were approached by the new school leader, who was a student with us in 2008.  She asked us to prayerfully consider coming on staff for the April 2012 School of Biblical studies. 

What is YWAM?  
YWAM is an acronym for Youth With A Mission.

YWAM is an international, interdenominational Christian missions organization.  It was founded in the 1960’s by Loren Cunningham who had a vision to see young people released into the mission field.  (This was something that was not happening during that time.)

It currently has over 1000 operating locations in 180 countries.

Their mission statement is: “To know God and make Him known.”

You can read more about the organization from their website.

How long will you be there?  
Staff training starts March 12th 2012, with the school starting on April 2nd.  We leave Maryland March 10th which happens to be Jess’ birthday.  The school ends December 19th 2012.  We are not exactly sure when we will return to the mainland but we will definitely be back in early 2013.


Where exactly will you be?  
We fly into Honolulu (Oahu) on March 11th.  We will spend the first 4 months in Honolulu and will move to Kona which is on the Big Island sometime in July.  We will be living on the YWAM bases in those locations.

Didn’t you start a ministry in Maryland in July of 2011?  What is happening with that?  
We did!  The Bakers Ministry // REMAIN was started as a 501c3 in July of 2011.


We formed a board of Trustees and have been meeting on a regular basis.  

We also started a weekly bible study and a weekly worship and prayer gathering.  We have spent intentional time with two members of this group and seen evident leadership qualities in both of them.   We have been overseeing these leaders for the past two months while they lead and we feel confident that they are ready to lead on their own!

How did you make your decision to do this?  
On December 11th 2011 we were approached and asked to pray about the possibility of coming on staff.  On January 5th 2012 we met with the board of trustees for our ministry and discussed this opportunity.  The board members raised a lot of good questions for us to answer.  Jess and I then went on a weekend retreat focused mainly on making this decision.

The question that we wrestled most with is how does this make sense to leave what we have started here in Maryland?  

The conclusion that we felt at peace about is that we are leaving for a short amount of time, in the grand scheme of the long term ministry that we want to have in Maryland.  We also want to partner with YWAM by bringing some sort of YWAM presence to the Columbia MD area.  Partnering with a larger organization will be of much greater benefit to us than simply trying to do this on our own.  By going back into YWAM we will be gaining further biblical and leadership training and making necessary connections with other leaders in the organization.  

Our decision to even apply was not finalized until January 19th 2012 at the conclusion of our ministries board meeting with a unanimous vote to apply.  

We were officially accepted on February 9th 2012.   

What are you going to be doing out there?  
Jim will be overseeing and leading worship, prayer and intercession and local outreach for the School of Biblical studies for the full 9 months of the school.  

Jess will be academic staff for the New Testament portion of the school and then a student for the Old Testament.  The duties of academic staff will be to meet with students, grade their work and also prepare and teach some of the classes.

I’m sure we might go to the beach a few times too.  

How do you get paid?  
YWAM is a volunteer organization.  Everyone in the organization from the founder on down raises their own funding.  

We currently have a team of people that recognize our calling, believe strongly in what we are doing and what we want to continue to do and are generously donating to our ministry on a monthly basis.  We currently have monthly donors giving from anywhere from $10 a month to $400 a month.  

We will also continue to look for photography work while we are in Hawaii which we use to supplement our income.  

If you are interested in partnering with us financially please let us know.  If you want to give a one time gift you can use the paypal donate button below.  All donations are tax deductible.  You will be giving to the BAKERS ministry 501c3 to help us with our living expenses while we are serving with YWAM.  

If you are interested in partnering with us on a monthly basis please contact us at jimjessbaker (at) gmail (dot) com.  We will get you an ACH form so that your donation will be deducted automatically from your bank account once a month.  

Missions in Hawaii?  Aren’t you suppose to go to Africa?  
We’ve been to Africa.  Besides sending out missionaries, YWAM also runs training schools that aim to equip people to be more effective in their ministry wherever they are.  It just so happens that YWAM’s main base is in Hawaii.  We are working with the training aspect of the organization.  

You move around a lot, do you have ants in your pants?  Really what’s that about?  
It’s true, we do move around a lot, this will be our third move in less than 3 years of marriage.  And even when we are “home” we still do a lot of travelling.  In 2011 we put over 22,000 miles on our car.  This was the biggest reasons we switched over to synthetic oil.  This allows us to change our oil every two months instead of one.  😉  

We believe that life is about two things.  Loving God, and loving people.  We believe that God has called us to live a unique lifestyle that allows us to be available to go where He calls us to go, when He calls us to go.  So we are being obedient to what we believe the Lord is calling us to.  In hindsight, we can see clearly that everywhere we have gone, God has sent us there to invest in relationships with people.  

Am I expected to live like you two?!  
Nope.  Jesus model for life and ministry was to only do what He saw the Father do.  (John 5:19-20)  Our hope is that you would find peace in being obedient to whatever the Lord is calling YOU to do.  He created us each, with a unique calling and then gave us an unique personality, talents and giftings to fulfill that call.  Ask Him if you’re walking in the fullness of what He has for you.  If He tells you you are right on track, then find such peace in being obedient and don’t live by comparison to anyone.  If He tells you to pack up, sell your house, and move to a third world country, then we encourage you to be obedient because God’s plan is the best plan for your life.  

You probably know if there are areas that you need to obey Him in.  We’ve learned along the way that its a lot easier to obey Him if you TRUST Him.  Trusting Him and His plan is always best, because He always has our best interest in mind.  Trust is something that is built.  It would be much harder for us to trust God on the level that we trust Him today, five years ago, or even one year ago.  We’ve walked through a lot individually and as a couple, we’ve stepped out in faith many times and every time we’ve seen God’s constant miraculous provision for our lives.  Each time we experience His provision for us, it gets easier to trust Him with bigger things.  

Jesus tells us to seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and then promises us that He’ll take care of the rest.  (Matt 6:25-34)  We feel like God has told us to do our part (seeking first the kingdom) and He promises that He will do His part.  He has and continues to do so.  


What do you plan to do when you’re done in  Hawaii?
The school ends on December 19th 2012 and I’m sure we will have to stay on a couple days after students leave for staff debrief.  We are not sure if we will stay in Hawaii for Christmas and New years yet, it depends a lot on the price of air fare.  

Our plan as of now, since we will have not seen family for almost a year, we would like to take some time to travel and see family upon arrival to the mainland.  Our family is spread out all over the east coast so we will be doing some travelling.  We would like to take our time doing this, making sure we are spending quality time with family, and visit some friends along the way.   

We will then make our way back to Columbia Maryland, look for work, look for a place to live and continue and expand the ministry we have started.  


How can we be praying for you? 
Pray for the typical things, safe travel and good health.  

Jess and I really want to make some serious lifestyle changes when it comes to our health.  Being outside in Hawaii without a car will naturally make us more active.  Pray that we could get in a good exercise routine and eat healthily consistently as a lifestyle change.

Pray that we would get the FULLNESS of what God has for us during this time.  Pray that same thing for the students we will be serving!  

Pray that supernatural unity would happen in our school amongst staff and students.

Pray for our bible study and worship night in Maryland that will be continuing.  

Pray for a releasing of continued provision.  

Pray for doors to open in the area of photography so that we could make some money that way.  

Pray for a smooth transition to Hawaii, we’ve got ten days to pack up and move.  

Pray for a smooth transition back to the mainland in 2013.  We will need to find a place to live and jobs.  


What are some of your NEEDS?
We have a list of needs and even a list of wants if you would like that list to be able to pray or give specifically please let us know.  


Can I come visit?!
Absolutely!  Let us get settled in a bit first.  I think visiting us on the Big Island will be your best bet, but let us look into some options once we get there.  


Engage:  Have a question we didn’t answer?  Unclear about something?  Ask it in the comments section and we will respond!  


jim baker