Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to presenting Jesus personally to this generation, to mobilizing as many as possible to help in this task, and to the training and equipping of believers for their part in fulfilling the Great Commission.

Evangelism, mercy ministries and training are the 3 thrusts of our mission. Training is accomplished through YWAM’s University of the Nations, an international university that equips staff and students to connect to God’s purposes in their fields of ministry and study.  See www.uofn.edu .

Who We Are:

Who is YWAM? We are aged between 1 and 100. We live in over 180 nations and we like to work with friends in multi-cultural teams, celebrating the diversity of our different experiences, languages, and perspectives.

We come from many different Christian traditions and denominations.  We love to get together and worship God using our different expressions. We are all committed to growing in our understanding of who Jesus is and how He wants us to love and serve the people of the world.

We are very enthusiastic about new ideas. We travel a lot. We are moved by people in need, and we do something about it. We don’t mind roughing it. We believe that God wants to have a living relationship with every one of us and we want to explore that deeply. We’re not in it for the money. We have discovered that faith in Jesus will take you to places you never dreamed of, to do things you never imagined, in ways you would never believe.

Where we are: 

Youth With A Mission is a truly international movement. We have over 1000 operating locations in just over 180 nations, and new teams are constantly being pioneered. Our centers or ‘bases’ reflect the culture they are in, but they often have a multicultural staff.  Some YWAM bases are large, accommodating over 100 staff serving full time in a variety of activities. Others are small, with only a handful of people focused on a specific ministry. YWAM teams can be found in idyllic rural settings and urban centers, occupying all sorts of buildings, including castles, apartments, mud huts and tents.

YWAM has a highly decentralised structure.  Each base is part of the larger YWAM family or YWAM family of ministries, and are committed to the same values and principles and accountable to an overseeing group of elders.  There is no international “headquarters” although there are some international services, some larger ‘hub’ centers, and global leaders scattered around the world.

Do YWAM staff get paid?

To join YWAM as staff anywhere in the world, you need to have your own financial backing. Many YWAM locations can help people put together a prayer and financial support team (often through friends, home groups, churches, relatives, etc.) before they join as staff. Most YWAM staff meet their financial needs through financial supporters while others hold an additional paying job for financial or ministry reasons.

Is this mission only for young people or only focused on young people?

Youth With A Mission began as an organization to help young people get involved in the Kingdom of God and this will always be a focus for us. However, we also believe that age is a state of mind, and many people join YWAM as a second career or after retirement. Some of the young people who joined us in the 1960s are still serving with YWAM, and so are some of their grandchildren!