About
ALOHA
We are excited to have people from so many nations on our campus. We’re glad that you are joining our YWAM community. God is going to do amazing things through you.
You will never regret investing time to study the Bible, exploring your God given calling and learning to use your passions to serve the Kingdom of God.
Together we are fulfilling the vision God gave Loren Cunningham. We want to send waves of young people from every nation to every nation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
University of
the Nations
God spoke to Howard Malmstadt and Loren Cunningham and said that he wanted YWAM to have a university. God wants people to understand how the Bible applies to every area of society including family, government, education and business.
This holistic approach to missions will be an important part of seeing communities transformed. So in 1978, YWAM launched a university to develop young men and women’s skills, character and worldview.
Every year, approximately 15,000 students take courses in YWAM’s University of the Nations (UofN). We have 600 UofN campuses in 142 countries and provide training in 97 languages.
We want our students to be fully equipped to fulfill their God given calling. We have courses in the arts, healthcare, linguistics, sports, communication, counselling, education, science and more.
The core program in the UofN is the Discipleship Training School (DTS) which is required for all other UofN courses.
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YWAM UofN Kona Campus
In 1973, during an all-night prayer meeting near Honolulu on the island of Oahu, God spoke to Loren Cunningham and other staff and students about starting a YWAM base on the Big Island of Hawaii.
So Loren and Darlene led a team of YWAMers to Kona. With lots of prayer, hard work and several miracles, YWAM purchased the Pacific Empress Hotel and land. And this is where YWAM UofN Kona continues to stand today.
Over the last 50 years, the campus has developed from an overgrown, abandon hotel to a campus full of life. Each year we train 1,500 students and send them around the world to share the gospel.
Our Founders
Loren and Darlene Cunningham are the founders of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an ever-expanding global missions movement born in 1960 which has reached into every nation on earth.
Loren was born in Taft, California, Loren’s family heritage is rich with generations of Christian ministers. His educational background includes three Bachelor degrees, a Master of Science in Administration of Education, and three Honorary Doctorates. Loren is the author of six books: Is That Really You, God? (translated into more than 140 languages), Making Jesus Lord, Daring to Live on the Edge, Why Not Women?, The Book that Transforms Nations—the Power of the Bible to Change any Country and We Can End Bible Poverty Now.
Darlene Cunningham was born in Vancouver, Canada to Pastor Ed and Enid Scratch. From an early age, she was aware of a distinct calling from God on her life. The course of that call became clarified forever when she met a handsome, single young man-with-a-vision named Loren Cunningham. Upon marrying Loren in 1963, she became the co-founder of Youth With A Mission, the ever-expanding global missions movement Loren had started in 1960, which has now reached into every nation on earth.
