About us
One base, fifteen ministries, one direction
YWAM Chiang Mai is about a hundred staff working across the city and the province, in schools, children's homes, community centres, media and translation. This is who we are and where we are.
Who we are
A hundred people, and no two doing quite the same job.
The ministries of YWAM Chiang Mai are as diverse as the YWAMers who make them happen, and they have an impact locally, regionally and internationally. Home of Joy provides a home for children who have none. Create International uses arts and media to communicate the Gospel. The DTS trains disciples who go on to work across Asia. Several other schools prepare people for specialised ministry.
We are a ministry location of YWAM Thailand and part of the wider YWAM family, a movement that has been going since 1960 and now works in more than 180 nations. Everything below sits inside that.
- 100
- staff serving on base
- 15+
- local ministries
- 10
- training schools
- 6+
- people groups served
Why here
Chiang Mai is a hub, and that is not an accident.
Because of the city's strategic location, we host a number of YWAM's international ministries rather than only our own local work. Create International's coordination office is here. So is YWAM's Business as Mission team. Chiang Mai sits within reach of a great deal of Asia that is difficult to reach from anywhere else.
In practice that means the person next to you at lunch might be working two provinces away, or two countries away, and the base functions as much as a launch point as a location.
What we run
Schools and ministries
Schools train people and then send them. Ministries run all year, and students plug into them alongside their school. Every one of these has its own page.
- DTSThe Discipleship Training School, five months, the entry point to everything elseSchool
- SBSThe School of Biblical Studies, every book of the New Testament, taught in ThaiSchool
- Project VideoGospel films, dubbing and media training for unreached peoples across AsiaSchool
- Create InternationalA YWAM communication ministry in its own right, with four teams based hereSchool
- BELTBible Education Leadership Training, equipping leaders in their own language since 1995School
- Home of JoyA permanent home for children who have noneMinistry
- Baan Dem RakA community centre in Santitham for migrant familiesMinistry
- Teach Our KidsTeaching posts at Grace International School, for missionary families across the regionMinistry
- Shan OutreachA community centre for Shan families, and a discipleship school built around a working weekMinistry
- Spiritual DirectionOne to one accompaniment, and a silent retreat once a yearMinistry
- Business as MissionReal businesses run as the mission itselfMinistry
- Outreach TeamsHow churches, youth groups and YWAM schools come and serve with usVisiting
Where we are
The old capital of the Lanna Kingdom.
Chiang Mai was established more than seven hundred years ago as the capital of the old Lanna Kingdom, and is now Thailand's second largest city. It sits seven hundred kilometres northwest of Bangkok, in the mountains of Northern Thailand, and it leads the north in business, education, religion and the arts.
Our ministries are spread across the province rather than gathered on one campus, which is why we publish a P.O. Box rather than a street address. Most locations have their own office. If you want a particular ministry, write to it directly through the contact page.
What it is like
Before you decide, read the ordinary part.
A base is a place people live, not only a place they serve. Rent, food, transport, visas, cold showers in February and where to find a dentist all turn out to matter as much as the calling did.
Contact
Reach the right person
Because our locations are spread across Chiang Mai province, most ministries have their own office. The contact page lets you write to one directly rather than to a general inbox.
P.O. Box 113 CMU, Chiang Mai 50202, Thailand.
Follow along
Get social
We post on Facebook and Twitter. The national picture is at ywamthai.org, and the global movement at ywam.org.