“Loren Cunningham went to be with Jesus”, the ministry he founded, Youth With a Mission (YWAM), announced on its website and social media on 6 October.

Born in Taft, California, he married Darlene Scratch in 1963, with whom he had 2 children and led YWAM. He is also is survived by three grandchildren.

Cunningham died at 88, leaving a family heritage that includes generations of Christian ministers.

“Loren was the first person in history to travel to every sovereign nation on earth, all dependent countries, and more than 100 territories and islands for the sake of Christ and the Great Commission. Now he has added one more stamp to his well-worn passport: heaven”, says the obituary shared by the organisation.

An innovative mission model

YWAM recalls that “Loren is often called ´the de-regulator of missions´ because he broke the 1960s missionary paradigm by creating opportunities for youth to serve short-term, globally and unsalaried”.

This vision “opened the floodgates so that millions could come from everywhere and go to everywhere as missionaries around the globe to proclaim the truth of God and display His love”, they add.

There are currently tens of thousands of full-time missionaries from over 200 countries and several denominations and Christian traditions serving in more than 2,000 YWAM locations in almost 200 nations.

Bible and education

Cunningham also co-founded (with his wife Darlene and Dr. Howard Malmstadt) the University of the Nations (UofN).

Furthermore, since the 1960s, along with many other world leaders, he aimed to make the Bible accessible to all people on earth, “ending biblical poverty worldwide”.

This passion focused in his later years on making the oral translation of the Bible available in each of the over 8,000 mother tongues of the earth.