YWAM England Response to the Guardian Observer Articles Dated 6 April 2025

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is a global movement of people from many different Christian churches and backgrounds who seek to know God and make God known. YWAM operates in approximately 180 countries and has 15-20,000 people in mission training every year. This training occurs in many independent locations around the world and often involves learning in cross-cultural settings.

YWAM in England has been a UK charity since 1972 now with eight partner charities, training hundreds of young people every year to serve local communities in areas of social need while practising and communicating their Christian faith.

Although most young people have had a very positive experience in YWAM, we are aware and deeply regret that some have had harmful experiences of spiritual abuse and manipulation. We recognise that abuse can occur in large and small organisations of all types.

We acknowledge that leadership styles vary in different cultures around the world. YWAM globally provides accountability to its locations through a community of local leadership structures. This is to ensure that leaders and ministries serve others, as exemplified in the person of Jesus Christ, and do not use their position to damage others.

YWAM England is deeply committed to the safety and well-being of everyone in our care and to continuous improvement in safeguarding practices. We have designated safeguarding leads who ensure that safeguarding remains a top priority. In addition, each YWAM location is responsible for upholding the safeguarding standards required in its country of operation.

Following allegations of spiritual abuse at one of our England locations, YWAM England took action and shut down this location. Our policy is to report allegations to the LADO (local authority designated safeguarding lead), Action Fraud, and the Charity Commission, and support the reportees who have contacted us as well as providing access to professional emotional, psychological and legal support.

We continually comprehensively review all our safeguarding policies and governance structures to ensure we are doing everything possible to protect those involved. We have also strengthened our safeguarding policy and training, in partnership with the Independent Safeguarding Service CIC and continued our membership with Thirtyone:eight.

Our focus is to provide full support to those who report while maintaining their safety and anonymity, ensuring their voices are heard and appropriate action is taken.

Our aim is not only to respond well to individual reports but also to build systems that prevent future harm across all of YWAM England.

YWAM England is strongly opposed to pressured group sessions of public confession. While confession of sin may occur, the person should never be publicly shamed or pressured to confess something or to apologise.

YWAM England highly values professional therapy, counselling and medical advice. Informed consent, trauma-awareness, and appropriate spiritual and pastoral oversight are essential.

We are deeply grieved to hear reports that spiritual practices intended for healing were instead used in coercive or shaming ways. We condemn any practice — past or present — that traumatises individuals or associates their identity with demonic influence.

YWAM holds to traditional Christian views on sexual morality and marriage. These beliefs should not, however, be used to shame others. We affirm the dignity and worth of every individual. We do not condone any practice that results in humiliation, exclusion, or internalised shame. We are grieved by reports of individuals who felt that their identity was treated as sinful or demonic, and we are reviewing how our teachings are expressed to ensure they reflect compassion, truth, and love.

We are heartbroken to hear that some individuals have described damage to their mental health, identity, or self-worth. While we continue to hold traditional Christian views on sexuality and marriage, we are actively reviewing how we teach and communicate those views to ensure we do not cause shame or rejection.

We are aware and concerned that young people frequently experience anxiety, shame, and low self-esteem. Our approach has never been to add negatively to these feelings but to create environments where these issues can be discussed in a safe place.

Living as an active Christian is not always ‘safe’, especially in some parts of the world, as it is with other religions. YWAM England provides pre-departure briefings that cover situational awareness, risk assessment, emergency procedures, and local cultural sensitivities. Every team is required to have travel and medical insurance, and we discourage any outreach or activities that expose individuals to unnecessary danger.

When teams arrive in their location, they also receive a local and cultural orientation to provide them with the context of the communities they are serving in. We understand that these briefings are consistently practised across YWAM.

We proactively debrief all our teams on their return to ensure their welfare and inform our learning. YWAM England constantly reviews our outreach models to ensure safeguarding is embedded in all mission activity.

Finally, we want to emphasise our concern for those who have been impacted by negative experiences in YWAM. We are especially grateful to the former YWAM members who have spoken up, even when it has been painful to do so. Your courage is helping shape the future of our movement and helping to inform our efforts and ensure we maintain our duty of care.

If you have been impacted and wish to speak with someone confidentially, please contact our safeguarding team at reporting@ywamengland.org

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