What is Operation Mobilization?

I haven't have much experience in Operation Mobilization (OM); only about six months. However I've had enough to have learned what kind of organization it is. In my last article I explained what Youth With a Mission is and how the schools work. Operation Mobilization is very similar to YWAM in many ways. They have a training school that is three months long and consists of a month and a half of lectures with the other half on outreach. Here in Panama the schools often go to indigenous Indian villages and do dramas or mimes.

Operation Mobilization is in a vast majority of the countries in the world, some one hundred or more. However the main focus of OM is it's ships. These are the main reason why most people join Operation Mobilization; in order to sail from country to country on the worlds largest floating bookstores. Called the Logos Hope and the Doulos, they have been sailing the world for years selling literature in any country that welcomes them. The Doulos is actually in the Guinness Book of World Records! I never spent significant time on the Doulos, however I can say that the crew are wonderful people and I wish I could have had more time to work with them.

There are some rather big differences between OM and YWAM however. Although they both work together quite often, they are structured very differently. Operation Mobilization tends to have more rules and regulations while Youth With a Mission is more relaxed in their rules. Also, although both organizations are interdenominational and accept people of all different churches, each one still tends to lean toward opposite ends of the church spectrum. OM tends to be much more conservative with little to no speaking in tongues, little activity during worship times, and several other things of that nature. While YWAM is far more charismatic with a lot of dancing and speaking and tongues and so on. In my opinion they are both great because together they cater to the needs of each individual missionary. There are some people who prefer the calm structured settings of OM while others like things to be more wild.