Our Vision To be ambassadors, who out of relationship with Jesus Christ, model Him effecting change in our city and beyond… Who are we? YWAM is an international movement of Christians working to help make a difference in a needy world. Founded in 1960, it is now one of the largest interdenominational and international Christian ministries, with about 12,000 volunteer staff [and thousands more affiliated workers] based in over 800 locations in over 135 countries.
Youth With A Mission is a non-profit, non-denominational organisation whose primary focus is to know God and to make God known. 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. As citizens of God's kingdom, we are called to love, worship, and obey our Lord, to love and serve His Body, the Church, and to present the whole Gospel for the whole person throughout the whole world.
What does that look like?
1. Discipleship Training School (DTS) The DTS is an amazing training school like no other that allows you to experience God in a way like never before. Students grow, are challenged, have fun and adventure and develop life long friendships while having purpose. There is a wide variety of ministry opportunities and teaching which allows you to step out and discover your individual gifts and call.
2. Morph Crew The Morph Crew is an evangelistic thrust team, the heart of which is to bring metamorphosis to the people of the Gold Coast through friendship evangelism. The team has a positive impact on the city through ministry in schools, youth groups, the mercy ministry of coffee van and feeding the homeless and needy. Friendship evangelism is a major tool through which beach sports, street evangelism, and Muslim outreach are accomplished.
3. Schoolies Outreach Schoolies Outreach is a local outreach during the week of Schoolies when the grade 12 graduates come to party here on the Gold Coast. We serve alongside a ministry called Hotel Chaplaincy which reaches out to the schoolies through offering support, advice and breaking the ice (through those yummy red frog lollies!). Together with other YWAM bases we team up to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these “schoolies”. Our volunteer teams spent hours cleaning hotel rooms, making hot pancake breakfasts in rooms, and providing moral/emotional support when needed.
4. Indy BBQ Indy is an outreach during the Indy Car event on the Gold Coast. It is a massive event every year bringing in 300,000 people. The outreach involves covering the tract in prayer and bringing change to the spiritual climate of Surfers Paradise. This proves to be of utmost importance as normally the Indy event can be full of nudity, drunkenness and all sorts of ungodly activity. We share the gospel through simple acts of kindness such as giving out free water to the thirsty attendants and flowers to the women.
5. Affwan Outreach During the month of August there are about 6000 Muslims that come to holiday here on the Gold Coast. It is a great opportunity to reach many Muslims who come from Arabic nations that we cannot get into. These nations are definitely in many ways unreached and in need of the gospel. It is an amazing window of opportunity God has created by bringing them from their “closed” countries to our beaches where they can hear about Jesus; for some, it is the first time they have heard the gospel in their life. We reach out to them mainly through friendship evangelism.
6. Coffee Van Coffee Van is a way to reach the people on the street with a friendly conversation and a warm drink. God calls us to look after the poor and needy. Our heart is to reach those who are less fortunate or struggling with addictions and share the love of God through practical measures. We take our van full of brewed coffee, tea and milo into Southport every Thursday night.
7. Asia/Pacific Region God has called us to effect change in our city and beyond. To reach “beyond”, we feel God direct us to focus on the Asia region. We have sent teams to India, Indonesia, Fiji, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, and Nepal. We continue to send our outreach teams to various countries in this region and see God’s mighty hand move on our behalf.
8. Hospitality We believe God’s heart for the Gold Coast is to be a place of hospitality. We desire to minister this aspect of God’s nature to those we come in contact with. It is of high importance to us and we believe it is the heart of Jesus.
9. Family Our base values family and we strive to maintain that atmosphere here on our base. We average around 15 staff at one time and with our base consisting of 2 houses. We truly live as a community that encourages and supports one another in all that we do. We work hard and play hard!
10. Worship and Prayer As a community we live and lead by the word of the Lord. We never want to become anything but that. Everything we start and finish is birthed through prayer. It is our heart to hear our Father speak and act out of obedience to Him.
What does YWAM Do? Youth With A Mission's activities span the globe and the dictionary.
From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe everything from accountancy spreadsheets to zoom lenses finds its place in the work of taking the good news to the world--by word and deed.
While many staff continue to work in remote places that are traditionally seen as "missionary fields," a large number are also focusing on the world's needy, vast urban centres.
Although varying widely, all YWAM projects and events help form one of the three main strands which weave together throughout the mission:
- Training
- Mercy Ministries
- Evangelism
References:
"I know of no other organization in the Christian missionary field that has produced and continues to produce such outstanding, mature and Spirit-led young men and women."
David Aikman, author and former TIME Magazine editor, Washington D.C.
"Loren Cunningham has been one of the most adventuresome visionaries of our time. What he has accomplished staggers the imagination. God gave him a dream and he lived it out - very few of us do that."
Dr. Tony Campolo, Professor of Sociology, Eastern College, St. Davids, Pennsylvania
"My life has been so powerfully impacted by missions. I've been involved with trips to India, Calcutta, India, to Romania, Bucharest, Romania, to Ecuador. And just have seen God move through those trips powerfully in my life and seen how God uses that to change people's lives in those countries. I have had some very close friends of mine who have worked with Youth With A Mission and been on mission trips and have just been, their lives have been radically turned around by working with this ministry. So, I just encourage people considering going on a mission’s trip to link up with YWAM because it is an incredible ministry."
Rebecca Saint James, musician
"Whenever I'm travelling and speaking internationally and meet high-committed, servant-oriented Christian leaders, I think to myself, "Another YWAMer!" I'm rarely mistaken. I am so grateful for the work of YWAM and for the intensity with which you do it. God's best in the new millennium."
Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor, Willow Creek Community Church
"We all rejoice in the way God has blessed this organization in reaching people all over the world for the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep up the good work. You have my support and my prayers."
Billy Graham
"I see many activities for organisations throughout the city from a position of Lord Mayor, but I can say that YWAM is very very focused on their assistance and mentoring and development for young people. I think they are a very credible organisation, and their particular influence on young people is unique and very worthwhile of support."
John Tate, Lord Mayor of Newcastle
Gold Coast History
The Gold Coast base started as a branch sent out of the Brisbane base under the directorship of Dave and Jenni Neibling. A team of four staff from YWAM Brisbane (Nancy Robert, Tiffany Hamm (Stickl), Ben Cheng and Martin Roland) moved from Brisbane to the Gold Coast in May 1998, settling in Ashmore.
They felt God told them to establish a base in Surfers Paradise for the purpose of evangelising the Gold Coast. Their first step was to get a mailbox in Surfers Paradise as a statement of faith that someday there would be a base there. God opened up an opportunity to rent a house in Ashmore through the Uniting church as a home base to prepare the team to move into Surfers.
During this time, Darcy and Annette McCaslin were in Norway getting married and preparing to come. Six months later, they joined the team as a newly married couple.
The focus for the first year at YWAM Gold Coast was to connect with local churches and serve in the community. At this time, the Coffee Van ministry emerged to focus on the homeless and needy in Southport.
The first Discipleship Training School (DTS) began in July 2000; it was lead by Nancy Robert and it had 11 students. Through this DTS God brought key leaders who have remained with YWAM Gold Coast to this day.
In 2001, Darcy and Annette McCaslin took over the base directorship. The vision of YWAM Gold Coast to be ambassadors, who out of relationship with Jesus Christ model Him effecting change in our city and beyond, was then established. Following this, DTS was set to run yearly while additionally hosting major outreaches in the Gold Coast community, such as Schoolies, Indy Car, Muslim Outreach and Impact Summer. In 2004, an evangelistic thrust team called Morph Crew was established. The heart of which is to bring change to the people of the Gold Coast through friendship evangelism.
Our history continues to unfold itself as God reveals His plans and purposes for the Gold Coast and beyond!
