Loren Cunningham, US, Founder of

March 26. Loren Cunningham. Loren could be a wealthy man if he wanted to. He is an “accomplished author and a world-renowned public speaker.” But he donates his book royalties to Youth With A Mission (also known as YWAM), which he founded. And he doesn’t charge a speaking fee or ask for an honorarium.

Loren grew up in a family with limited financial resources. Yet his parents gave 30% of their income to foreign missions. That example set the stage for Loren’s own generosity and for the financial policy of YWAM. Missionaries with YWAM do not receive salaries. They trust God to provide for their needs.

On this date in 1972, Loren, his wife, and their 2 children introduced a plan for a floating mobile school of . But that wasn’t the first school that Loren founded. Now, YWAM is more than 60 years old and has more than 18,000 workers. The parish is global.

Here’s today’s story.

Want a farm? Buy a milk can.

I want to give you a farm.

Those few words from God seemed out of context for Loren. Having grown up in the busy city of , farms and livestock were not familiar to him. He had never even thought about having a farm. Having a farm was so far out of his area of expertise, he started to wonder if he had heard God clearly.

Loren had heard God speak directly to him before, and it had always turned into something incredible. He had already asked God where his first ministry school should be stationed, so if God wanted to give Loren a farm in Switzerland, he would welcome it.

Everything he felt called to do in this mountainous countryside was falling into place. This new word from God was obviously another aspect of this ministry that they needed, so Loren sat in a quiet space and asked God for more. For confirmation.

Loren was directed to a specific book of the Bible, a chapter, and a very specific verse. Flipping to James, Chapter Two, verse 26, he found it. “Faith without works is dead.” Hmm. This was going to require action. The next day, Loren went to see a farm that was being auctioned, and he bought some barbed wire, a milk can, and hay wagon. He saw the items and knew he needed to buy them; he was walking in obedience—God was going to provide a farm. After Loren bought the items, his students from the ministry school wondered what he was up to.

They asked why he had bought a hay wagon, and he simply told them, “God is going to give me a farm for YWAM.”

Curious about this, one of Loren’s students JoJo asked what that looked like for them, since they were a part of YWAM.

He told her to go seek God and see what you get.

Being obedient, she took the week and prayed about what God was saying about the farm, and by the end of the week her confidence soared. She knew the school was getting a farm. She told her parents her thoughts and what Loren had done as an act of faith by buying farm items; she was convinced this was happening.

A few weeks later, JoJo’s father was chatting with a Swiss local, when the man struck him with these words, “I have this farm, and God told me to give it to a mission. Do you know a mission that needs a farm?” Awestruck by the words that had just come out of the man’s mouth, JoJo’s father exclaimed, “YWAM! They bought a hay wagon in faith!”

This wasn’t just any farm, it was a place where thousands would be filled with the knowledge of the Bible, live in the presence of , and be given the tools to go to other nations and spread of love of the gospel.

This farm was the first of many bases in YWAM that would disciple young people and send them out to the poorest of the poor. This base was, and still is, the mother base of the global ministry, and it all began with a few words. “I want to give you a farm.”

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God” (Romans 10:17 NKJV). Is there something you need to step out in faith on? Want a farm? Buy a milk can.

Lambert, Sean. “60 Years of Faith for Finances.” LorenCunninham.com. Accessed September 4, 2020. https://www.lorencunningham.com/articles/60-years-of-faith-and-finances. Ellis, Mark. “Stories of faith from a faith-filled panel.” GodReports. Published January 9, 2019. http://godreports.com/2019/01/stories-of-faith-from-a-faith-filled-panel/. Steffen, Markus and Anita. “Welcome to YWAM Luasanne.” YWAM .” Accessed October 14, 2020. https://www.ywamlausanne.com/about-us-in-lausanne/.

Story read by Peter R Warren, https://www.peterwarrenministries.com/ Story written by Abigail Schultz, https://www.instagram.com/abigail_faith65