Youth With A Mission Founder Loren Cunningham in the UK!
GLOBAL PASSION TOUR - September 2006
"CALLING THE NATION BACK TO ITS HERITAGE AS A MISSIONS SENDING NATION"
In September 2006, Loren Cunningham, founder of Youth With a Mission, challenged over 2000 people in 5 venues throughout the UK as part of his “Global Passion Tour”, telling the story of ordinary people that God used from Great Britain to change and transform nations.
Discipling the nations Loren spoke about the destiny of nations and referring to Acts 17:26, how in recent times God had brought about significant changes in redrawing the geographical boundaries of the former USSR and Germany. He also recounted his meeting with the King of Norway when he was able to explain how the Word of God had changed what had been the poorest nation in Europe with 90% illiteracy and hardly any freedom into the richest nation on earth per capita, with individual freedom and no illiteracy or homelessness. He shared how in South Korea the Word of God permeating society had changed the nation in 25 years from a poor one into the tenth richest nation on earth.
In terms of Great Britain, Loren shared the blessing this country had been to the United States through the ministries of Wesley, Whitefield and others, and how men such as Wycliffe and Tindale paid the price to get the Bible into the English language from which God has enabled His Word to go into all the world. Having travelled to every nation on earth, Loren said without exception, he could get a translator who could change the English language into the language of the nation he was preaching in.
Send more 'waitresses' and 'shoe makers'! Great Britain had also been used by God to start a great missions movement with ordinary, seemingly unqualified people such as Gladys Aylward, a waitress who brought change in China, and William Carey, a shoe cobbler who not only translated the Bible into 30 languages and started churches, but also brought transformation throughout Indian society, including the introduction of the steam engine, a lending bank for the poor, the launch of Asia's first liberal arts college, helping to outlaw the evil practice of widow-burning, and publishing the first newspaper in Asia.
Referring to what he believed God is wanting to do again from Great Britain, Loren said that God is wanting to raise up a new move of missions from this land, the glory of which would be far greater than what has gone before (Haggai 2:9). Prophetically, he declared that this new multicultural mission force would be an expression of both unity and ethnic diversity, such as the apostolic team we read Paul had in the Book of Acts. He also gave a specific word from Acts 9 that he believed was God's word for the nation at this time and challenged the church in this country to agree together in prayer for God's power to fall on the most religious radicals in this nation, and see them changed into apostles for God and missionaries to the nations of the earth.
At each venue hundreds of people responded to the call to go wherever God called them to go in the world, and to do whatever he asked them to do. Loren shared that God had specifically instructed him to receive a special offering during this tour for a new YWAM England initiative, a small ship that would sail around the UK coast providing training, evangelism and UK-focused outreaches, along with deployment in the Mediterranean during the winter months. He believed this would be "a cork in the bottle" that would start a release of other ministry initiatives throughout the UK.
(CDs of Loren's message given at the Bradford meeting on 7th September are available on request - £1 plus p&p.)
Footnote As well as founding a world-wide organisation (Youth With A Mission) currently operating in more than 1000 locations in over 149 countries, with a staff of nearly 16,000 and YWAM's global university, the University of the Nations in Hawaii, Loren has also in some 50 years of ministry personally gone to every sovereign nation on earth, all dependent countries, and more than 150 territories and islands, for the sake of the gospel. This has given him valuable insights into global trends and uniquely prepares him to share God's strategies for world evangelism. His wisdom, experience, leadership understanding and call to build bridges of unity within the body of Christ have caused him to be sought out by leaders of nations and organizations worldwide. He speaks publicly in 30 to 40 nations a year, and has spoken to live audiences from a few to more than a million people gathered in one location.
Loren has written five books: Is That Really You, God? Hearing the Voice of God Making Jesus Lord - The Dynamic Power of Laying DownYour Rights Daring to Live on the Edge - The Adventure of Faith and Finances Why not Women? A Fresh look at Scripture on Women in Missions, Ministry and Leadership The Book that Transforms Nations - The Power of the Bible to Change any Nation
Referring to what he believed God is wanting to do again from Great Britain, Loren said that God is wanting to raise up a new move of missions from this land, the glory of which would be far greater than what has gone before (Haggai 2:9). Prophetically, he declared that this new multicultural mission force would be an expression of both unity and ethnic diversity, such as the apostolic team we read Paul had in the Book of Acts. He also gave a specific word from Acts 9 that he believed was God's word for the nation at this time and challenged the church in this country to agree together in prayer for God's power to fall on the most religious radicals in this nation, and see them changed into apostles for God and missionaries to the nations of the earth.