Our Story
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Youth With A Mission is a global movement of Christians from many cultures, age groups and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world. Also known as YWAM (pronounced “WHY-wham”), we unite in a common purpose to know God and to make Him known.
YWAM was founded by Loren Cunningham in 1960 after God gave him a vision of waves of young people crashing onto the shores of all nations of the world with the Gospel. Loren also co-founded the University of the Nations in 1978 in order to better train and equip people for missions. As YWAM is a decentralized mission with no global headquarters, Loren and his wife Darlene made up part of YWAM’s Founders’ Circle overseeing the mission and pointing YWAMers across the world back to Jesus. Loren Cunnigham died on October 6, 2023.
From a late-night vision of waves of young people reaching every continent, given to a 20-year-old in the Bahamas, to a global ministry with over 20,000 workers, the growth of YWAM is the story of God’s inspiration, God’s grace for many mistakes, and the creativity of the Holy Spirit’s leading. The heart of YWAM–to worship God, to serve God’s global purposes, and to champion young people–remains as strong as it was in the beginning.
Back when we began in 1960, our main focus was to help youth get involved in missions. Today, we still focus on youth and we also include people of all ages. We currently have tens of thousands of staff (called “YWAMers”) from nearly every country, including places like Indonesia, Nepal, Mozambique, and Colombia.
We have been making waves here in Japan since 1975, starting in Osaka. We have since expanded all over Japan. YWAM Oita was launched in the spring of 2020, in response to God's call to re-dig the ancient wells of revival in this place.
YWAM Oita is a Presence-centered missional community that longs to change Oita & the nations, out of a place of abiding in a love relationship with Jesus. We are passionate about table fellowship, sabbath, the arts, education, and inner wholeness.
We love Oita, and feel so privileged to be here. It is an abundant land, with a rich Christian heritage, and a people that welcome you from their heart..
To find out more about YWAM in Japan visit
I will make the descendants of David my servant
and the Levites who minister before me
as countless as the stars in the sky
and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
Jeremiah 33:22
Core Values
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Cultivating God's Presence
We long to abide in God as he abides in us. It is our honor to personally love him daily through prayer, worship and meditating on His word. It is our joy to also gather corporately to seek God's face and celebrate His nearness.
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Lavish Hospitality & Celebration
The ministry of Jesus was marked by abundance and joy. There are so many stories where Jesus is ministering in the context of meals and parties. The lavish hospitality of Father God calls all of us to the table.
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Wholeness & Freedom
We believe that inner wholeness is a life-long pursuit. We are all on a journey of being led by the Lord in the healing of our hearts and being set free to be who we were made to be.
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Arts & Creativity
We worship God because he is beautiful, and we are captivated by his wonder and majesty. Creation is an expression of that beauty; and we create also because it is in our nature to do so, as his sons & daughters.
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Sabbath
The Sabbath is the restful garden in the cool of the day in which we meet with God. We keep the Sabbath, because it keeps us whole.
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This mission, vision, and values are unique to YWAM Oita.
To see the purpose, beliefs and values that we hold as part of the greater YWAM family please visit
ywamjapan.org/en/values
Vision
(what we do)
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To be a loving, creative, Presence-centered, missional community.
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Mission
(why we do it)
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To experience fullness of life in Jesus.