This week I learned that the co-founder of YWAM International, Loren Cunningham, had passed away. Loren was a wonderful, humble man who impacted the world for Jesus. He will be greatly missed by us all. So, it is with great sadness, that I share with you that our dear friend and YWAM International leader, Loren Cunningham, has graduated from this life into the presence of Jesus. He passed away peacefully October 6, 2023 at 4.20 AM at home in his sleep.

I ask that you would pray for his family, which are dear friends of mine: his wife Darlene; his grown children: daughter Karen; son David and wife Judy and their three children, Madi, Kenna, and Liam.

I lived in Lausanne Switzerland, during my film school, and Loren and Darlene were living there then too. I have also been privileged to work with both David & Karen. I worked with David on his first Feature Film, Beyond Paradise, filmed in Kona, Hawaii; and Karen worked with me on our Broadway Musical, Judah Ben Hur, in Singapore.

Official Announcement: Loren Cunningham is with Jesus

Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) went to be with Jesus on October 6, 2023 at the age of 88. 
 
Loren was the first person in history to travel for the sake of Christ and the Great Commission to every sovereign nation on earth, all dependent countries, and more than 100 territories (Mark 16:15). Now he has added one more “stamp” to his well-worn passport: HEAVEN!

Loren is 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.  This foresight opened the floodgates so that millions could come FROM everywhere and go TO everywhere as missionaries around the globe to proclaim the truth of God and display His love.

The ministry he founded, Youth With A Mission, an ever-expanding global missions movement born in 1960, has reached into every nation on earth through evangelism, training and mercy ministries (YWAM.org).  Tens of thousands of full-time staff participate from 200+ countries and various denominations and Christian traditions, serving at over 2,000 YWAM locations in nearly 200 nations.  Millions have served in YWAM programs as students, short-term volunteers and full-time staff.

Many have credited YWAM as being among the world’s largest mission movements.  But when presented with this claim, Loren always deflected the glory to Jesus, saying, “Well, however large it is, it’s not large enough because Jesus’ last commandment to reach the whole world with the Gospel has not been completed.” He was well-known for his call to build bridges of unity within the body of Christ, always quick to recognize the scores of other missions and churches serving together in partnership.

A humble and godly man with a wonderful sense of humor, Loren was approachable and designed YWAM to be decentralized, emphasizing “Joe and Jane YWAMer,” not a leadership hierarchy.  When people would refer to him as “doctor” or “reverend,” he would quickly say, “Jesus was just Jesus, and I’m just Loren.  Please call me Loren.”

The Vision of Waves of Missions

Loren’s call to the Great Commission came while kneeling at the altar during a brush arbor revival meeting in 1948 at the age of 13.  God spoke to him through Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”

This personal call was confirmed by a vision – a mental movie – that he saw as he was preparing to minister in the Bahamas in 1956 (YWAMValues.com).  He was staying in a missionary’s home, kneeling beside the bed, praying in preparation to speak that night.  He says, “Suddenly, I was looking at a map of the world, only the map was alive and moving!  I could see all the continents, and waves were crashing onto their shores.  Each wave went onto a continent, then receded, then came up further until it covered the continent completely.  The waves became young people–kids my age and even younger–covering all the continents of the globe.  They were talking to people on street corners and outside bars.  They were going from house to house and preaching the Gospel.  They came from everywhere and went everywhere, caring for people.  Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the scene was gone.” (Excerpt from Is That Really You, God? by Loren Cunningham with Janice Rogers, YWAM Publishing.)

Global initiatives launched under Loren’s leadership include King’s Kids International, the University of the Nations, YWAM Ships (28 vessels currently serve the most isolated islands and coastlands), and myriads of other ministries birthed by leaders he inspired.

The future of YOUTH With A Mission, University of the Nations, and YWAM Ships is in good hands!  The largest number of leaders and volunteers in YWAM are young.  They are confident, capable and committed to leading YWAM into all God has for the coming 60+ years.

Loren’s Background

Born in Taft, California, Loren’s family heritage was rich with generations of Christian ministers.  He married Darlene Scratch in 1963, who had an equally rich Christian ministry background and complementary leadership call, and from that point, they led YWAM together.  He was the apostolic visionary, and she was the people/team developer and implementer.

Loren’s educational background includes three Bachelor’s degrees, a Master of Science in Administration of Education, and three Honorary Doctorates.  He authored six books:  Is That Really You, God?  (translated into more than 150 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, We Can End Bible Poverty Now and No Boundaries.

Loren is survived by his beloved wife, Darlene Joy Scratch-Cunningham; his daughter, Karen Joy Cunningham; his son, David Loren Cunningham (Judith Fitts-Cunningham); and three grandchildren, Madison Grace, Kenna Faith and Liam Reid.

Thank you for your prayers for the Cunningham family and for YWAM during this time. May the peace of God be with each of you today as we mourn together as the global family of YWAM.

Know that we love you, we believe in you, and we are praying for you!

Every place where you set your foot will be yours. Deuteronomy 11:24 NIV

Earlier this week, I watched a worship service on my computer. During the service, the leader said that he sensed a lot of disappointment that needed to be dealt with, expressed, and turned over to God. I realized, that although I have had a lot of success in my life, I have also had a lot of disappointment. I paused the worship service, and I went to the Lord in prayer. I spent a long time expressing all my disappointments, from all the years, to the Lord. I gave each of them to Jesus, and I said I didn’t want them back – ever. And, then, I began to thank and praise Jesus for His perfect plan for my life.

I realized the truth, that those things that disappointed me were not really failures, or rejections, they were God‘s protection.

I also realized that I have had some of the wrong objectives in the past. My objective has been to reach a lot of people with the message, or the art, and to also make money from my craft. Which, when you get down to it, is ‘fame and fortune.’

Instead, my objective should be to impact the spirit realm. When we master a craft, and become an expert by doing it, we then gain authority in the spirit, as well as in the natural, in that area. For example: I have authority, in the spirit, in the film world because I am a film maker. I am a Producer, Director, editor, scriptwriter, songwriter, and movie actress. Been there, done that. That means in the spirit, I own the territory. I have walked that land, I have set my foot in that arena. I own the territory. I have increased authority to pray, declare, and decree, in that area, because I have gained the authority by doing it.

I also realized, that often, in the Bible, the prophetic acts related to the arts were not to gain an audience, but instead were to do something in the spirit. For example: God had Ezekiel build an entire model of Jerusalem. The model was what we might compare to a miniature set to use for a stop action movie. Then he acted out, with that model, the siege of Jerusalem. Because he created the ‘art’ that the Lord showed him to create, the siege happened just as he had acted it out. (Read details in Ezekiel 4.)

Our creations have power in them as we co-create with God, whether anyone ever sees them, or hears them, or not.  Maybe, it’s not about success, but instead it’s about what it does in the spirit, and what it does in my own skills and ability arsenal, and my authority.

I want to challenge you this week to look at your creative gifting in a new light. Let go of the disappointments of past projects. Realize that as you co-create with God, your creation has power to accomplish things in the spirit, simply because of your obedience. In addition, as you become an expert in an area, you gain authority in the spirit to really be the church – the Ecclesia, or legislative body – in that area. You have increased your authority in the spirit because of your expertise in the natural. You own the territory.

Remember, when you create something, it could be that you are creating it simply to release the power of the creation. In addition, the authority you have gained as you created, could be to teach others. It also could be to have the authority in the spirit to pray, and declare, and decree, and legislate in that area. I challenge you to take time to create something this week, simply to own the territory.