Last year had me completing 25-years in Youth With A Mission! For the last 16-years, since 2009, I have been working with Circle 18, the YWAM Global Communications Team. My work with Circle 18 include:
- YWAM Global Web-Site ywam.org
- YWAM Social Media Profiles
- Online video (YouTube)
- YWAM News Show Podcast – ywampodcast.com
- YWAM Teaching Podcast – ywampodcast.net
- Global YWAM Prayer Initiative – here
- Developing communication training programs
My primary roles this year was the YWAM News Show, The Global Prayer Initiative, and publishing news on ywam.org.
YWAM Podcast Network Stats
- Almost 5000 video views in 2024
- Almost 40,000 unique podcast downloads in 2024
- Over 736,000 unique podcast downloads since I launched the YWAM News Show and the Teaching Podcast
This year I have been working on increasing the quality of the YWAM News Show and the Global Prayer Initiative in the way of presentation, and continue to develop it further and hopefully continue to improve the quality and reach of the show.
Infrastructure Upgrades
Last year also saw a significant change to our newsletter infrastructure as we changed our provider, and worked on better integration with our primary web-site and database. The change over went fairly smoothly, without any disruption to our communications with over 50,000 different email subscribers.
Significant Impact
Through our podcast network and emails we are able to connect many of our 1200+ locations around the world, with each other, and with partners. Many of our locations require quick and significant help, especially when tragedy and natural disasters strike. Times like that require quick and effective avenues of communication and partnership.
Some of the events last year that we were able to assist with were:
- Vanuatu Earthquake and the damage to the villages and YWAM locations there
- The war in Lebanon and YWAM’s continued ministry there
- Damage and recovery from Hurricane Helene and Milton in South Eastern USA
- Relief efforts in Philippines after Typhoon Kristine
- Fatal Bus Accident in Benin, Africa
- YWAM assistance after sheltering hundreds after a gang attack that killed over 70 people
- YWAM St. Vincent and the Grenadines Destroyed by Hurricane Beryl
- Death of 11 YWAMers in tragic Arusha, Tanzania bus accident
- Wildfire recovery in Chile
In addition to communicating about events like those, there are hundreds more stories about medical ministry, evangelical outreaches, training opportunities, and more that we are able to share.
Some feedback that really highlights why I do this work with Youth With A Mission came from some of our recent YWAM News Shows.
Thank you for keeping me in the loop about YWAM activities around the world. The needs are great, and your vision is large. (source)
I thank the Lord for your concern for the poor and the needy. I look forward to hearing from you as I will be happy to work with you. May God continue to richly bless you and your families (source)
Financial Situation
Other than the first 6-months or so that I was on staff with YWAM, when I was living off a wing and a prayer, we have not had our finances as stretched as we do now. Being a missionary with Youth With A Mission is a volunteer position, with us being sponsored by friends, families, and churches. Unfortunately around the time of Covid we saw our financial support severely drop, to the point now where we currently only have 5 x regular supporters, and my sending church from Canada dropped their support due to budgetary problems.
During this time we have seen a significant increase in our expenses, as many others have also experienced. I have been selling computers on the side to help supplement our support, which is a help, but it’s a long way from making up the gap in our financial support. We are currently sitting at about 52% of the support that we need.
If you want to know about how to partner with us, or would like to donate directly, you can find out more on our web-site.
