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Youth With A Mission

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Youth With A Mission (YWAM, generally pronounced as "why-wham") is an international, inter-denominational, non-profit Christian missionary organization founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham and his wife Darlene.[1] YWAM's motto is "To know God and to make Him known."[2]

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Youth With A Mission Logo
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While YWAM's initial focus was to get youth into mission work and to give them opportunities to reach out in Jesus' name, most YWAM locations also conduct training programs and coordinate short-term outreaches for individuals, youth groups, families and churches. Today, YWAM involves people of every age group, including many who choose to spend their retirement years in active service.

YWAM is now comprised of people from over 150 countries and countless Christian denominations, with over half of the organization's staff coming from "non-western" countries.[3] There are currently over 16,000 full-time workers in nearly 1,100 operating locations in 171 nations. It has been estimated that over 25,000 individuals participate in YWAM training programs and outreaches each year.

History

Youth With A Mission was conceived by Loren Cunningham when in 1956, as a 20-year-old college student traveling in the Bahamas, he had a vision of waves breaking over the earth which became young people taking the news of Jesus into all the nations of the world. He began to envision an organization that would send young people out after high school to the mission field (short term or long term) and would welcome Christians of all denominations.[4]

Cunningham had a desire to teach others what he had learned from his parents about hearing God's voice. This led to the establishment of schools. In December 1960, the name Youth With A Mission was decided on. The small YWAM staff printed out 180 announcements about their mission and sent them to pastors. 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.[5]

Before his marriage to Darlene Scratch in June 1963, Cunningham scouted the Bahamas in preparation for the next mission. By then, he had 20 volunteers for YWAM missions stationed in various nations, and he was planning the first "Summer of Service" for the coming year. Later in the year, YWAM teams were being sent to West Indies, Samoa, Hawaii, Mexico, and Central America. By 1966, there were 10 full-time YWAM staff including Loren and Darlene and hundreds of summer short-term volunteers. That year YWAM ministries also began in New Zealand and Tonga.

In the fall of '67, Cunningham began to work on his vision for the first school. It was to be the School of Evangelism in Lausanne, Switzerland, which was held from December 1969 to the summer of 1970 with 36 students. The students' lodging and classes took place in a newly renovated and leased hotel in Lausanne, Switzerland. By the end of the year, YWAM purchased the hotel and made Lausanne, Switzerland its first permanent location.

Later in the decade, another YWAM school began that would become the foundation for YWAM's many training programs. By 1974, the School of Evangelism was being offered 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 (DTS). This format: three months of lectures followed by two or three months of outreach, is still used in most Discipleship Training Schools today.

By the year 1970, YWAM had a total of 40 full-time staff. That year, 1,000 volunteer YWAM staff headed to Munich, Germany to prepare an outreach for the 1972 Summer Olympics. This was the first of many YWAM Olympic outreaches.

In 1977 YWAM leased the Pacific Empress Hotel in Kona, Hawaii and began renovations in order to turn it into the campus for what was initially called the Pacific and Asia Christian University.

By 1979, YWAM's Mercy Ships ministry was launched with the commissioning of the ship "Anastasis" (the Greek word for Resurrection).

In the 1980's, YWAM's refugee ministry in Thailand began partnering with the UN to provide effective relief for countless stranded refugees along Thailand's porous border . In 1992 alone, the 90 YWAMers and 4,000 refugee staff clothed 53,500 people, immunized 11,000 children per month, trained 109 agricultural students, distributed 44,000 letters monthly, and gave 26 pastors a year's Bible training.

At the end of the decade, YWAM changed the name of its university to University of the Nations (U of N). The concept of a YWAM university that would encompass training programs in hundreds of YWAM locations was developed both by Loren Cunningham and by scientist and professor, Howard Malmstadt.

By the year 2000, YWAM had over 11,000 staff from over 130 countries. To reflect this diversity and also to lead it well, YWAM developed a new leadership role, the Executive Chairman, which Jim Stier stepped into, and made the presidency a three-year rotating position. It named Frank Naea, who is both Samoan and Māori, its first non-western President. This reflected YWAM itself, which had become almost 50 percent non-western.

In 2003, YWAM reached another milestone as leaders of YWAM and Mercy Ships agreed to release Mercy Ships to become a separate ministry. At the same time, YWAM unveiled a new global plan, called "4K", to reach further into the neediest parts of the world.

Training

The stated 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, Media, Business and Commerce, Family, and Church. The YWAM strategy is to train and equip Christians to become people of influence within these spheres.

The various training schools of YWAM are organized under the structure of The University of the Nations (UofN). Most schools in the UofN 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 the entry level Christian training course offered by YWAM.

Discipleship Training Schools are run in YWAM centers around the world with the purpose of providing an opportunity for students to learn more about God and His purposes for mankind. The DTS encourages personal intellectual and spiritual growth and seeks to help graduates find their place serving God throughout the world. It also provides a good foundation for students to continue their education through the University of the Nations. 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 place an emphasis on certain parts of the world or specific ministry strategies which help students use their skills and talents in world missions. Examples of these specialized DTSs include the Mercy Ministry DTS run by YWAM in Melbourne, Australia 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.

Discipleship Training Schools 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 University of the Nations.

Ministry

The three strands of ministry that the organization 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, in coordination with churches from various denominations, or alone when working among "unreached people groups" who do not have churches among them.

Mercy Ministries

See also: Mercy Ships

(now operationally distinct from YWAM)

The practical and physical needs of the global community are met by YWAM through Mercy Ministries International. Its humanitarian efforts reach an estimated 400,000+ people annually and is increasing in its aims and numbers.

  • 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.
  • ARMS (Australian Relief & Mercy Services Ltd) is a Christian aid and development organization that cares for the poor and needy both within Australia and overseas. It was founded in Canberra in 1988 and is the Mercy Ministry arm of Youth With A Mission in Australia. ARMS works in nations such as East Timor, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, India, Zambia,Vietnam and Uganda. 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 programs, and is also involved in building and construction, water and agricultural projects.

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 two transnational ministries for youth: Mission Adventures Network (MA), and King's Kids International (KKI).

Notable people associated with YWAM

Controversy

Authoritarianism

There have been allegations that YWAM has some leaders with authoritarian personalities, who have intimidated subordinates. See spiritual abuse and Shepherding Movement.[6]

In 1973, Gregory Robertson joined YWAM. In 1976 he went to the YWAM castle in Hurlach, Germany to work with YWAM's Truth Press International. When he disagreed with leaders he was told he had 'a root of bitterness'. After disagreeing with the proceedings at a base meeting, Robertson was ordered to be silent at all meetings. After again objecting at another meeting, Robertson was physically manhandled by leaders and removed from the room. He was told that he must submit to the leaders and 'obey them completely'. When he refused, the leaders decided he must be possessed by a demon, and attempted to perform an exorcism on him. He was subsequently, after 5 1/2 years of faithful volunteer service, given one week to leave the castle premises. Another person - a respected, long-serving, female staff member - was expelled from the same base for meeting with another member to discuss problems at the base. When Robertson first got out of YWAM he was an avid defender of the teaching he had learned there (Olson's Moral Government Theology). It took years of serious prayer and study before he concluded that those teachings were not biblical. He was later certified and ordained as a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and served as a missionary in Indonesia for almost four years.[7][8]

In the mid seventies, Australian missionary Dave Andrews was asked to leave the leadership of the Dilaram House in the Netherlands. He strongly objected to the proposed merger of Dilaram Ministries with Youth With a Mission. He was concerned that a small, highly relational ministry would suffer ill effects if included in the larger 'umbrella' organisation (YWAM). After objecting to the wishes of YWAM leadership, he was told that he was 'fighting against the will of God', and co-workers were discouraged from speaking to him. Floyd McClung called upon YWAM teacher, Reona Peterson and the leaders of the Dilaram house in Amsterdam, Pete and Kate Fizgerald, to assist him in appealing to Andrews to reconsider his response.[9]

The decentralized structure of YWAM mean that what happens in one centre is not readily known by another. Accountability issues are inherent in such a set up. An international eldership, the Global Leadership Team, was established to provide oversite[citation needed] and the presidency was given over to three, rather than one person, in the early 21st century.

Controversial Doctrines

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.[8][10] Gordon Olson, George Otis Jr. and Howard Elseth are some of the teachers who allegedly helped to spread these doctrines.

If we accept the premise that Jesus literally purchased our salvation with His blood, it portrays God as vindictive and bloodthirsty - George Otis Jr.[11]

The sacrifice of Christ is not the payment of a debt, nor is it a complete satisfaction of justice for sin - Gordon Olson[12]

God is not holy because He is holy - He is holy because He chooses to use all His attributes in a loving (agape) way - George Otis Jr.[13]

If we say that God is simply a blob of good in the sky who can do nothing but good, because He is good, you then destroy the factor of choice... He only is able to do right who is able at the same time to do wrong - Howard Elseth[14]

Holiness and sin are free voluntary acts of will or states of mind, and, although strongly influenced, are not caused by any internal force of nature, tendency, or instinct, nor by persuasion from external sources. - Gordon Olson[15]

Sin is not inherited—it comes by choice, it is created - George Otis Jr.[16]

Because of a free will, I myself am ultimately responsible for my salvation. - Howard Elseth[17]

Gomes claims that many individuals have had their faith damaged through these teachings.[8] YWAM's statement of faith stipulates "all people have sinned and come short of God's glory, God has made salvation possible through the death on the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ"[18] thus conflicting with these statements.

References

  1. ^ http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_wha_founder.htm
  2. ^ http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_wha_structure.htm
  3. ^ http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_his_1990.htm
  4. ^ http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_his_1956.htm
  5. ^ http://www.ywam.org/contents/abo_his_1960.htm
  6. ^ http://www.apologeticsindex.org/y05.html
  7. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20021023034441/http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1082/mywamorg.htm
  8. ^ a b c Gomes, Alan W. (1981). Lead Us Not Into Deception - A Biblical Examination of Moral Government Theology
  9. ^ Andrews, Dave (2001). Christi-Anarchy. Lion Publishing
  10. ^ E. Calvin Beisner (1994). The False God and Gospel of Moral Government Theology. Christian Research Journal, Fall 1994
  11. ^ George Otis Jr., The God They Never Knew (Van Nuys: Bible Voice Publishers, 1978), p. 109
  12. ^ Gordon C. Olson, Sharing Your Faith (Chicago: Bible Research Fellowship, 1976), Historical Opinions, p.2
  13. ^ George Otis Jr., The God They Never Knew (Van Nuys: Bible Voice Publishers, 1978), p. 38
  14. ^ Howard R. Elseth, Did God Know? (St. Paul: Calvary United Church, 1977), p. 26-27
  15. ^ Gordon C. Olson, Sharing Your Faith (Chicago: Bible Research Fellowship, 1976), p. II 1-1
  16. ^ George Otis Jr., The God They Never Knew (Van Nuys: Bible Voice Publishers, 1978), p. 59
  17. ^ Howard R. Elseth, Did God Know? (St. Paul: Calvary United Church, 1977), p. 108
  18. ^ http://ywam.org/contents/abo_doc_faith.htm
  1. Mc Clung, Floyd (1975) Just Off Chicken Street USA, Revell
  2. Mc Clung, Floyd (1992) Basic Discipleship.
  3. Mc Clung, Floyd (1997) Father Heart of God
  4. Schaeffer Edith (1992) L'Abri USA, Crossways Books and Bibles
  5. Schaeffer Francis (1968) The God who is There

Official

Criticism


Moral Government Theology

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