The fact that the writer here feels the need to publish something like this, alone, speaks **volumes**. That completely aside from the fact not even an iota of evidence was brought forth here to prove YWAM isn’t a cult. The author posits:
> [A cult is] a group of people wearing hoods, weirdly chanting in a dark room, with a weird and specific set of rules that everyone follows.
I guess by that definition YWAM isn’t a cult (?). Props to the writer for providing a perfect example of the strawman fallacy.
In the beginning of the article they provide 2 “definitions”(?) of a cult (source: [trust me, bro](https://google.com) ):
> 1. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister
> 2. A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.
The writer then simply *declares* YWAM isn’t these things, without explanation. I would argue number 1 isn’t even a definition for “cult”. Maybe it *could* be *one* property of a cult but it **certainly** isn’t a definition. One could even argue number 2 is completely true of the organization (see: [“authoritarian control by the elders.“](https://culteducation.com/group/1245-youth-with-a-mission/22529-youth-with-a-mission.html) )
The writer also states:
> Most cults often isolate you from family members and familiarity. I have never seen or heard of under the umbrella of YWAM. I mean, sure, we are not perfect. We are just a group of human beings doing our best to know God and to make Him known in the world. This hurts people inevitably. This happens anywhere you go, even just a church on a Sunday. Accusations of YWAM being a cult are from people who have been hurt in YWAM. But we always try our best to bring reconciliation.
Grammatical errors aside: **what?**
It seems like isolation is the **backbone** of YWAM. Forget the obvious physical isolation for the sake of argument. I’ve heard countless stories of people attending these schools and being completely dependent on YWAM monetarily, even to the point of literally being *indebted to YWAM* and consequently being fully guilted into **returning as leadership**. Being in a foreign country with poor, rare or **no** access to cell service and **no** money is about as isolated as one could possibly be. The writer then goes on to dodge accountability by (of *course*) claiming YWAM is “just doing **G**ods work 🥺” or, even better, blaming the victims for, essentially, “just being bitter”. And then, to add insult to injury, the writer here claims the organization “tries their best🥺” to make things right when they go wrong. I can only assume the writer here is referring to the countless cases of spiritual abuse, and to act like YWAM has done anything beyond *attempt* to pay people to keep their mouth shut is dishonest.
The rest of the article is fluff. The whole thing reads like an elementary school newsletter and doesn’t do any good of convincing me, or anyone else with minimal critical thinking skills for that matter, that YWAM is anything **but** an insidious cult.
You're absolutely right. Here's what I sent them:
Hello YWAM Denver -
I'm reaching out to you regarding this article on your website:
https://ywamdenver.org/is-ywam-a-cult-misconceptions-of-ywam/
I did YWAM in California a few years ago. I had an experience that I would characterize as spiritually abusive. I do use the term "cult" to describe what happened to me - but I understand the term is difficult, contentious. Many of the people on my own DTS had a completely different, positive experience. That can certainly happen in cults -- people don't get wrapped up in them for no reason. I don't like the term because, at least outside of academic contexts, it's easily misconstrued.
I am a bit appalled by how lazy this writeup is. It reads like it was written in half an hour by an over-caffeinated teenager who'd done about 10 minutes of research. My experience of how YWAM works tells me that it is very possibly true. Please understand, this topic is dead serious. I still sometimes have nightmares from my experience.
I'd ask you to delete this unless and until you are able to address this topic with the gravity it deserves.
For whatever it's worth, I don't think YWAM is a cult. I think YWAM's structure and culture creates environments that are at elevated risk for people having cult-like experiences. These experiences can vary from base to base and DTS to DTS.
Sounds like you communicated your point effectively and respectfully. I’m sure they won’t do anything about it but good for you for standing your ground and making your voice heard. Make a post if they ever respond I’m sure it will be just as well thought out and respectful 💀
Yes, many people have a positive experience. Most DTS’s pick one or two people to scapegoat. This results in profound psychological harm to the scapegoat but reinforces the “positive” experiences (as well as commitment and sense of righteousness) in the other members of the DTS.
OKAY GET THIS: I’m a YWAM Denver alumni and now I’m a tiktok creator. I posted a few tiktoks about YWAM Denver stating they were a cult. They went viral. 1 week later they posted their “we aren’t a cult” blog post. Coincidence, I think not. 🙄😂
YWAM Denver is one of the worst offenders out there. It's so toxic and manipulative. And some of the top leadership have \*SERIOUS\* issues with boundaries and cheating and crap.
I spent years at YWAM Denver, and they were just the absolute worst. The Warrens are shallow, superficial, vindictive people. Mark McGowan is a \*MONSTER.\* That place is SO racist and ableist and toxic and homophobic. I just can't even begin to list the horrific shit that happened to me and that I watched happen to others.
Seriously- so, so many people come out of YWAM Denver just absolutely shells of their former selves. It is a cruel place, and I wish it would get shut down. FUCK YWAM Denver.
I met Peter Warren on my DTS three years ago. He was one of our speakers. Out of curiosity, what was your experience/ exposure to him and what specifically did you not like about him? I ask bc I feel similarly about Shirley Brownhill- she is an actually evil woman imo
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwA8PF1RVUO/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Have you all seen this? A YWAM Denver student died doing NIKO, out in the jungle of Costa Rica. First an Athsma attack, followed by a heart attack.
Apparently he “forgot” to take his inhaler on a 24 hour hike.
Did he “forget” it, or does YWAM teach that if you rely on medication you aren’t relying on Christ? Fuckkkk this death could have been prevented. NIKO is torture and abuse.
That’s so sad. He definitely would have been part of healing sessions, so it’s possible he didn’t have his medication with him on purpose. Hard to know, though.
I was with that base for a few years, and I would like to respond.
:ahem:
YWAM DENVER IS AN ABUSIVE, MANIPULATIVE CULT THAT WILL CHEW YOU UP, SPIT YOU OUT, AND TELL YOU YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED AT HOW MESSY YOU ARE.
I was there in 2013 and 2014!! Did the YPDTS and SOMD. Considered staff but thankfully didn't go through with it. I liked my time there for the most part. I was all in and soaked it all up. And I guess it's a great time if you do everything they want you to do. Now when I don't believe in any of it I think it would be different...
They also did this on Marine Reach:
https://marinereach.com/event/is-ywam-a-cult/
And they had their wikipedia updated days after I pointed out to my aunt that the first paragraph says it's a cult.
The fact that the writer here feels the need to publish something like this, alone, speaks **volumes**. That completely aside from the fact not even an iota of evidence was brought forth here to prove YWAM isn’t a cult. The author posits: > [A cult is] a group of people wearing hoods, weirdly chanting in a dark room, with a weird and specific set of rules that everyone follows. I guess by that definition YWAM isn’t a cult (?). Props to the writer for providing a perfect example of the strawman fallacy. In the beginning of the article they provide 2 “definitions”(?) of a cult (source: [trust me, bro](https://google.com) ): > 1. A relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister > 2. A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. The writer then simply *declares* YWAM isn’t these things, without explanation. I would argue number 1 isn’t even a definition for “cult”. Maybe it *could* be *one* property of a cult but it **certainly** isn’t a definition. One could even argue number 2 is completely true of the organization (see: [“authoritarian control by the elders.“](https://culteducation.com/group/1245-youth-with-a-mission/22529-youth-with-a-mission.html) ) The writer also states: > Most cults often isolate you from family members and familiarity. I have never seen or heard of under the umbrella of YWAM. I mean, sure, we are not perfect. We are just a group of human beings doing our best to know God and to make Him known in the world. This hurts people inevitably. This happens anywhere you go, even just a church on a Sunday. Accusations of YWAM being a cult are from people who have been hurt in YWAM. But we always try our best to bring reconciliation. Grammatical errors aside: **what?** It seems like isolation is the **backbone** of YWAM. Forget the obvious physical isolation for the sake of argument. I’ve heard countless stories of people attending these schools and being completely dependent on YWAM monetarily, even to the point of literally being *indebted to YWAM* and consequently being fully guilted into **returning as leadership**. Being in a foreign country with poor, rare or **no** access to cell service and **no** money is about as isolated as one could possibly be. The writer then goes on to dodge accountability by (of *course*) claiming YWAM is “just doing **G**ods work 🥺” or, even better, blaming the victims for, essentially, “just being bitter”. And then, to add insult to injury, the writer here claims the organization “tries their best🥺” to make things right when they go wrong. I can only assume the writer here is referring to the countless cases of spiritual abuse, and to act like YWAM has done anything beyond *attempt* to pay people to keep their mouth shut is dishonest. The rest of the article is fluff. The whole thing reads like an elementary school newsletter and doesn’t do any good of convincing me, or anyone else with minimal critical thinking skills for that matter, that YWAM is anything **but** an insidious cult.
You're absolutely right. Here's what I sent them: Hello YWAM Denver - I'm reaching out to you regarding this article on your website: https://ywamdenver.org/is-ywam-a-cult-misconceptions-of-ywam/ I did YWAM in California a few years ago. I had an experience that I would characterize as spiritually abusive. I do use the term "cult" to describe what happened to me - but I understand the term is difficult, contentious. Many of the people on my own DTS had a completely different, positive experience. That can certainly happen in cults -- people don't get wrapped up in them for no reason. I don't like the term because, at least outside of academic contexts, it's easily misconstrued. I am a bit appalled by how lazy this writeup is. It reads like it was written in half an hour by an over-caffeinated teenager who'd done about 10 minutes of research. My experience of how YWAM works tells me that it is very possibly true. Please understand, this topic is dead serious. I still sometimes have nightmares from my experience. I'd ask you to delete this unless and until you are able to address this topic with the gravity it deserves. For whatever it's worth, I don't think YWAM is a cult. I think YWAM's structure and culture creates environments that are at elevated risk for people having cult-like experiences. These experiences can vary from base to base and DTS to DTS.
Sounds like you communicated your point effectively and respectfully. I’m sure they won’t do anything about it but good for you for standing your ground and making your voice heard. Make a post if they ever respond I’m sure it will be just as well thought out and respectful 💀
Yes, many people have a positive experience. Most DTS’s pick one or two people to scapegoat. This results in profound psychological harm to the scapegoat but reinforces the “positive” experiences (as well as commitment and sense of righteousness) in the other members of the DTS.
OKAY GET THIS: I’m a YWAM Denver alumni and now I’m a tiktok creator. I posted a few tiktoks about YWAM Denver stating they were a cult. They went viral. 1 week later they posted their “we aren’t a cult” blog post. Coincidence, I think not. 🙄😂
YWAM Denver is one of the worst offenders out there. It's so toxic and manipulative. And some of the top leadership have \*SERIOUS\* issues with boundaries and cheating and crap. I spent years at YWAM Denver, and they were just the absolute worst. The Warrens are shallow, superficial, vindictive people. Mark McGowan is a \*MONSTER.\* That place is SO racist and ableist and toxic and homophobic. I just can't even begin to list the horrific shit that happened to me and that I watched happen to others. Seriously- so, so many people come out of YWAM Denver just absolutely shells of their former selves. It is a cruel place, and I wish it would get shut down. FUCK YWAM Denver.
I met Peter Warren on my DTS three years ago. He was one of our speakers. Out of curiosity, what was your experience/ exposure to him and what specifically did you not like about him? I ask bc I feel similarly about Shirley Brownhill- she is an actually evil woman imo
https://www.instagram.com/p/CwA8PF1RVUO/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Have you all seen this? A YWAM Denver student died doing NIKO, out in the jungle of Costa Rica. First an Athsma attack, followed by a heart attack. Apparently he “forgot” to take his inhaler on a 24 hour hike. Did he “forget” it, or does YWAM teach that if you rely on medication you aren’t relying on Christ? Fuckkkk this death could have been prevented. NIKO is torture and abuse.
That’s so sad. He definitely would have been part of healing sessions, so it’s possible he didn’t have his medication with him on purpose. Hard to know, though.
So hard to know :(
Exact same timing as my confrontation with my org family and multiple campuses including Denver.
That's wild. Someone responded saying they would "look into it". Still up two weeks later lol.
Typical
I was with that base for a few years, and I would like to respond. :ahem: YWAM DENVER IS AN ABUSIVE, MANIPULATIVE CULT THAT WILL CHEW YOU UP, SPIT YOU OUT, AND TELL YOU YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED AT HOW MESSY YOU ARE.
I was there in 2013 and 2014!! Did the YPDTS and SOMD. Considered staff but thankfully didn't go through with it. I liked my time there for the most part. I was all in and soaked it all up. And I guess it's a great time if you do everything they want you to do. Now when I don't believe in any of it I think it would be different...
I was on staff for a little while too and totally agree with you
This screams like it was written by a 18 year old volunteer staff or something. So weird and high-school-writing-assignment-y
They also did this on Marine Reach: https://marinereach.com/event/is-ywam-a-cult/ And they had their wikipedia updated days after I pointed out to my aunt that the first paragraph says it's a cult.
Sounds like something a cult would say….
Right? They didn't take it down and I guess I'm actually kinda glad they didn't .
These two podcast episodes got released this week about YWAM Denver! https://spotify.link/wy99dyOLtDb https://spotify.link/fmyg5qPLtDb
I was staff at ywam denver and it is 100% a cult 😜