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This month we will update you on the Hurricane that hit YWAM in Jamaica, YWAM’s relief work after the typhoons that hit the Philippines, what happened with the Go Africa screenings around the world, hear about some unique ways that YWAM is using technology around the world, if you hang out until the end you can hear some gross outreach food stories, and more …
Thank you for downloading this, the 163rd episode of the Youth With A Mission News Show Podcast, we are your hosts, Bill Hutchison and Lidia Hugentobler.
You can contact us, subscribe to future episodes, leave comments, and find links to all the stories we talk about on the show notes for this podcast at ywampodcast.com/163 …
Stories:
In the full show you can see the as yet unreleased Fruit Break video (exclusively released on our podcast!). For now however, you can checkout the previously released video.
Check out more of what is happening at YWAM Rogaland on their Facebook Page and Instagram Page.
YWAM Deaf World Jamaica Hurricane Damage
Last month as we were recording the last podcast YWAM Deaf World Jamaica was awaiting the landfall of Hurricane Melissa. Thankfully, everyone from the YWAM centre was safe, but the amount of damage to their case was substantial …
Because of the significant damage that their location suffered they are needing to raise $500,000 to rebuild the campus and assist with supporting the community of Montego Bay.
You can find more updates on their Facebook page, facebook.com/YWAMDeafWorld, and find links to their fundraising pages.
YWAM Surigao Relief Work after Typhoons
While YWAM Deaf World Jamaica was being battered about by Hurricane Melissa, on the other side of the world the Philippines were hit by a series of deadly typhoons which has left many villages devastated and thousands homeless.
YWAM Surigao now sent a team to help with the recovery work in Cebu, where one of the typhoons made landfall.
If you are only listening to the podcast it would be worth visiting the show notes to watch the video showing some of the work that YWAM Surigao was doing.
YWAM Surigao continues their relief work, and you can see a bit of what they have been doing on their Facebook page, which is linked to at ywampodcast.com/163.
Go Africa Premier
The Go Africa video was shown in over 250 locations with an estimated attendance over 25 thousand for the global premiere event!
You can download and stream the full movie now by heading over to thegomovie.org.
YWAM Asheville
Now we will look at a story from YWAM Asheville, in North Carolina. One year ago YWAM Asheville received a food truck that helped them respond to Hurricane Helene. They shared how food has been a central part of their ministry for more than a decade, and how they continue to serve meals downtown to support the ongoing recovery of the community.
They also give thanks to Operation Blessing for providing the food truck, to everyone who donated toward disaster relief, and to their staff, students, and volunteers who have been part of this work.
Find out more about YWAM Ashville’s ministry on their Facebook Page.
South Sudan Teacher Education
The education system in South Sudan is in crisis. Only 25% of teachers have formal training, and 1.8 million children are currently out of school. YWAM Kona recently visited Sudan to talk with Jaco, a missionary educator investing in the future of South Sudan by equipping teachers across the nation. This year alone, his team has trained 346 teachers.
YWAM Lusaka Football ministry
Next, we head to YWAM Lusaka, in Zambia for an update on one of their growing ministries that’s making a real impact among local youth. It’s called ‘Inspired for Christ Football Academy’, a soccer-based discipleship program started just last year by a staff member. And in such a short time, the ministry has already become a place of growth, encouragement, and community for many young people in the surrounding neighborhoods.
The Inspired for Christ Academy is serving age groups – under 12, under 15 and under 20. What began as a staff-led initiative has grown into a flourishing ministry that’s helping young people develop character, confidence, and football skills, all grounded in God’s word.
If you’d like to be updated you can follow along on their Facebook page at Inspired for Christ football academy or for more information and ways to partner you can get in touch through their base email at ywamlusaka@gmail.com.
YWAM San Diego 2025 Ministry Overview
YWAM San Diego has delivered us this overview of their ministry from this year …
You can visit ywamsandiegobaja.org to find out more.
God is Bringing the Nations
All around the world we are seeing immigrant populations grow in traditionally “Christian” areas. If we are unable to visit the nations, it seems that the nations are coming to us …
To find out more about reaching the nations through global gateway cities, you can check out globalgates.info.
SD Card Bible
Countless people live without access to the Word of God. YWAM Kona has found a rather unique way to help get it to more people …
You can find out more ways that YWAM Kona is reaching out to the nations on their web-site, ywamkona.org.
Game Development Foundations Seminar
The Game Development Foundations Seminar starts in January!
The course is a 5-week seminar designed to equip Christians with the language and foundational understanding of game development, to be able to engage in that field in a holistic and biblical way.
You can find out more about the course on their web-site.
YWAM Gamers Discord Server
As Jason mentioned in the video, he has also created a Discord server for YWAMers that have an interest in gaming.
He set it up as a place together together to connect, encourage one another, and maybe even dream about how gaming could be used for community and missions.
On the Discord server we can:
- 🎧 Hang out in voice chats
- 💡 Dream about how gaming can be used in missions
- 🙌 Encourage & pray for each other
- 🎮 Maybe even play casual & competitive game nights?
I’ve already seen some great interactions on the server, and been able to find some other people on there who want to develop games and who stream over on Twitch and YouTube.
The link to the Discord Server is discord.gg/Tn93qDpu.
YWAM Grimerud Minecraft Build
In the theme of gaming, YWAM Grimerud did their first ever Minecraft live stream. They spent about 6 hours live streaming, interacting with people online, and worked as a team to build their YWAM location on a self hosted Minecraft server.
It looks like that had over a dozen people working together to build their base in Minecraft, and during the live stream they interviewed a few of them and also connected to many of their computers to show them hard at work.
You can find out more about YWAM Grimerud on their web-site, grimerud.no.
Oceania Hui One Year Later
Last year YWAMers from all around Oceania gathered in New Zealand for a Hui ,,,
Oceania often gathers together to encourage, worship, pray, and launch missionaries. I was actually at a Hui outside of Aukland back in 2000, when Frank Naea, a New Zealander of Maori/Samoan descent was named president of Youth With A Mission.
I’ve had the privilege of being at many national and international gatherings of Youth With A Mission, and they have always been encouraging …
YWAM Costa Tropical Hotel Project
YWAM Costa Tropical is undergoing some exciting developments with their location …
This year they had to turn down 49 short-term volunteers for lack of housing space, and their upcoming DTS is beginning next February which is already filled and with a waiting list.
Like they have shared they just need $839,000 by January 2026 to complete the sale. We actually got an email from Justin just yesterday letting us know that they managed to secure a matching donation for the month of December, which is very exciting for them, and we pray will help them to achieve their financial goal by January!
If you’d like to find out more or have any questions I recommend visiting their web page at ywamct.com/hotel-project where they give a really good overview of how its going so far and share more about their vision for this building.
Leadership Development Course
The first one is the Leadership development Course in YWAM Muizenberg, South Africa. Starting on the 8 Jan – 22 Jan 2026. If you’ve been leading in YWAM for at least 5 years and are in need of being revived, renewed, refreshed, developed and equipped then this would be nice to look into. It is an advanced Leadership course of 6 weeks of life giving community and training.
For more information you can visit their website at ywammuizenberg.org
School of Transformational Business
The School of transformational Business is offered by YWAM San Francisco. The SOTB will offer teaching from experienced business owners from different parts of the world and those who have been involved in Business with A Mission and how to use business to reach people of different cultures. It is 6 weeks in total starting on July 13th 2026.
This is a great opportunity to look into if you have a heart for business and want to bring missions into it.
For more information visit ywamsanfrancisco.org/sotb.
The Missionary Care Foundations Course 2026
The Missionary Care Foundations Course 2026 will train and equip you to develop, preserve and restore missionaries on the field. This 14 week course includes 3 in-person modules starting on the 15 February – 22 May. Each module will take place at a different YWAM location And those are YWAM Heidebeek, in the Netherlands; YWAM Herrnhut, in Germany; and YWAM Seamill, in the UK.
The overall cost is 600 euros but if you apply before the 31 December you can get an early bird price of 550 euros.
If you have any questions you can email them at mcfc.europe@gmail.com
Member Care Basics Seminar
Also on offer in the area of Missionary Care, is a one week Member Care Basics Seminar that is being offered by YWAM Lancaster.
The course is an abbreviated version of the full Missionary Care Foundations Course, and will equip participants to develop their skills for supporting missionaries to be healthy, resilient, and effective. It’s highly interactive and practical course, designed for leaders, member are workers, and people interested in member care.
The seminar is running from January 9 – 15, and you can find out more by emailing them at mcbasics.na@gmail.com.
Sports Leadership School
Last on our list of offers, we have the Sports Leadership School in Ituzaingo, in Argentina starting MArch 2026. The school is designed to equip, train and empower people who want to use sports, recreation, health, and fitness as tools to make disciples and share the gospel with the unreached communities.
The training combines 12 weeks of classroom learning and 8 weeks of practical outreach with daily sports activities and biblical content applied directly to the sports context.
For more information you can reach out to rsgescuelas@gmail.com
YWAM Queenstown Outreach Tragedy Update
For our final story this month, we have the tragic news from YWAM Queenstown, New Zealand.
“Words cannot express how deeply saddened we are to share that a participant on one of our outreach teams has tragically passed away during a day off in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Glen Ray, 18 years old from the United States, was missing for nearly 24 hours before local search teams recovered his body on Monday, 3 November. We understand that he was swimming on a coral reef with some of his local friends. We are awaiting further details about the incident.
Our hearts are broken alongside Glen’s family and loved ones as we all grieve this devastating loss.
At this time, our priority is to support his family, care for the team members and volunteer-staff affected, and continue working closely with local authorities to ascertain exactly what happened.
We are very grateful to the local community and authorities in West New Britain for their assistance with these search efforts.
We deeply appreciate your prayers and compassion during this tender time.
That was the initial update from YWAM Queenstown about Glen’s passing. You can read more updates on YWAM Queenstown’s web-site, ywamqueenstown.com/2025-outreach-tragedy.
Crazy Outreach Food!
Now we would love to hear your story about your craziest or weirded outreach food. Please reach out and let us know!
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