Category Archives: The Invitation

Pray for Pakistan

The Invitation, June 13, 2024

YWAM in Pakistan, numbering more than 100 workers, brings discipleship to a persecuted church, and practical assistance to those struggling with poverty and natural disasters. They work in a country that is 96 percent Muslim, with the second highest population of Muslims in the world, after Indonesia.

Topic suggested by N., and written by J., both in Pakistan. Photo of participants in YWAM Pakistan’s Discipleship Training School praying for the country. Photo by YWAM Pakistan.

Please take a moment to pray for Pakistan right now, and also pray with us on June 13, the prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation.

Listen to the Letter
  1. Pray for the church in Pakistan. Pray for provision: many members are very poor, holding jobs such as street sweepers or workers in brick factories. Pray for protection: many face discrimination, persecution, and the threat of legal action against them. Pray for multiplication: pray for the Lord to raise up believers to share the gospel and influence society.
  2. Pray for ministry among the unreached. Joshua Project says there are 236 million unreached people in Pakistan. Pray for Bible translation. Pray for fruitful partnerships among the unreached.
  3. Pray for YWAM’s Discipleship Training School. Churches have been planted in different parts of the country through Discipleship Training School (DTS) graduates and YWAM staff. Through DTS, YWAM Pakistan hopes to train and equip 30 Pakistani young men and women from across the country each year. They also hope to add DTS programs with a special focus, such as the Tribal DTS.
  4. Pray for YWAM’s training and mercy ministry. Currently YWAM Pakistan is involved in community development, sewing centers, elementary schools, women’s seminars, outreaches, sports ministry, and children’s ministry.They also currently run a School of Worship and hope to add the School of Biblical Studies, School of Frontier Mission, and other training programs. Prayer and financial support are needed.

Take Action

If you would like to support YWAM Pakistan or get involved with them, you can reach them at pakistan@ywam.org.

Global Prayer Initiative

Please continue praying with us in preparation for the YWAM global gathering in September in the Philippines. Here is the prayer video for this month: Y Global Prayer Initiative #7.

How We Prayed

Sri Lanka (April, 2024)

YWAM in Madison, USA, formed small prayer groups to pray for Sri Lanka. They sensed that Christians would be reconcilers in that nation: “You will be known by your love for one another.”

Join The Invitation

Sign up for prayer emails and find translations in many languages at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please contact us at prayer@ywam.org to let us know how you prayed, to recommend a prayer topic, or to request an advance copy of the prayer guide.

Praises from the Legacy Tour

The Invitation, May 9, 2024

Thank you, YWAM Global Family, for your prayers for Darlene Cunningham and the first 2024 Cunningham Legacy Tour. Darlene and team (Giacomo Coghi, Garth Gustafson, David Hamilton and others) have completed the final leg of the Americas Tour, where several thousand YWAM leaders and staff gathered at the events in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, USA and Brazil. Dar shares that these times with the YWAM family have far exceeded her hopes and expectations as each gathering celebrated Loren’s life and reflected on YWAM’s true leader, Jesus. There have been amazing moves of God’s Spirit among those who attended, and great excitement and anticipation for the bright future God has for YWAM.

Topic suggested by Garth Gustafson in Cambodia and written by Dawn Gauslin in Hawaii.

Please take a moment right now to pray for Darlene and the Legacy Tour, and please also pray with us on May 9, the prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation.

Listen to the Letter
  1. The first prayer point is praise and thanksgiving! As you may know, Darlene was quite ill for several months following Loren’s graduation. Barely out of the woods from pneumonia–the final ailment that threatened to keep her home–she set out on this Legacy Tour in faith that God would heal and energize her. Thanks to your prayers and His response, she has been wonderfully sustained “on the road,” as she seeks to do the things God asks her to do, and take the rest she needs, leaving some parts for other team members to do. Pray for continued strength and wisdom for Darlene.
  2. Upcoming Cunningham Legacy events are posted on LorenCunningham.com in the “New” section. 2024 includes Central Asia, Norway, Mongolia, South Korea, South Africa, Nigeria and New Zealand. More events are shaping up for 2025. Please pray for each of these events, for fresh words of the Lord to emerge for the thriving future God has for YWAM and for new young leaders to be called and say “Yes.”
  3. Continue to pray for those impacted by the Tanzania tragedy and the fatal car crash last year in Brazil. Honoring these fallen heroes has been a focus of each Legacy Event, sending out a “Macedonian Call” for others to rise up and fill the space their departures created. Pray that God will accomplish the victory He has in His heart to do, to redeem what the enemy intended for evil and defeat.

Global Prayer Initiative

Please continue praying with us in preparation for the YWAM global gathering in September in the Philippines. Here is the prayer video for this month: Y Global Prayer Initiative #6.

Global Prayer Initiative

In order to prepare for the YWAM Together meeting in September in the Philippines, please watch this video April’s Update and pray with us.

Pray for Sri Lanka

The Invitation, April 11th, 2024

Sri Lanka is a beautiful island nation just off the southern tip of India whose 22 million inhabitants have been through a lot: decades of ethnic tension and civil war, a devastating tsunami, Islamist terror attacks in 2020, and a major economic and political crisis in 2022. The people of Sri Lanka need your prayer and support! Please take a moment to pray for Sri Lanka right now, and please also join us on the April 11th prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation.

Topic suggested and written by Eva Rasiah in Sri Lanka. Photo of a YWAM event in a marginalized tea harvester community. Photo by YWAM Sri Lanka.
Listen to the Letter
  1. Pray for the many families, widows and orphans in Sri Lanka who suffer in severe poverty. They live in underserved neighborhoods and have only dirty well water to drink. Without sufficient schooling, thousands of children face a difficult future. Pray for YWAM workers and other Christians around the island to join hands to meet the physical, educational and spiritual needs of Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims.
  2. Pray for more drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and facilities, especially in the Tamil-speaking parts of the country. Among young Sri Lankans alcoholism and drug addiction are widespread, resulting in an increase of crime and suicide.
  3. Pray for ministries to train counselors. Often Sri Lankans who suffer the affects of domestic violence or child abuse cannot get mental health services. Please pray for Christian ministries that will train believers and social workers to counsel effectively and to promote inner healing.
  4. Pray for national reconciliation. Though the civil war ended 15 years ago, tensions and mistrust remain among the ethnic groups of Sri Lanka. Join us in prayer for deeper reconciliation, mutual understanding, justice and equality among the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka.  
  5. Please pray for YWAM in Sri Lanka to take root, grow and bear fruit that will give glory to our Father in heaven. Please pray for YWAM to launch training programs such as schools of counseling, School of Biblical Studies, and School of Worship. Pray for young people to bring light into every sphere of society. Also pray for the church of Jesus Christ to grow and shine in this nation.

Take Action

If you are passionate about drug rehabilitation, counseling or training, come and join the YWAM Sri Lanka team. If you would like to bring an outreach team, YWAM Sri Lanka will help you figure out the details. You can contact them at ywamtrinco@yahoo.com.

Global Prayer Initiative

In order to prepare for the YWAM Together meeting in September in the Philippines, please watch this video April’s Update and pray with us.

Join The Invitation.

Sign up for prayer emails and find translations in many languages at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please contact us at prayer@ywam.org to let us know how you prayed, to recommend a prayer topic, or to request an advance copy of the prayer guide.

Pray for Ministries to the Deaf

The Invitation, March 14th, 2024

According to YWAM’s Deaf World ministry, the 70 million Deaf individuals worldwide constitute one of the largest unreached people groups. They form unique cultures, which YWAM Deaf World recognizes by capitalizing the word “Deaf.” There are more than 300 sign languages worldwide, and only one of those has a complete video Bible translation. According to YWAM Deaf World, only an estimated two percent of the Deaf have embraced Christianity. Please take a moment right now to pray for the Deaf, and please also pray with us on March 14th, the prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation.

Topic suggested by a participant in The Invitation in Liberia; written by Carole McClelland in Jamaica. Photo of a Nepali man signing the word “Jesus.” Photo from YWAM Deaf World.
Listen to the Letter
  1. Pray for the ongoing work of Bible sign language translation. The American Sign Language Version is the only complete Bible available in video format. There are about 80 translation projects in different stages of development all over the world. More people passionate about the Bible and highly skilled in those sign languages are needed.
  2. Pray for YWAM Deaf World, a new ministry and resource to expand YWAM Deaf ministries worldwide. The purpose is to raise up the Deaf and those fluent in sign language to become missionaries by equipping them for success to reach Deaf people groups worldwide. Pray for more staff and finances to provide training and support to those in YWAM locations working with the Deaf and those wanting to get started.
  3. Pray for the multiplication of Deaf Discipleship Training School students and staff around the world. The most effective way to reach the Deaf world is by sending Deaf missionaries as passionate lovers of Jesus, but they first need to be ignited, discipled, and supported. We need more fluent signers to train more leaders.
  4. Pray for unity and collaboration among Christian organizations working to reach the Deaf. The amount of collaboration is growing fast. The different approaches, styles, and strategies among organizations can make partnerships challenging, but the Holy Spirit is breaking down barriers and making a way.

Take Action

To get involved in working with the Deaf through YWAM, visit ywamdeafworld.org. For information on sign-language Bible translation, go to deafbiblesociety.com.

Global Prayer Initiative

In order to prepare for the YWAM Together meeting in September in the Philippines, we are called to a three-day fast, March 26-28. Please watch these videos: Y Global Prayer Initiative #3 (Garth, Paul D & Rachel D), and  Y Global Prayer Initiative #4 (Sun Awh & Josh Cole).

How We Prayer

January, 2024: Oral Bible Translation

“Greetings from Zambia. I would like to join as a Bible translator in Zambia. I have a passion for translation. I hope to hear from you soon” (L.M.).

Join The Invitation.

Sign up for prayer emails and find translations in many languages at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please contact us at prayer@ywam.org to let us know how you prayed, to recommend a prayer topic, or to request an advance copy of the prayer guide.

Join YWAM’s Global Prayer Initiative

The Invitation, February 8, 2024

The global YWAM family will gather in Manila from September 3-6, and the organizing team invites every YWAMer, across all ministries, communities, locations, and campuses, to prepare. Please set aside the third week of each month from February to September for corporate prayer and fasting. We acknowledge the significance of this time in history. Our founder and spiritual father, Loren Cunningham, has transitioned to glory. At the same time, YWAM is strategically positioned to catalyze a historic move of God. In support of this global YWAM family prayer initiative, we will share a brief video every month to inspire unified, corporate prayer for the nations, the mission, and the body of Christ. The first video comes from Andy Byrd of YWAM Kona. Please join us on February 8, the prayer day for YWAM’s prayer initiative called The Invitation, and please pray with us during the third week of each month.

Topic suggested by David Cole in New Zealand, written by Garth Gustafson in Cambodia. Photo by YWAM Battambang, Cambodia
Listen to the Letter
  1. Pray for YWAM Together Manila 2024. From September 3-6, the whole YWAM Global family will be gathering as staff and students for the first time since 2018. Please pray that as many staff and students as possible would join us and that it would be a catalytic time for our mission.
  2. Pray for YWAM in this season. As you listen to the launch video from Andy Byrd and hear about the importance of the tender season that we are in with Loren’s passing, please pray that we would not miss out on anything God has for YWAM as we go forward.
  3. The global body of Christ. As we are living in such a critical time, please pray in YWAM we would be key catalyzers and unifiers in the whole body of Christ to see this generation turn to God in a new and world-changing way.
  4. A fresh youth movement. As God birthed YWAM through the vision of the waves of young people going from every nation to every nation, please pray for a fresh release of a new wave of workers in this generation, starting with Gen Z and beyond.

Take Action:

  1. Contact your supporters and friends and ask them to intercede and fast during the third week of every month, January through September. Start by watching the launch video through this link: Y Global Prayer Initiative, later on watch this video Darlene talks about Y Global Prayer Initiative. Below there are short summaries for both videos but we recommend you watch them.
  • First video: Andy Byrd of YWAM Kona speaks of a tender season of reflection he senses in YWAM after the passing of our founder, Loren Cunningham. Andy says this is a window of opportunity for God to test our thoughts (Psalm 139), for us to make things right with each other (Matt 5:24), for a spirit of revelation to land in our hearts (Eph 1:17-18), and for us to gain fresh vision and clarity, so we can run into fruitfulness (Hab 2:2). Andy also has been reminded of Joy Dawson’s words to him over the phone right before her passing in 2022. She was concerned that YWAM’s leaders not lose the passion for intercession, and she wanted Andy to pass this message on to as many leaders as possible. Andy said he and other leaders don’t want the place of intercession to grow weak in YWAM. Maybe we are not as covered as we should be. Maybe we are more vulnerable than we realize. Andy challenged YWAMers to be like Bartimaeus who cried out to God for the breakthrough he knew Jesus could give him. Andy urged YWAMers to be the presence-centered people God has always called us to be, for leaders to not grow so busy that they don’t close the door and cry out to the Father, for locations and families to re-prioritize and rekindle a hunger for a worship and prayer lifestyle. He encouraged every location to set aside the third week of each month leading up to September for united prayer. He said “I’m excited for these months ahead of us and excited to be together in Manila.”
  • Second video: Darlene began by thanking everyone for all the care she has received. She said she misses Loren, chatting with him. In the decisions, they went to Jesus together, which she can still do. She wants that for all of us in YWAM too. In his video, Andy said this is a time of tenderness. Darlene reflected on that word. She said we were formed in YWAM on the word of the Lord. That’s what Loren’s book, Is That Really You God, focused on. What is in our DTS curriculum: how to hear the voice of the Lord. Darlene recalled the early days in YWAM. They prayed for the nations every day. She asked, “What was the word of the Lord that brought you to the place where you are?” We must always depend on the voice of the Lord. In those first years, they would wait on the Lord, and they would go to each other and make things right. God wants to speak to us. Jesus said, I don’t do anything on my own, I hear from my Father. How much more ourselves? Resist the enemy. Seek a clean heart. Darlene said, as we prepare our hearts to go together to the Philippines, this will be our first gathering in six years. Ask if God wants you to go to the Philippines. I believe God wants to speak to us when we are all gathered. I look forward to seeing you in person. Pray, intercede, walk in unity together, and just see what remarkable things God is going to do in the future.
  1. Sign up your team for YWAM Together 2024 in Manilla. Click the link www.yt2024.com before April 30 to get the early-bird price.

Join The Invitation.

Sign up for prayer emails and find translations in many languages at ywam.org/theinvitation. Please contact us at prayer@ywam.org to let us know how you prayed, to recommend a prayer topic, or to request an advance copy of the prayer guide.