Loren Cunningham, Founder Youth With A Mission, Dies At 88

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

KONA, USA (Worthy News) – Loren Cunningham, the visionary founder of the global missions and evangelism movement Youth with a Mission (YWAM), who preached the Gospel to virtually every corner on Earth, has died from cancer.

Cunningham passed away Friday at his home in Kona, Hawaii, YWAM confirmed. He was 88.

“Loren was the first person in history to travel to every sovereign nation on earth, all dependent countries, and more than 100 territories and islands for the sake of Christ and the Great Commission,” YWAM said.

It referred to Bible verse Mark 16:5, where Christ Jesus said: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” YWAM added that Cunningham, who also authored numerous books, “has added one more “stamp” to his well-worn passport: Heaven!”

Cunningham is survived by his wife of 60 years, Darlene; his children, David, Karen, and Judy; and three grandchildren, Madi, Kenna, and Liam.

He was often called the “de-regulator of missions” because he “broke the 1960s missionary paradigm by creating opportunities for youth to serve short-term, globally and unsalaried, “ YWAM said in remarks seen by Worthy News.

OPENING FLOODGATES

“This foresight opened the floodgates so that millions could come from everywhere and go everywhere as missionaries around the globe to proclaim the truth of God and display His love,” the group added.

Cunningham was born in 1935 in California and said he received “the calling to ministry” from God, when he was 13.

Decades later, he began YWAM after traveling in the Bahamas in 1956 as part of a Gospel quartet. During his tour, Cunningham claimed to have “experienced a vision” in which he saw “waves on the shorelines of the continents on a world map, eventually growing bigger and bigger, covering the landmass.”

He said the waves in this vision changed to young people covering the continents, talking to people about their faith in Christ.

The vision, or dream, “would inspire him to set up Youth with a Mission” in 1960 “as a movement providing missionary opportunities for Christian youth after high school, regardless of their denomination,” YWAM added.

It grew into an “ever-expanding global missions” reaching into every nation on Earth through evangelism, training, and mercy ministries,” the movement explained.

MISSIONARY LEGACY

He leaves behind a missionary legacy: Tens of thousands of full-time staff participate from 200+ countries and various denominations and Christian traditions, currently serving at over 2,000 YWAM locations in nearly 200 nations, according to official estimates.

Millions have reportedly served in YWAM programs as students, short-term volunteers, and full-time staff through the years.

Besides overseeing YWAM and its various offshoots, he was also an author, writing Christian books about faith, missions, and ministry.

His writings include ‘Is That Really You, God?’, ‘Making Jesus Lord,’ ‘Daring to Live on the Edge,’ ‘Why Not Women?’, ‘The Book that Transforms Nations’, ‘Power of the Bible to Change Any Country’ and ‘We Can End Bible Poverty Now.’

Funeral arrangements for a man called “a spiritual giant” by his friends were not immediately announced.

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