“Thank you for all the sacrifices you made to be here.” Loren Cunningham addressed the assembly of people before him with remarkable empathy. Some had been on the road for four days to come to this special event. A few had traversed the desert sands of Timbuktu in a 4 x 4. Others knew financial hardship in raising the $50 conference fee and $200 traveling expenses. “Your sacrifices of time, finances, and effort are evidence of your faith,” Loren went on to assure the West African YWAMers. The 210 in attendance in Bamako, Mali, representing 13 different West African nations (Cape Verde, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali) had been motivated to endure the travel and other challenges by simply a sincere desire to welcome the Founders of YWAM to their region to celebrate fifty years of God’s faithfulness. They had come ‘for such a time as this.’

The event lasted four days, from Saturday, May 8 to Tuesday, May 11 and was preceded by a week long Base Leadership Training Course. The teaching for this course was delivered by Lynn Green, YWAM International Chairman and was organized by Gary Tissingh, the African Training Coordinator. It was a breakthrough week for the 86 leaders in attendance. Lynn called for more humble leadership through confession and repentance which leads to greater unity on bases. Those who attended the BLT were still glowing from this cleansing experience when the Anniversary Celebration started.

Lynn remained in Bamako to open the Jubilee Celebration on Saturday, which began with a remarkable time of spirit-filled praise led by Albert and the worship team from Senegal. On Sunday morning, Lynn started with an exhortation on forgiveness which led into a meaningful communion service. In his teaching, Lynn asked YWAMers to continue to sanctify themselves, as Joshua and the Israelites had done after crossing the Jordan and to “do all I (Jesus) have commanded you to do,” in love.

After communion, the anticipation of the arrival of the Cunningham was great. The emcee on stage stopped short and the cameras flashed with the first sight of Loren and Darlene in the doorway as they were escorted to their reserved seats in the front row. The stage was set for their arrival, with the four logos of YWAM’s history broadly displayed in the background with “The Flame Goes Forward” lit downstage in the foreground. The flags of the nations flew in unity over the stage to welcome the guests of honor.

Loren and Darlene had time for a brief greeting and sharing time about their two children, Karen and David and special developments going on at the University of the Nations. Interestingly, this date, May 9, was marked “Mother’s Day” on American calendars and, appropriately, Darlene shared with a mother’s special pride a video about the GVS/Informata program pioneered by David that allows Christian artists to connect and work together globally. Darlene also shared about the recent global activities of her 96 year-old mother, including the publishing of her first book: The Worldwide Wanderings of a YWAM Widow. Sunday afternoon was marked by Loren’s inspirational keynote address to a capacity crowd of 470, which included invited guests of pastors and leaders of other missions in Bamako. The King’s Kids of Mali performed three songs, which concluded in a display of 50 birthday candles represented by waving red cloth, which the audience blew out on cue.

Day Three of the celebration was an intimate time of reminiscing and storytelling between YWAM workers and their founders. A special PowerPoint presentation recalled historical moments for West Africa that included Dallas Moore and Larry Hendricks on the first ever outreach in 1960, building the road to the leper colony in Liberia. Also memorable was the perseverance of Joe Portale and his team symbolically captured in the image of three VW mini-buses kicking up the sands of the Sahara Desert in 1975. Later, Darlene recalled the early days of founding the University of the Nations. Loren then shared personal tales of hearing and following God’s voice during the Year of the Bible distribution in Hawaii. This was followed by a poignant time of prayer for the children as they gathered around “Mama & Papa” for a special blessing and dedication. Perhaps it will be these precious ones who will continue the “next wave” of the Lord’s work of world evangelism in the next fifty years!

Loren and Darlene were particularly touched by the reports of faith-filled ministries from the West African bases. One story told of a DTS team going door-to-door that encountered a marabou (witch doctor) in his home, filling a request for villagers. The marabou then instructed the villagers to “do everything these young people tell you to, for they have the truth. I will only deceive you.” A DTS team, through service to the poor, opened this village up to the truth of the gospel and now, because of their obedience to God’s call, 160 people have come to the Lord in Burkina Faso! The Cunninghams especially rejoiced over the work that is being done in the sphere of Education through YWAM work in teaching, school relations, and Christian teacher training programs in Koutiala, Mali, which instructed 120 participants last summer. Monday night appropriately concluded with an extra special graduation ceremony. Tamou Mounkoro, the first ever UofN graduate to come out of Mali, had met all the requirements of his degree, including studying on multiple continents. Tamou had his B.A. degree in Christian Ministries conferred upon him by the Founder of the University himself! It was a very proud moment for Tamou, his family, and all of West Africa.

Throughout the celebration, the participants enjoyed great worship. There were also a number of energetic dance presentations from different cultural groups represented. Particularly note-worthy was the joyful men’s dance from Burkina Faso, the fisherman’s chant from Senegal, the Togolese traditional leaf waving and the very popular Brazilian kick choreography from the Portuguese speakers working in Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde.

On the final day, Loren emphasized the Christian Magna Carta, which was illustrated on the walls with bright banners in three languages: French, English and Portuguese. Darlene gave an introduction to the communion service, talking about the character of Jesus Christ as revealed in the gospels. This was followed by a powerful time of prayer, healing and encouragement for YWAM missionaries, their ministries, and their bases. 174 people recommitted this Year of Celebration to the Lord by signing the Jubilee Covenant.

What’s a birthday party without gifts and cake? As a special memento of Jubilee Celebration #18 in West Africa, the Cunninghams received a special gift of a Tuareg hand-crafted leather box from Northern Mali, included inside could be found a family of carved hippos, for “Mali” in the language of Bambara means “hippopotamus.” Together, Loren and Darlene cut the special 50th Anniversary cakes. Then it was time to say goodbye and the West African YWAM family sent the Cunninghams off to Jubilee Celebration #19 in Nigeria, thankful for the sacrifices that the Founders had made in traveling the great distance to share this special time together. It was a privilege to witness their faith in action in all that they said and did during these four jubilant days. Loren was heard to remark later that “the simplicity of the celebration” in Mali had really moved him.

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Reporter: Julie Clark.

Go to www.ywam50.com or www.ywamconnect.net for up-to-date reports and photos from the YWAM Founders' 50th Anniversary Celebrations.