About ywam
Youth With A Mission is an international volunteer missions movement of Christians from many backgrounds, cultures and traditions. We are dedicated to serving throughout the world. Also known as YWAM (pronounced "Y-wam"), our purpose is simply to know God and to make Him known fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We do this in three ways Evangelism, Training, and Mercy Ministries.
The ywam story
"It all began with a vision. In June of 1956, Loren Cunningham, a 20 year old student from the United States, spent a part of his summer break in Nassau, Bahamas touring with a singing group. One night after a busy day, Loren had an unusual experience. “I lay down on the bed,” he recalled, “doubled the pillow under my head and opened my Bible, routinely asking God to speak into my mind. What happened next was far from routine. Suddenly, I was looking up at a map of the world. Only the map was alive, moving! I sat up. I shook my head, rubbed my eyes. It was a mental movie. I could see all the continents. Waves were crashing onto the shores. Each went onto a continent, then receded, then came up further until it covered the continent completely. I caught my breath. Then, as I watched, the scene changed. The waves became young people, kids my age and even younger, covering the continents. They were talking to people on the street corners and outside bars. They were going house to house. They were preaching. ‘Was that really you, Lord?’ I wondered, still staring at the wall, amazed. Young people, kids, really going out as missionaries! What an idea! And I thought ‘Why did God give me this vision?’”
