Youth With A Mission
Encyclopedia
Youth With A Mission is an international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 organization. Founded by Loren Cunningham
Loren Cunningham
Loren Duane Cunningham , is a co-founder of the international Christian missionary organization Youth With A Mission and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in the United States of America in 1960 with his wife Darlene Cunningham at the age of 24...

 in 1960, YWAM's stated purpose is to "know God and to make Him known".
In the 50 years since its inception, YWAM's activities have expanded from youth-focused short term evangelistic missionary journeys to include educational training, church planting, business as mission, and relief and development services. Today, YWAM involves people of every age group.

YWAM now includes people from over 150 countries and a large number of Christian denominations, with over half of the organization's staff coming from "non-western" countries. YWAM currently has over 16,049 full-time volunteer workers in over 1,000 operating locations in 180 nations and trains 25,000 short-term missions volunteers annually.

History

Youth With A Mission was conceived by Loren Cunningham
Loren Cunningham
Loren Duane Cunningham , is a co-founder of the international Christian missionary organization Youth With A Mission and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in the United States of America in 1960 with his wife Darlene Cunningham at the age of 24...

 who tells how in 1956, while a 20-year-old student in the Assemblies of God College, he was traveling in the Bahamas when he had a vision of waves breaking over the Earth. He says when he looked closer the waves appeared to become young people taking the news of Jesus into all the nations of the world. He envisioned a movement that would send young people out after high school to gain a sense of purpose when going to college, and would welcome Christians of all denominations.

In late 1960, the name Youth with a Mission was chosen and the small group embarked on their first project, a vocational mission trip. The result was that YWAM sent two men in their early twenties to Liberia to build a road through the jungle to a leper colony. This was the organization's first official mission trip.

Loren Cunningham married Darlene Scratch in 1963. By this time, the new mission had 20 volunteers stationed in various nations, and the Cunninghams were planning the mission's first "Summer of Service". Later in the year, YWAM teams were being sent to West Indies, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

. By 1966, there were 10 full-time YWAM staff including the Cunninghams and hundreds of summer short-term volunteers. That year YWAM ministries also began in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

.

In 1967, Cunningham began to work on his vision for the first school. It was to be the School of Evangelism in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, which was held from December 1969 to the middle of 1970 with 36 students. The students' lodging and classes took place in a newly renovated and leased hotel in Lausanne. By the end of the year, YWAM purchased the hotel and made Lausanne its first permanent location.

The School of Evangelism was formed in 1974 in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 as well as Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

. With a focus on biblical foundations and character development as well as missions, much of the material from this course is now taught in the present day Discipleship Training School (DTS). A format of three months of lectures followed by two or three months of outreach is still used in most Discipleship Training Schools today.

By 1970, YWAM had a total of 40 full-time staff. That year, 1000 volunteer YWAM staff headed to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, to prepare an outreach for the 1972 Summer Olympics
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

. This was the first of many YWAM Olympic outreaches.

The University of the Nations
University of the Nations
The University of the Nations is a global Christian university with branch campuses in 600 locations in 142 countries, providing coursework in over 100 languages around the world. Its largest locations are in Kona, Hawaii , Jeju, South Korea, and Perth, Australia...

 online magazine has stated that Cunningham met scientist and professor Howard V. Malmstadt
Howard Malmstadt
Howard Vincent Malmstadt, Ph.D, , emeritus professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-founder of the University of the Nations, widely considered the father of modern electronic and computerized instrumentation in chemistry.Malmstadt was born on 17 February...

 at a conference in 1974. They started giving educational seminars together, and Cunningham asked Malmstadt to help expand the training arm of the mission. In 1977 YWAM purchased the Pacific Empress Hotel in Kona, Hawaii, and began renovations to turn it into the campus for what was initially called the Pacific and Asia Christian University—the forerunner of University of the Nations. In 1978, YWAM began Shining Lights, an outreach to prostitutes in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

.

By 1979, YWAM's Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs,...

 ministry was launched with the commissioning of the ship "Anastasis" (the Greek word for Resurrection).

By the end of the 1980s, YWAM changed the name of its university to University of the Nations
University of the Nations
The University of the Nations is a global Christian university with branch campuses in 600 locations in 142 countries, providing coursework in over 100 languages around the world. Its largest locations are in Kona, Hawaii , Jeju, South Korea, and Perth, Australia...

 (U of N). The concept of a YWAM university that would encompass training programs in hundreds of YWAM locations was developed by Cunningham and Malmstadt. When communist regimes in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

 began to fall in the early 1990s, Youth With A Mission began outreaches to countries there, including Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. Other efforts in this decade include a school for the disabled in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

.

By 2000, YWAM had over 11,000 staff from over 130 countries and had become almost 50 percent non-Western. Reflecting this diversity, in 1999, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

er Frank Naea, who has Samoan
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...

 and Māori parentage, was chosen to become YWAM's first non-white president in 2000, replacing Jim Stier, who was to continue as international director of evangelism and frontier missions and national director for Brazil. In 2000, YWAM developed a new role of Executive Chairman, which Jim Stier stepped into, and made the presidency a three-year rotating position. By 2006, YWAM had joined the International Orality Network (ION), a multi-agency outreach effort to "the world's non-literate masses", employing verbal and dramatic means to introduce the Gospel to populations which do not read.

Structure

YWAM leaders characterize the organization as a “family of ministries” rather than a structured, hierarchical entity. YWAM's website describes how each of YWAM’s 1000+ operating centers is responsible for determining which training programs it will conduct, the character and destination of its outreaches, personnel recruitment, financial sustainment, and ministerial priorities.
YWAM has no official international administrative headquarters.

YWAM sources cite the following characteristic as common to all operating locations:
A) The pre-requisite of the Discipleship Training School.
B) The mandate to "know God and make Him known".
C) A threefold ministry of: evangelism, mercy ministry and training/discipleship.
D) A shared statement of faith, vision and values.

Accountability and leadership are maintained through a system of regional, national and international oversight. The Global Leadership Team (GLT), which consists of approximately 45 leaders from around the world, is considered the authoritative body of leadership for YWAM International. In addition to Loren Cunningham’s influential role as Founder, the GLT elects an international Chairperson, and an international President to provide overall leadership and representation to the organization.

Doctrine and practices

According to its Statement of Faith Youth With A Mission “affirms the Bible as the authoritative word of God and, with the Holy Spirit's inspiration, the absolute reference point for every aspect of life and ministry.”
YWAM teachers and leaders emphasize the following conduct in response to what they understand to be God’s initiative of salvation toward humanity:
A) Worship: A calling to praise and worship God alone.
B) Holiness: A calling to lead holy and righteous lives that exemplify the nature and character of God.
C) Witness: A calling to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him.
D) Prayer: A calling to engage in intercessory prayer for the people and causes on God's heart, including standing against evil in every form.
E) Fellowship: A calling to commit to the Church in both its local nurturing expression and its mobile multiplying expression.

Discussing YWAM strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...

 with the Christian Post, Lynn Green has stated that YWAM missions "would be seen as indigenous". The perception, he claimed, combined with the intensive six-month training program, 'ties everyone together' so as to promote cooperation in working toward national goals.

Values and Philosophy

YWAM 's values are clearly spelled out in a document titled, "The Foundational Values of Youth With A Mission." Officially, “These shared beliefs and values are the guiding principles for both the past and future growth of our mission... They are values we hold in high regard which determine who we are, how we live and how we make decisions.” In February 2004, the Global Leadership Team released a revised statement of YWAM’s Foundational Values. A summary of these is as follows:

1) Know God, 2) Make God Known, 3) Hear God's Voice, 4) Practice Worship and Intercessory Prayer, 5) Be Visionary, 6) Champion Young People, 7) Be Broad-Structured and Decentralized, 8) Be International and Interdenominational, 9) Have a Biblical Worldview 10) Function in Teams, 11) Exhibit Servant Leadership, 12) Do First, Then Teach, 13) Be Relationship-Oriented, 14) Value The Individual, 15) Value Families 16) Rely on Relationship-based Support, 17) Practice Hospitality

Ministry

The three types of ministry that Youth with a Mission emphasizes are Evangelism, Training, and Mercy ministries.

Evangelism

Sports camps, drama presentations, musical events, along with other creative and performing arts are the avenues through which volunteers and staff share their Christian faith.

YWAM also engages in church planting
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...

, in coordination with churches from various denominations, or alone when working among "unreached people group
Unreached people group
An unreached people group refers to an ethnic group without an indigenous, self propagating Christian church movement. Any ethnic or ethnolinguistic nation without enough Christians to evangelize the rest of the nation is an Unreached People Group...

s" who do not have churches among them.

YWAM Campaigns

YWAM Campaigns is the campaign evangelistic arm for Youth With A Mission globally. The YWAM Campaigns arm DBA the Impact World Tour.
Impact World Tour

The Impact World Tour presents the Gospel in 21st century relevant ways using elements of the culture itself to deliver the message of Jesus.

Language, gender, age and values are all elements of culture. To really reach people, we must minister cross-culturally. If our appearance or methods cause people to miss the message of the Gospel, the burden is on us to change!

Martin Luther said: If you preach the Gospel and do not relate it to the issues of the day, you’re not preaching the Gospel at all.

Perhaps the greatest challenge for us believers is to do what Jesus did, leave “our worlds” to reach another. The methods Jesus used were relevant to the culture of the time, but very different than the culture of the “church” in its day. Most of today’s younger generation are not open to the methods that reached their parents.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has never lost its power and relevance. Our greatest challenge now, as a Church, is to present this message in a relevant way...

The results are startling. Our history has proven that around the world large numbers of people are responding to Christ. We’ve seen approximately 10% of those in attendance in developed nations make public commitments. In less-developed nations, the response is many times even greater.

On five continents, in over 2300 communities, people young and old have been coming to Jesus!

Olympic outreaches

Youth With A Mission has been active in evangelism at the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 since 1972.
  • 1972 Summer Olympics
    1972 Summer Olympics
    The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

    , Munich
    Munich
    Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

It is believed 1,000 volunteers were part of the outreach effort. which included 50 Dutch volunteers under Romkje Fountain (who later founded YWAM Holland)
  • 1976 Summer Olympics
    1976 Summer Olympics
    The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

    , Montreal
    Montreal
    Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

The outreach included street evangelism.
  • The 1980 Summer Olympics
    1980 Summer Olympics
    The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

     in Moscow
    Moscow
    Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

     were heavily boycotted and afforded little opportunity for evangelism because of Communist precepts. YWAM is presumed not to have participated.
  • 1984 Summer Olympics
    1984 Summer Olympics
    The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

    , Los Angeles
    Los Ángeles
    Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

YWAM notes they performed street theater during these games.
  • 1992 Summer Olympics
    1992 Summer Olympics
    The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

    , Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

YWAM conducted open-air church services and performed gospel drama and dance in the streets.
  • 1996 Summer Olympics
    1996 Summer Olympics
    The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

    , Atlanta
4,500 YWAM members were active behind the scenes. About 1,000 volunteers were official greeters at the Olympic Village and 1,000 more helped with Olympic security and translating.
  • 1998 Winter Olympics
    1998 Winter Olympics
    The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...

    , Nagano
Southern Baptist International Mission Board
International Mission Board
The International Mission Board is a missionary sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which operates in virtually every nation except the United States and Canada...

 missionaries cooperated with YWAM at the Nagano Winter Olympic Games Outreach. According to the YWAM website, the central event was a prayer march from Zenkō-ji
Zenko-ji
' is a Buddhist temple located in Nagano, Japan. The temple was built in the 7th century. Nagano City, established in 1897, was originally a town built around the temple. Historically, Zenkō-ji is perhaps most famous for its involvement in the battles between Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen in...

, an historic Buddhist temple, to the Olympic Plaza.
  • 2000 Summer Olympics
    2000 Summer Olympics
    The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

    , Sydney
    Sydney
    Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

YWAM Member Kara Miller Stewart participated in an Olympic dance events. YWAM worked closely with United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...

 to distribute Towards the Goal, a sports focused New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

.
  • 2002 Winter Olympics
    2002 Winter Olympics
    The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...

    , Salt Lake City
YWAM was hosted by the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....

.
  • 2004 Summer Olympics
    2004 Summer Olympics
    The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

    , Athens
    Athens
    Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

YWAM member musician K. Benny Prasad was invited to perform during these games. YWAM also organized arts and music events. A YWAM member was arrested for "suspicious activity" and but was later released. Greece is the only European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 (EU) country to ban proselytism in its constitution.
  • 2006 Winter Olympics
    2006 Winter Olympics
    The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

    , Torino
This was reportedly the 16th YWAM Olympic related event. YWAM used entertainment events such as music, street drama, community festivals and snow boarding clinics for creative interaction.
  • 2012 Summer Olympics
    2012 Summer Olympics
    The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...

    , London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

A season of outreach is planned before, during and after the Summer Olympic Games in London, 2012.

Other evangelism ministries

Other notable evangelism ministries include:
  • Shining Lights, an outreach to prostitutes in the red-light districts of Amsterdam
    Amsterdam
    Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

    .
  • YWAM Montana has an outreach to St. Croix which includes dancing, basketball, and cookouts. College-aged youth also perform tasks like painting, landscaping, and school maintenance assisting the mission work of Southgate Baptist Church.
  • Create International
    Create International
    Create International is an international ministry of Youth With A Mission that specializes in the production of media tools to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups...

     is an international ministry of Youth With A Mission that specializes in the production of media tools to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups. Create International was formed in 1987 and now has centers in Australia, India, and Thailand.[1]

Training

The purpose of YWAM training programs is to raise up men and women who will "disciple nations and transform cultures". A central concept to YWAM teaching is the notion of societal "spheres of influence", such as education, government, arts and entertainment, media and communication, business and commerce, family, and church. YWAM aims to train and equip Christians to become influential within these spheres.

The various training schools of YWAM are organized under the structure of The University of the Nations
University of the Nations
The University of the Nations is a global Christian university with branch campuses in 600 locations in 142 countries, providing coursework in over 100 languages around the world. Its largest locations are in Kona, Hawaii , Jeju, South Korea, and Perth, Australia...

 (U of N). The U of N offers modular courses and is unaccredited. Most schools in the U of N system have a three month lecture phase which is then followed by a two-to-three month field assignment.

Discipleship Training School

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is YWAM's entry level training. DTSs are run in YWAM centers around the world with the purpose of teaching students about God and His purposes for humankind. The DTS encourages personal intellectual and spiritual growth and seeks to help graduates find their place serving God in the world. It also provides a foundation for students to continue their education through the U of N. The DTS generally lasts 5–6 months and consists of a 3 month lecture/study phase followed by a 2-3 month evangelistic/service outreach.

Many centers run DTSs that emphasise certain parts of the world or specific ministry strategies which help students use their skills and talents in world missions. Examples of specialized DTSs are the Emerge DTS run by YWAM Wollongong, Australia, Mercy Ministry DTS run by YWAM in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia, Justice focused DTS run by YWAM Wiler, Switzerland, Celtic Way DTS run by YWAM Scotland and a Surfers DTS hosted in Perth, Australia. Information about specialized DTSs and other schools are published each year in the Go Manual, a listing of worldwide training and ministry opportunities with YWAM. DTS, like some other phases of YWAM's operation, sometimes relies on music and dance to help convey vision and purpose.

DTSs are operated according to the guidelines of the YWAM International DTS Centre, which was established to maintain and enhance excellence in DTS programs worldwide in accordance with the DTS purpose and curriculum guidelines set by the International Leadership of Youth With A Mission and the U of N.

Principles in Child and Youth Ministry

The Principles in Child and Youth Ministry (PCYM) is YWAM's secondary level training and requires a DTS training.

Biblical Training

The School of Biblical Studies (SBS) is one of YWAM's many bible training programs. Other Bible training programs offered by YWAM include the School of the Bible (SOTB), Bible School for the Nations (BSN) and School of Biblical Foundations (SBF). SBS was founded by Ron and Judy Smith in September 1981 in Kona, Hawaii. The program is a nine month course that uses the inductive method to study all 66 books of the bible. SBS worldwide has now conducted about 500 schools in the last twenty-five years and have trained somewhere between 7,000 and 10,000 students. SOTB is an 11 month course that includes a 9 month lecture phase and a 6 week outreach. SOTB uses many methods to study through the entire Bible, including Inductive method (historical-grammatical approach), word studies, topical studies, key charts, and literary analysis among others. Other topics include effectively communicating the Bible, leadership, cross-cultural communicating and teaching skills, understanding worldviews, church history, and Biblical principles of government, education and economics.

Titus Project is one of the field assignments for graduates of any SBS. It includes a 3 week teacher training time that focuses on the basics of preparing and presenting the Bible in the most effective way.

Mercy Ministries

YWAM works to help meet the practical and physical needs of the global community through its many relief and development initiatives, collectively known as Mercy Ministries International. Its humanitarian efforts, along with countless global partners, reach an estimated 3,000,000 people annually and is increasing in its aims to be serving 100 million of the world's poor by 2020.

YWAM's various 'mercy ministries' are spread throughout most of the locations that YWAM missionaries live and work, and range in scope from serving the poor through local feeding programs to international disaster relief teams that work in places of great need, such as the 2004 Tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...

.

Ship-based Ministries

Marine Reach, the maritime arm of YWAM's Mercy Ministries, uses ships to bring physical and spiritual healing to the poor and needy. YWAM ships have provided vitally important surgeries, dental care, medical supplies, food, seeds, construction materials, development projects, training, and their message to the port cities of the world.

Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships
Mercy Ships is an international charity that was founded in 1978 by Don and Deyon Stephens. Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs,...

 was the original ship-based relief ministry of YWAM, and Marine Reach grew from the foundations laid by Mercy Ships vision and expansive ministry. Mercy Ships was founded by YWAM missionaries Don and Deyon Stephens in 1978 and operated as a well-known ministry of YWAM for over 25 years. Mercy Ships is now operationally distinct from YWAM, although YWAM and Mercy Ships continue to partner and share staff and resources on a regular basis.

Relief & Development

Youth With A Mission teams internationally are involved in many relief and development ministries. Some of these ministries are under the purview of Mercy Ministries International, while many operate autonomously as simple ways of serving a local community. One of the more widely-noted mercy-focused ministries is ARMS (Australian Relief & Mercy Services Ltd). ARMS is the Mercy Ministry arm of Youth With A Mission, Australia, it also uses the branding 'Australian Mercy'. ARMS is a registered Christian aid and development organization that cares for the poor and needy both within Australia and overseas. ARMS works in nations such as East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...

, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Burma, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

 and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It provides medical support to communities as well as disaster relief teams that serve in natural disasters and war zones. It also supports preschools and orphanages in poor communities, runs primary health care
Primary health care
Primary health care, often abbreviated as “PHC”, has been defined as "essential health care based on practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology made universally accessible to individuals and families in the community through their full participation and at a cost...

 programs, and is also involved in building and construction, water and agricultural projects. In recent years ARMS has launched the Buzz Off campaign against malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

 and the Donna McDermid memorial fund which addresses gender injustice and sexual abuse in the developing world.

Women's Rights and Protection

In 2009 ARMS launched the Donna McDermid memorial fund a funding initiative to help address gender injustice issues and sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...

 in the developing world. The fund seeks to raise the profile of issues such as, bride burning
Bride burning
Bride-burning is a form of domestic violence practiced in India and Pakistan. It is not the same as ancient and long abolished custom of Sati, where widowed women were forcefully placed on a burning pyre of the dead husband and burnt to death.This has been treated as culpable homicide and if...

, female genital mutilation, child brides, breast ironing
Breast ironing
Breast ironing is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl's breasts using heated objects in an attempt to make them stop developing or disappear...

, sexual abuse
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...

, sex trafficking.

Disaster Relief

Various YWAM ministries took part in relief efforts in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 and surrounding states after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 and Rita
Hurricane Rita
Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...

.

Youth With A Mission was also involved in disaster relief and grief counseling after the 2004 Tsunami. Tsunami relief by YWAM staff took place in India, Thailand, and Indonesia in both the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami and is reported to still continue in some areas.

Flooding in Pakistan in 2007 in the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 province prompted a reaction by twenty Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

, and Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 volunteers led by YWAM Pakistan chairman Zafar Francis. They were assisted by an appeal by YWAM London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's relief office. They were able to distribute food for a month to 3,000 of the 150,000 homeless survivors there.

Additionally, the ARMS ministry RescueNet has sent medical and SAR interventions teams to Iraq in 2003, Philippines in 2004, Pakistan in 2006, Samoa 2009, Indonesia 2009 and Haiti 2010.FOM-Apr 05 ARMS has also sent intervention medical teams to East Timor in 2006.

Disease Prevention and Treatment

In Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, YWAM is working with villagers to provide relief for HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

/AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

. They have established orphanages and are ensuring children are educated. British singer, Lemar
Lemar
Lemar Obika , professionally known simply as Lemar, is an English recording artist. Obika has had a run of chart success in the UK, Europe and Australia...

 visited the project in Soroti
Soroti
Soroti is the main municipal, commercial and administrative centre of Soroti District in Eastern Uganda, lying near Lake Kyoga. It is known for the rock formation near the town as well as a variety of Muslim mosques, Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras as well as several churches that meet in various...

 in 2007.

In 2007, ARMS announced a new ministry focus - an international campaign against Malaria called Buzz Off. The campaign is aimed at empowering smaller NGOs and ministries working in Malaria endemic nations to tackle the problem of Malaria at the local level.

In from 2009 - 2010 Buzz Off fed resources into Burmese Internally Displaced People camps providing LLIN mosquito nets into IDP areas through already established health networks. Some funding organizations in Australia are getting behind the work that Buzz Off is doing with the IDPs. http://www.entrust.org.au/projects/CURRENT-PROJECTS/Buzz-Off-Anti-Malaria-Campaign-Myanmar-%28Burma%29-Budget-25700-Required-14000.asp

Other Mercy Ministry Initiatives

YWAM San Diego is actively involved in building homes for families in Mexico through its Homes of Hope ministry. According to Sean Lambert, president of YWAM San Diego/Baja, teams participating with his base have built 2,084 homes for needy families since 1991. Teams purchase the housing materials and, optionally, furniture. These teams then travel to Tijuana or Ensenada, Mexico to build the house with YWAM staff overseeing the project.

Dangerous work

Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

 flooded all eleven of YWAM New Orleans' buildings. Personnel were evacuated to YWAM bases in Baton Rouge and Tyler, Texas
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...

, where volunteers in their MercyWorks relief arm prepared to take food, "baby items" and water to victims once access was granted to relief workers by the National Guard. Earlier that year, YWAM lodgings in Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...

, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 were destroyed by the tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

 of 26 December 2004. In May 2006, Jules was caught in anti-foreign riots overtook Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 in May 2006. Violence there left eight people dead and 107 injured.

Youth ministries

Despite its historical and value emphasis on young people, YWAM involves people of all ages. However, there is still a core emphasis on youth ministry. While YWAM has many programs focusing on youth ministry, within the larger organization it has developed three transnational ministries for youth: Mission Adventures (MA), King's Kids International (KKI) and Youth Street. YWAM holds an annual spring event offering free dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

 to children in Lindale, TX. The ministry is first come, first served; while thousands are given free treatment, thousands more are turned away, sometimes coming from many states away.

Film projects

YWAM Missionary Lee Isaac Chung's film Muryangabo (Liberation Day) earned Un Certain Regard at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...

. Chung cast two street kids whom he found through YWAM's soccer-outreach program as the stars of a film that dealt with the moral and emotional repercussions of the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...

.

David Loren Cunningham
David Loren Cunningham
David L. Cunningham, born in Switzerland and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i, is an international filmmaker. Besides his documentary credits in more than 40 countries, Cunningham has also directed several feature films including To End All Wars and the TV miniseries The Path to 9/11...

, son of the group's founders, recently produced a controversial film titled Hakani: A Survivor's Story
Hakani: A Survivor's Story
"Hakani" is a 30 minute movie alleging the occurrence of infanticide in tribal communities in Brazil. The plot synopsis is given as follows: "buried alive because her tribe thought she had no soul, Hakani was plucked from the grave at the last moment by her brother...

, which contains a depiction of infanticide among Amazonian tribes of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. The film gave new vigor to the debate on human rights regarding indigenous people.

Create International
Create International
Create International is an international ministry of Youth With A Mission that specializes in the production of media tools to communicate the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people groups...

, a media ministry of Youth With A Mission, has produced documentary and evangelistic films for over 50 of the world's least reached people groups. These films are free for all Christian workers to utilize in their evangelism and church planting efforts among unreached peoples. These films can be downloaded on their website at http://www.indigitech.net Create International has initiated a campaign called the, "20/20 Vision" which plans to create partnerships with local churches, media professionals, and other mission agencies "To produce and distribute an indigenous evangelistic audio-visual tool for every one of the Least Evangelized Mega Peoples by the year 2020, so that all can clearly see and understand the gospel message and embrace it as their own". http://www.global2020vision.com

Associations and working relationships

Youth With A Mission is a global mission with links and partnerships internationally. International Chairman Lynn Green recently reported that YWAM representatives often sit "on boards of other commissions" and organizations.

YWAM also works closely in with various missions and churches, as well as independent missionaries across the globe. One notable working relationship is the OneStory Project
Chronological Bible Storying
Chronological Bible Storying is a method of orally communicating portions of the Bible by telling its stories aloud to listeners in chronological order....

 which is a partnership between YWAM, Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ
Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...

, the International Mission Board
International Mission Board
The International Mission Board is a missionary sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which operates in virtually every nation except the United States and Canada...

 of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...

, Trans World Radio
Trans World Radio
Trans World Radio is a multinational Christian evangelistic broadcaster. TWR broadcasts from 14 countries using mediumwave or high-powered AM transmitters, shortwave as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet to reach millions of people in 160 nations in their own...

, and Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...

 as well as other Great Commission
Great Commission
The Great Commission, in Christian tradition, is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread his teachings to all the nations of the world. It has become a tenet in Christian theology emphasizing missionary work, evangelism, and baptism...

-focused organizations, churches and individuals. United Bible Societies
United Bible Societies
The United Bible Societies is a worldwide association of Bible societies. In 1946 delegates from 13 countries formed the UBS, as an effort to coordinate the activities of the bible societies. The first headquarters were London and in Geneva...

 has also worked closely with YWAM as a missions partner. YWAM joined with the Evangelical Alliance
Evangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....

 and John C. Maxwell
John C. Maxwell
John Calvin Maxwell is an evangelical Christian author, speaker, and pastor who has written more than 60 books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow...

 to design the training program for the Global Pastors Network
Global Pastors Network
Global Pastors Network, Inc. is an incorporated educational, networking and strategic resource for evangelical leadership, founded in 2002 by Bill Bright, the late Founder and Chairman of Campus Crusade for Christ, and James O. Davis, Founder of Cutting Edge International...

's Million Leaders Mandate. YWAM and Christian Direction work together to pray for Muslims during Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

. YWAM Pittsburgh has been involved in ecumenical local efforts to revive Epiphany School through teaching young people "Christian principles" and exposing them to dance and the arts.

Partnerships

YWAM partners with:
  • Christian Aid
    Christian Aid
    Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...

  • Campus Crusade for Christ
    Campus Crusade for Christ
    Campus Crusade for Christ is an interdenominational Christian organization that promotes evangelism and discipleship in more than 190 countries...

  • International Mission Board
    International Mission Board
    The International Mission Board is a missionary sending agency affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention which operates in virtually every nation except the United States and Canada...

  • Trans World Radio
    Trans World Radio
    Trans World Radio is a multinational Christian evangelistic broadcaster. TWR broadcasts from 14 countries using mediumwave or high-powered AM transmitters, shortwave as well as through local radio stations, cable, satellite, and the Internet to reach millions of people in 160 nations in their own...

  • Wycliffe Bible Translators
    Wycliffe Bible Translators
    Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with...

  • World Vision
    World Vision
    World Vision, founded in the USA in 1950, is an evangelical relief and development organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of...

  • Food for the Hungry
    Food for the Hungry
    Food for the Hungry is an international relief and development organization working in more than 26 countries around the world. Food for the Hungry was founded in 1971 by Dr. Larry Ward...


Memberships

YWAM is a member of:
  • the International Orality Network
  • Call2All, an 200 organization initiative of the Global Pastors Network
    Global Pastors Network
    Global Pastors Network, Inc. is an incorporated educational, networking and strategic resource for evangelical leadership, founded in 2002 by Bill Bright, the late Founder and Chairman of Campus Crusade for Christ, and James O. Davis, Founder of Cutting Edge International...

     to lead a billion souls to Christ
    Jesus
    Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

  • OneStory Project

Endorsements

  • Church of God
    Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
    The Church of God, with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination. With over seven million members in over 170 countries, it is one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the world...

     Assistant Director Douglas Leroy has noted the cooperation between COG and YWAM, among others, and endorses cooperation with mission groups "who have expertise in certain areas, without compromising our doctrinal or policy integrity."

Notable people associated with YWAM

  • David Loren Cunningham
    David Loren Cunningham
    David L. Cunningham, born in Switzerland and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i, is an international filmmaker. Besides his documentary credits in more than 40 countries, Cunningham has also directed several feature films including To End All Wars and the TV miniseries The Path to 9/11...

  • Loren Cunningham
    Loren Cunningham
    Loren Duane Cunningham , is a co-founder of the international Christian missionary organization Youth With A Mission and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in the United States of America in 1960 with his wife Darlene Cunningham at the age of 24...

  • Joy Dawson
    Joy Dawson
    Joy Dawson is a New Zealand missionary and intercessor who has been teaching the Bible internationally since 1970. Her missionary work has taken her to over 55 nations. She has taught extensively on television and radio, and her books, audio and video tapes have been translated and distributed...

  • Keith Green
    Keith Green
    Keith Gordon Green was an American gospel singer, songwriter, musician, and Contemporary Christian Music artist originally from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, New York. Beyond his music, Green is best known for his strong devotion to Christian evangelism and challenging others to the same...


  • Howard Malmstadt
    Howard Malmstadt
    Howard Vincent Malmstadt, Ph.D, , emeritus professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and co-founder of the University of the Nations, widely considered the father of modern electronic and computerized instrumentation in chemistry.Malmstadt was born on 17 February...

  • Kevin McGrady
    Kevin McGrady
    Kevin McGrady is a former Provisional IRA member who became an informer in 1982 following his conversion to Born again Christianity...

  • Bernie Ogilvy
    Bernie Ogilvy
    Bernard James Ogilvy is a New Zealand educator and politician. He was a list member of Parliament for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 to 2005...

  • Twila Paris
    Twila Paris
    Twila Paris Wright is a Contemporary Christian Music songwriter, author, vocalist and pianist.-Musical career:Since 1980, Twila Paris has released 22 albums, amassed 33 number one Christian Radio singles, and was named the Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year three years in a row...

  • Ten Shekel Shirt
    Ten Shekel Shirt
    Ten Shekel Shirt is a rock band based in New Haven, CT. The band was founded by Lamont Hiebert, and currently consists of Hiebert along with Jonny Rodgers, Colin Meyer and Tim Sway....



2007 shooting event

A gunman, identified as a former YWAM student Matthew Murray, shot four staff members at the missionary training center near Denver in the early morning hours on December 9, 2007, killing two, after being refused access to the training center's facilities.

Afterwards, YWAM's School of Writing director Janice Rogers noted that YWAM had been the victim of violent offenders before, including homicides and other violent acts, although this is the first act of aggression against the mission on US soil, according to Mrs Rogers. Rogers stated that there are "two predominant reasons YWAM'ers have been killed; robbery or crime, or spiritual resistance to the Gospel".

Youth With A Mission's Dean Sherman also released two podcast messages in response to the shootings.

Political Affiliation & Involvement

Youth with A Mission officially has no political affiliations or working relationships. However, the YWAM website acknowledges that "Individual YWAM staff and students come from a wide variety of political backgrounds and affiliations."

Member Affiliation

Some of the most notable political affiliations of individual YWAM staff is in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. Bernie Ogilvy
Bernie Ogilvy
Bernard James Ogilvy is a New Zealand educator and politician. He was a list member of Parliament for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 to 2005...

, a former national director of YWAM in New Zealand, Larry Baldock
Larry Baldock
Larry Baldock is a New Zealand politician. He was a member of Parliament for the United Future New Zealand party from 2002 to 2005...

, a former YWAM staffer, and other evangelical Christians entered the New Zealand Parliament in 2002 representing the United Future New Zealand party. Ogilvy, Baldock and Frank Naea, former International President of YWAM, are on the Board of The Kiwi Party and are standing for the party in the 2008 New Zealand Parliamentary election
New Zealand general election, 2008
The 2008 New Zealand general election was held on 8 November 2008 to determine the composition of the 49th New Zealand parliament. The conservative National Party, headed by its Parliamentary leader John Key, won a plurality of votes and seats, ending 9 years of government dominated by the social...

. Simonne Dyer, former CEO of the ship Anastasis, is another candidate for the party.

Accusation of Political Alliances

Sara Diamond's 1989 book Spiritual Warfare includes an account alleging that Loren Cunningham
Loren Cunningham
Loren Duane Cunningham , is a co-founder of the international Christian missionary organization Youth With A Mission and the University of the Nations. Cunningham founded YWAM in the United States of America in 1960 with his wife Darlene Cunningham at the age of 24...

 supported a 1982 coup by Efraín Ríos Montt
Efraín Ríos Montt
José Efraín Ríos Montt is a former de facto President of Guatemala, dictator, army general, and former president of Congress. In the 2003 presidential elections, he unsuccessfully ran as the candidate of the ruling Guatemalan Republican Front .Huehuetenango-born Ríos Montt remains one of the most...

 in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

, by drawing connections from an alleged meeting between an unnamed Rios Montt aide and a group of Christian representatives that may have included YWAM's founder, Loren Cunningham. Diamond also accused YWAM of having "sought to gain influence within the Republican party."

In 2005, Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a group that advocates separation of church and state, a legal doctrine interpreted by AU as being enshrined in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.-Mission:The guiding principle of Americans...

 accused Youth With A Mission of offering to donate $10 million dollars to train youth. It is unclear how this would benefit Rod Parsley
Rod Parsley
Rodney Lee Parsley is a prominent American Christian minister, author, television host and evangelist. He is senior pastor of World Harvest Church, a large Pentecostal church in Columbus, Ohio and founder and president of The Center for Moral Clarity, a right-wing Christian grassroots advocacy...

's Restoration Ohio project, however American's United suggests it would contribute to politically conservative goals as well as towards evangelizing Ohioans.

In 2009, YWAM was linked to property used for hosting Bible studies, prayer meetings, and as boarding facilities for members of the US Congress.

Teachings on Ministry and Government

YWAM's founder Loren Cunningham, along with Bill Bright
Bill Bright
William R. "Bill" Bright was an American evangelist. The founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, he wrote The Four Spiritual Laws in 1952 and produced the Jesus Film in 1979.-Early life:...

 of Campus Crusade developed a strategy in 1975 for influencing what they felt were seven main segments or spheres of society and culture. One of these segments included fighting a spiritual "battle" to "take back", or redeem, the "mountain of government." Although the idea behind this teaching is to influence government through spiritual means, it has been the cause for some concern in the blogosphere.

Criticism and controversy

There have been allegations by former members that a few YWAM leaders with authoritarian personalities have intimidated volunteers and reprimanded those acting in opposition to the organization's vision and values. Some of the political involvements of its founders and members have also been examined by the media. It is also claimed by Christian apologists that YWAM has taught some controversial doctrines.

In 1990, cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...

 investigator Rick Ross
Rick Ross (consultant)
Rick Alan Ross works as a consultant, lecturer, and intervention specialist, with an interest in exit counseling and deprogramming of former cult members. He runs a blog at CultNews.com, and in 2003 founded the Rick A...

 published an evaluation of Youth with a Mission, that cited both positive and negative aspects of YWAM. Ross concluded that he did not "recommend Youth With A Mission" or its programs. After the 2007 shootings
2007 Colorado YWAM and New Life shootings
The 2007 Colorado YWAM and New Life shootings occurred December 9, 2007, when Matthew J. Murray attacked the Youth With A Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado, and New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. -Arvada missionary shooting:...

, Ross told the Fox News Network that he continued to receive occasional "serious complaints" about Youth With A Mission, but he believed it is "not a cult" ."

Theological concerns

Evangelical theologians Alan Gomes and E. Calvin Beisner claim that certain unorthodox doctrines were taught at some YWAM locations from the 1970s until the 1990s.

YWAM's previous endorsements of Moral Government Theology (Arminian view of the Atonement) and teaching on Spiritual mapping has been controversial as well.

Sara Diamond
Sara Diamond
Sara Rose Diamond is an American sociologist and attorney, and the author of four books that "study and expose the agenda and tactics of the American political right wing." .-Biography:...

, citing an interview with Gary North, also claimed that YWAM "sees its role as an on-the-ground combat force against liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...

." Lynn Green, speaking on behalf of YWAM, disagreed that post-modernism is detrimental to youth, because of its oppositions to scientific materialism.

Responses to criticism

As of 2008, David Clark, director of Youth With A Mission in Minneapolis, acknowledges these concerns with a rebuttal in two main points. "People have been hurt," stated Clark which he attributes to the freedom of the leadership of each base combined with the actions of a few "bad apples" who haven't adhered to core principles. Clark addressed the theological concerns by citing Youth With A Mission's acceptance of the National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith. He noted that many YWAM critics are "radical individuals who do not appreciate theological diversity" and "hard-core Calvinists", while claiming the ecumenical spirit within the organization embraces Calvinists.

Further reading

  • Blumenthal, Max. The Nightmare of Christianity The Nation
    The Nation
    The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...

    (September 9, 2009)
  • Cunningham, L. w/ Rogers, Janice, The Book that Transforms Nations, YWAM Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1-57658-381-3
  • Cunningham, L., Is That Really You God?, YWAM Publishing, 1984. ISBN 1-57658-244-2
  • McClung, Floyd Jr. and Charles Paul Conn. Just Off Chicken Street. USA, Fleming H. Revell, 1975. ISBN 0-8007-0699-4.
  • McClung, Floyd. Basic Discipleship. InterVarsity Press, 1992. ISBN 0-8308-1319-5.
  • McClung, Floyd. The Father Heart of God: Experiencing the Depths of His Love for You. Harvest House Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-7369-1215-0.
  • Schaeffer, Edith, Francis A. Schaeffer and Deirdre Ducker. L'Abri. USA, Crossways Books, 1992. ISBN 0-89107-668-9.
  • Schaeffer, Francis. The God who is There. 1968.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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