Youth With A Mission

Youth With A Mission is an interdenominational Christian mission organization with a focus on missionary work and training for Christian missions.
Founded by American missionary Loren Cunningham and his wife Darlene Cunningham in 1960, YWAM's stated purpose is to "know God and to make Him known". The organization pioneered self-funded short-term missions conducted by young people. Today, while maintaining its original youth-oriented ethos, the group has expanded its membership for those of older ages as well. While the efficacy and safety of YWAM's short-term missions has been called into question, the organization trains upwards of 25,000 short-term missions volunteers annually, accepting participants from across all Christian denominations, including Catholicism via its Kerygma Ministry.
Despite initial criticism for its unconventional approach, YWAM grew rapidly, becoming non-denominational in 1964 and establishing short-term volunteer teams, vocational missions, and training schools. Key milestones included the creation of the School of Evangelism in Switzerland, the foundation of the University of the Nations, and the launch of Mercy Ships in 1978. By the 2000s, YWAM had over 11,000 staff from more than 130 countries, with programs extending into disaster relief, youth ministries, evangelism at international sporting events, and global partnerships with Christian organizations.
YWAM operates a range of programs including evangelism through sports, music, and drama, extensive training through the University of the Nations, and humanitarian aid via Mercy Ministries, Homes of Hope, and ship-based outreaches. The organization emphasizes the “Seven Mountain Mandate,” aiming to influence society’s key sectors, though this has drawn theological and political criticism. YWAM has faced controversies involving allegations of spiritual and financial abuse, sexual misconduct, and doctrinal concerns. Its missionaries have also faced dangers abroad, including shootings, imprisonments, and kidnappings. It organizes events such as The Send to mobilize Christians worldwide.

History

Youth With A Mission was conceived by Loren Cunningham in 1956. As a 20-year-old student in an Assemblies of God College, he was traveling in the Bahamas when he had a vision of a movement that would send young people out into various nations to share the message of Jesus, and which would involve Christians of all Christian denominations. Despite his ordination by the Assemblies of God, Cunningham's untraditional ideas were met with considerable criticism as denominational leaders pointed out problems with his plan to send young, inexperienced youth from many denominations, overseas.
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 69". Later in the year, YWAM teams were sent to the West Indies, Samoa, Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America. In 1964, the organization became non-denominational.
By 1966, there were ten full-time YWAM staff including the founders and hundreds of seasonal volunteers. That year, YWAM ministries also began in New Zealand and Tonga. In late 1966, the name Youth With A Mission was chosen, and the group embarked on their first project, a vocational mission trip to Liberia, building a road through the jungle to a leper colony.
In 1967, Loren Cunningham began work on the organization's first summer school, the School of Evangelism. It was held in Chateau-d'Oex, Switzerland in 1969 with 21 students. A second school ran from the summer of 1969 through the summer of 1970 just outside Lausanne, Switzerland, in Chalet-A-Gobet. The students' lodging and classes took place in a newly renovated leased hotel. 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 as well as Lausanne. 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. 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. In early 1972, a small team headed to Munich, Germany, to begin preparations for an outreach during the 1972 Summer Olympics; YWAM stationed 1,000 people at Munich for the outreach during the Games, and would later go on to conduct other Olympic outreach programmes at later Games.
The University of the Nations online magazine has stated that Cunningham met scientist and professor Howard V. Malmstadt at a conference in 1974. Malmstadt and Cunningham 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 the Pacific and Asia Christian University, the forerunner of University of the Nations.
By 1978, YWAM's Mercy Ships ministry was launched with the commissioning of the ship Anastasis. In 1984, the m/v Good Samaritan was added, in 1990 the m/v Pacific Ruby, then in 1994 the m/v Caribbean Mercy and finally in 2001 the m/v Pacific Link. Mercy Ships was pioneered by YWAM, but in 2003 was released as a separate organization. A New Zealand-based YWAM ship ministry, formerly a part of Mercy Ships called Marine Reach, which owned and operated the m/v Pacific Link continued to remain within the YWAM family and, over time, a number of ship equipped ministries sprouted up as part of the YWAM Ships network.
By the end of the 1980s, YWAM changed the name of its university to University of the Nations. 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 began to fall in the early 1990s, YWAM began outreaches to countries there, including Albania. In the 1990s, YWAM became a strong promoter of the 10/40 Window concept of evangelization and associated spiritual mapping prayer campaigns, which focused on praying on-site in specific locations to battle demons or territorial spirits.
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 Zealander Frank Naea, who has Samoan 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. However, at a meeting in 2011, the organization's elders did away with the titles director, chairman, and president, in reference to all leadership roles except at the local level. By 2006, YWAM had joined the International Orality Network, a multi-agency outreach effort to "the world's non-literate masses", employing verbal and dramatic means to introduce the Gospel to non-literate populations. In 2008, a number of mission organizations and church mission departments, including YWAM, started the Call To All movement, dedicated to completing the Great Commission in the modern day.

Programs

Evangelism

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

International sporting event outreaches

Youth With A Mission has been active in evangelism at the World Olympic Games since 1972.

1972 Summer Olympics, Munich: It is believed 1,000 volunteers were part of the outreach effort, which included 50 Dutch volunteers under Romkje Fountain
1976 Summer Olympics, Montreal: The outreach included street evangelism.
The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow were heavily boycotted and afforded little opportunity for evangelism because of Communist precepts. YWAM is presumed not to have participated.
1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles: YWAM notes they performed street theater during these games.
1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona: YWAM conducted open-air church services and performed gospel drama, live music and dance in the streets.
1996 Summer Olympics, 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, Nagano: Southern Baptist International Mission Board 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, an historic Buddhist temple, to the Olympic Plaza.
2000 Summer Olympics, Sydney: YWAM member Kara Miller Stewart participated in an Olympic dance events. YWAM worked closely with United Bible Societies to distribute Towards the Goal, a sports focused New Testament.
2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City: YWAM was hosted by the Salvation Army.
2004 Summer Olympics, Athens: YWAM member musician Benny Prasad was invited to perform during these games. YWAM also organized arts and music events. A YWAM member was arrested for "suspicious activity" but was later released. Greece is the only European Union country to ban proselytism in its constitution.
2006 Winter Olympics, Turin: 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, London: A season of outreach was held during and after the Summer Olympic Games in London, 2012.
2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: An outreach is planned for this event.