Our YWAM Frontier Missions Story

YWAM’s legacy in Church Planting

Since our early days in the 1960s, Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has been deeply involved in starting new fellowships. It all began with one of our first cross-cultural outreaches in the Bahamas in 1964. Despite the challenges of a devastating storm, our teams engaged in evangelism, mercy ministries, and the planting of small groups of new believers.

A decade later, at the Lausanne Conference on World Evangelism, Ralph Winter challenged us to reach the unreached people groups globally. This call was echoed in 1980 at a meeting in Thailand, where many YWAM leaders were gathered. Inspired by these challenges, our commitment to engaging in these unreached frontiers began to grow.

Answering the Call to the Unreached

In the early 1980s, our response to this call emerged from different regions. In Asia, Pioneer Ministries in Honolulu led the way. In Pasadena, California, a YWAM team partnered with the newly formed US Center for World Missions. The Caribbean responded with training focused on the unreached, initially aboard a small ship, later relocating to Amsterdam to become Project 2000.

These diverse efforts converged in 1984 at an informal consultation in Pattaya, Thailand. This gathering grew into yearly conferences, eventually regionalizing in the early 1990s. It was during this period that the name “Frontier Missions” was adopted, reflecting our commitment to working among the unreached. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, we developed a global structure to support Disciple-Making Movements (DMMs) among the remaining unreached peoples.

YWAM Frontier Missions Today

Today, YWAM Frontier Missions is a vital part of YWAM’s global family of ministries. With over 1,500 workers, more than 350 teams worldwide, and thousands of churches planted, we give all glory to God for what He has done.

Yet, much work remains. We continue to build on the solid foundation laid by our pioneering leaders, pursuing our  God-given vision  to launch many more Disciple-Making Movements among the Least, Last, and Lost. We are in the midst of the greatest season of growth and fruitfulness in our history. As God multiplies our impact, we remain faithful to our calling.

Join Us

This is our YWAM Frontier Missions story. Come and join us! Let’s grow together!