For Pastors
and Ministry
Leaders

Darlene Cunningham was born in Vancouver, Canada to Pastor Ed and Enid Scratch. From an early age, she was aware of a distinct calling from God on her life. The course of that call became clarified forever when she met a handsome, single young man-with-a-vision named Loren Cunningham. Upon marrying Loren in 1963, she became the Co-founder of Youth With A Mission, the ever-expanding global missions movement Loren had started in 1960, which has now reached into every nation on earth (www.ywam.org). Darlene is also the International Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Nations (UofN), a global ministry of YWAM (www.uofn.edu). 

Darlene is a “prime mover” in the areas of leadership development and implementation of vision. One of her greatest heart motivations is to discover leadership giftings in young men and women and help them to reach their full potential in God. Over the past four decades, she has led scores of YWAM Leadership Training Schools and DNA Infusion leadership training events on every continent of the world, in response to a call from God to “take a banquet of leadership training to those who have not had opportunity to eat,” especially those in the Global South, making it accessible geographically, financially and in the languages of the regions where they have been held.

Darlene is eagerly sought as a speaker worldwide because she is recognized as a woman of wisdom who hears from God. Whatever the context, she constantly points the hearer to God’s faithfulness in every situation, and to His great grace.

She is uniquely qualified to give leadership to those within Youth With A Mission because she understands the lifestyle, pressures and joys of the Mission from an inside perspective. Darlene is the one who first began to identify and teach on YWAM’s Foundational Values in 1985. That teaching was later formalized as one of YWAM’s cornerstone documents: The Statement of Purpose, Core Beliefs and Foundational Values of Youth With A Mission. Her book Values Matter – Stories of the Beliefs and Values of YWAM expands on these topics through many inspiring, live-giving narratives, and includes one of her core teachings for life and decision-making, “The Belief Tree.”

Andy Byrd and his wife Holly have dedicated their lives to spiritual awakening in the nations and in this generation. They work with a group of lifelong friends committed to consecrated community, Christ-centered living, revival, and cultural reformation. Andy is part of the leadership of the University of the Nations, YWAM Kona and has been with YWAM for 25 years traveling to many different nations with a heart to raise up a revival generation. Andy and Holly have helped to pioneer Fire and Fragrance ministries, the Circuit Rider Movement, and The Send. One of the greatest joys of their lives and primary area of focus is their six children Asher, Makana, Hadassah, Rhema, Valor, and Chanel.

Teo Hayashi started his ministry as a missionary at YWAM in 2000. After serving on the mission field in Asia, he spent 5 years serving as one of the ministers of Kingsley Fletcher in the U.S., then he returned to Brazil in 2008 to serve as one of the pastors at Mount Zion Church.

In the same year he returned to Brazil, he founded a para ecclesiastical ministry called Dunamis Movement, which he is currently the leader. In 2013 he became the senior pastor at Zion Church in Sao Paulo.

Gabriël is missionary from Potchefstroom, South Africa. He is passionate about preaching the word of God and training people to become leaders. His favorite topics are fear of the Lord, Holiness and hearing God’s voice. He has a heart to see the everyday believer be the catalyst God has made them to be. He is married to Michelle and has a beautiful daughter, Anastasia and a son, Caleb.

 After a radical encounter with God, Gabriël did his Discipleship Training School with YWAM in the USA. After that time Gabriël was led back to South Africa in 2015, where he pastored a church and started a worship gathering that grew to hundreds of university students every Tuesday night from various churches.

At the end of 2017, Gabriël and Michelle moved to Kona, Hawaii, where they led the Fire and Fragrance leadership training school for almost 2years. At the end of 2019 they recruited 25 staff to join them to plant the first YWAM Fire and Fragrance Ministry base in Potchefstroom, South Africa, where they have been joyfully leading ever since.

David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.

David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.

Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.