In early 1990, high inflation and food shortages racked what was known then as The People’s Republic of Mongolia. Despite the recent peaceful democratic revolution, little hope seemed present in the Asian country. Especially for the church. After 70 years of Communism, Mongolia was one of the few countries with no known churches or even native believers.

The first missionaries in over 60 years, a group of Native Americans, arrived in the country in 1990. And in 1991, the first YWAMers arrived. Beginning with only 14 Mongolian believers, all of them teenage girls, the YWAM team faced many hurdles in their attempts to plant an active, vibrant church in Erdenet, Mongolia. But without a doubt, God had His hands on the church of Mongolia. Today, the country not only celebrates 20 years of religious freedom, but also that Christians make up 1.7% of the population.

The vision for Youth With A Mission to operate sea going ships for ministry purposes came to Loren Cunningham (co-founder of YWAM) back in 1964 during an outreach to the Bahamas which had been devastated by Hurricane Cleo. The first, but unfortunately aborted, attempt to buy a ship was in 1974 with the m/v Maori in New Zealand. With the purchase of an 11,750 tonne ex-Italian cruise liner called m/v Victoria, renamed m/v Anastasis in 1978 and subsequent conversion to a hospital ship, YWAM Ship Equipped Ministries was born.

Since 1978, YWAM has always operated vessels of various sizes and types, older ones being ‘retired’ and newer ones taking their place. Now the vision to operate vessels of many different designs to further the spread of the message of Christ through the three main activities of YWAM: Evangelism, Training and Mercy Ministries, is accelerating with the twinning of YWAM University of the Nations (UofN) campuses with Ship Equipped Ministries

Una noche, los líderes de JUCUM se reunieron para el Foro de Liderazgo Global 2011 y vieron fotos de Al Akimoff, líder de los Ministerios Eslavos de JUCUM, durante un viaje a Kamchatka, Rusia. Veían a Al con un sombrero ruso grueso, forrado de escarcha, después de un viaje en moto de nieve a los pueblos no alcanzados. Vieron fotografías de hombres y mujeres sonrientes vestidos con brillantes trajes de color rojo, blanco y azul que provenían de sus antecedentes tribales. Escucharon que algunos de los primeros individuos de estas tribus habían llegado a la fe. En una zona, pastores y líderes formados en las Escuelas de Discipulado y Entrenamiento de JUCUM han comenzado una iglesia de 1.000 miembros. Una de las herramientas para alcanzar a estas tribus, es un barco que navega por los ríos cuando no están cubiertos de hielo. Este barco es tan nuevo para JUCUM que ni siquiera tiene nombre todavía. Tiene capacidad para siete personas. La tripulación paga parte de su viaje pescando durante la travesía.

On Wednesday the 4th of April around 8p.m., a large part of the Western suburban area of Buenos Aires and even the downtown, were affected by the passing of a storm that left considerable damage.

In Ituzaingo, the area surrounding the Youth With A Mission centre in Buenos Aires, the damage caused by the wind gales, the rain and the hail, left thousands of fallen trees, 95 percent of the city without power and 70 percent of the city without telephone lines. Some 500 businesses were affected and around five thousand residences were seriously damaged.

Take a large number of young, creative, adventurous people of both genders and any nationality, put them together for a longer period of time, add some memorable experiences somewhere around the world (preferably in difficult life circumstances), spice the mix with the zeal to change the world, and stir well. Then watch what happens...

“2012 is a crucial year for the UK,” says Yan Nicholls, team leader of ‘Forever” - the Olympic outreach coordination team for Youth With A Mission.

“We have such a God-given opportunity to see people’s lives changed – both the lives of people from the nations visiting these shores for the Olympics, and also the lives of UK residents. One of the aims of the Olympic outreach has always been to bless communities in the UK, to see positive change. That blessing will come as we do what God asks us to do with regards to outreach. But it starts by us seeking God for His plan for this nation during this time.”

To enable this change, the Forever team has launched “Brick by Brick” - an online prayer calendar that enables you to pray for the United Kingdom throughout 2012.

Each year thousands of children and young people attend Christian clubs, summer camps, Christian festivals and church events, through which they learn to love Jesus and are part of Christian communities. As the youth and children's coordinator for ‘Forever’ - YWAM’s official Olympic outreach team for London 2012 - Helena Kittle is passionate about finding ways of mobilising these children and young people into the mission of sharing God's love to those around them, and to those a bit further afield.

“The United Kingdom has a rich missionary heritage and this generation of children can build upon that heritage. The Olympics is a unique opportunity to do that!” says Helena.

During the London 2012 Olympics, there will be hundreds of community events happening across the country, in addition to the thousands of visitors from all over the world who will be hosted. In England, 85% of adult Christians gave their life to Jesus before the age of 18, and of that number, 70% say that the biggest influence on that choice was their peers.

“Youth and children can be agents of transformation!” declares Helena.

Youth With A Mission teams scattered around the globe have found several unique ways to celebrate Christmas in the communities where they live. For these teams, this season of giving is a particular opportunity to express God's love; the way He stepped into our reality to bring hope and the promise of redemption.

Christmas is a special time of year when we bring to mind that the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus, came to be one of us; that the Son of God came to be, to dwell, to remain with us.

Lights dim and the strumming of indigenous music fades in, familiar to the ear of the audience.

On a cool October night in Northern Thailand around 200 people gathered to hear and see a dramatic movie filmed right in their community. Throughout the film showing, the audience laughed at the appropriate humor, got serious, and then pondered the message of the Creator God and His words of hope.

The film entitled "When the Storms Come" is very appropriate to the current situation in Thailand now, facing what has been called “The Flood of the Century.”

The first full day of YWAM’s 2011 Global Leadership Forum gathering began with the sound of power saws and hammers. Regional leaders and international coordinators were carrying sheets of plywood and dipping brushes into containers of paint. The 47 attendees, who had come from countries as far away as Zambia, South Korea and India, had dedicated their first day to building three homes for the poor in Tijuana, Mexico.