Our three-tiered training modules are designed to help equip all levels of Living Waters leadership. Our Tier 2 and Tier 3 modules are designed to supplement our Tier 1 course, the week-long LW Leadership Training: Equipping Through Immersion.
*Attending a training is not a prerequisite for the Tier 2 course.
This week-long immersive course equips men and women for effective ministry to the sexually and relationally broken. Participants are trained through a combination of large group teachings, ministry sessions, and small groups. The main emphasis of the training is greater personal healing for you. Through healing prayer, we invite the Holy Spirit to mend our various wounds. As we enter into the healing process together, we learn how to heal others.
In-Person
6-Day Retreat
This eight-module course reviews the essentials of leading (or assisting) a Living Waters small group. Led by Marco, Abbey, and Katie, staff members at DSM, these videos cover topics such as listening prayer, navigating challenges, small group dynamics, and more. This course is designed to help you feel more confident and better equipped for Living Waters leadership. Whether you are an experienced leader or just starting out, this module series provides you with the necessary tools for leadership success!
Online
8 Lessons
This six-module course details the ins and outs of coordinating a Living Waters group. Marco, Abbey, and Katie cover topics such as effective teaching, building and maintaining a team, navigating challenges, and more. Coordinating a LW group is hard work, and this module is designed to support you in this vital task. This series is designed for all coordinators, new and seasoned alike, as it delves into the essentials of a successful, DSM-approved LW Group.
6 Lessons
Learn more about our courses and programs. If you have another question or need more information, get in touch with our team.
Teachings will be on a variety of issues such as:
Participants will become familiar with the Living Waters program and its 20 lessons in the Living Waters Guidebook.
Living Waters Trainings are for men and women seeking to start a healing group in their local church or strengthen an existing group in their area. If you are in leadership - whether in healing ministry, an existing group or in a pastoral position - you are encouraged to apply.
As one who will be leading others through a healing process it is expected that you have entered into your own process of healing and found freedom and growth in Christ-centered relationships.
Costs vary depending on the training you are considering. Please see above for the details of the specific training you are interested in.
The Tier 1 module is recommended to anyone who is looking to deepen their personal healing and is required for anyone looking to start or coordinate a Living Waters group. Tier 2 is for any small group or assistant small group leader looking to refine and develop their leadership skills. Tier 3 is only for those who have attended a LW training and been released to be a coordinator.
While the module courses are not a requirement for leadership, we highly recommend that all of our leaders participate in our module course(s). We want to ensure the quality of our Living Waters groups across the world, and these training modules detail the best practices and essential qualities of all DSM-approved LW groups.
Living Waters is one of the great resources available today for those seeking healing for sexual and relational brokenness. Grounded in Christian Anthropology, the power of grace, and a trust in Christ working through the members of his Body, I highly recommend Living Waters for those looking for a solid path to restored integrity.
Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
I can’t begin to say what a gift it was to go to the Living Waters Training in PA. In my role as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development at Bridgetown Church Portland I am keenly aware of the profound need for healing that leads to an integrated life. At the LW Training, I was able to experience an integrated and unexpected healing on a deeply personal level. Through the small group time, confession, the robust theological and practical content, and the gift of inner healing prayer I was able to enter into more of who it is that Jesus has both created and called me to be specifically as a woman in his Kingdom. In the Living Waters program there is an undeniable call to fidelity to Jesus at all costs and at the same time there is an abundance of grace for the brokenness that each of us carry.
Bethany Allen Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development, Bridgetown Church
As a bishop I am grateful to Andrew Comiskey and the staff of Desert Stream Ministries for developing the Living Waters program to equip the Church and all of her communities with the tools they need to help their members who struggle with sexual and relational brokenness. Living Waters offers a practical, Catholic-friendly approach to the pastoral care of people who experience same-sex attraction, gender identity issues, relational brokenness and other personal challenges that keep them from experiencing the joy and integrity that spring forth from the virtue of Christian chastity. I wholeheartedly encourage Catholic pastors and pastoral ministers to prayerfully consider using the Living Waters program in their respective dioceses and parishes.
Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas
The Living Waters Training is a much needed practical and pastoral counterpart to the brilliant insights and wisdom of Saint John Paul II's Theology of the Body. It provided the opportunity for me, personally, to grow and to heal in unexpected ways. I would love to see this small group model for growth in chastity and healthy relating planted throughout the Catholic Church.
Christopher West President of Theology of the Body Institute