Youth Ministry International is open to all creative training strategies, and willing to engage any effective strategy. However, we are PRIMARILY, though not exclusively, focused upon expending our efforts and resources to facilitate the training of YOUTH LEADERS who will in turn become the TRAINERS of other national youth workers within a given people group.

YMI does not pay the salaries of national church youth pastors, nor do we provide churches or church youth groups with any resources the churches themselves cannot replenish – be it money, equipment, vehicles, or personnel.

YMI endorses the four-self principles of indigenous missions:

• • • self-propagating
    • self-governing
    • self-supporting
    • self-theologizing

YMI does feel it is appropriate at times to pay the salary and expenses of a national trainer for a limited and stated period of time until indigenous support, or bi-vocational arrangements can be provided.

YMI commits to enter every training field with a well thought-out EXIT strategy before ever beginning the training process.

We further commit to articulating this exit strategy to national leadership prior to beginning any training process. The EXIT strategy will attempt to stipulate;

• The limitations of time and resources that YMI will be able to commit to the training project;
• The goals and conditions of the exit;
• The nature of any ongoing relationship after the training has been completed.

YMI believes in being as culturally appropriate as possible, thereby validating the cognitive, evaluative, or emotive aspects of the target culture.

This will be accomplished as long as such accommodation does not compromise Biblical faith and practice in general, and the specific exclusivity of the Gospel.