YWAM Madison began as a vision to see university students realize their full potential in God’s kingdom. In 1986, veteran YWAMers Warren and Gayle Keapproth were commissioned in Kona, Hawaii to begin a new expression of YWAM on the UW Madison campus.
We started small, with the Keapproth’s young family and some good friends and co-workers. We focused on university ministry, leading short international mission trips during winter and spring breaks, and emphasizing intercessory prayer. Our teams went to Mexico, Grenada, Belize and several inner cities of the U.S.
As word spread about this new YWAM ministry, more people came to join us. We ran our first Discipleship Training School in 1991 at a rented facility in downtown Madison. Additional Discipleship Training Schools were held in churches until 1995, when we purchased a public school building as a permanent training facility. The Training Center now operates year round, hosting seminars and retreats for churches as well as Access in the summer and DTS in the summer and fall. Thanks to generous donations in 1998, we paid for the Training Center in full!
In 1999, YWAM established a house on the University of Wisconsin campus to provide staff and student housing, fellowship, and discipleship in a live/learn environment. Known as the PHOS House, it is open to students serious about being disciples of Christ, relevant and effective in their fields. Although the building changed a few times, our mission remained the same. In 2008, we purchased our very own Phos House on Langdon Street. Our UW Student Organization is known as Students Transforming Nations.
Also launched in 1999 was the School of the Bible. The School of the Bible is a ten-month course designed to equip students as Bible teachers and challenge them to consider the relevance of God’s Word in every sphere of society.
The 2004 purchase of the Global Missions Center on the northeast side of Madison made it possible to better function and serve the Madison area. We moved and expanded our operations offices and classroom and dorm space.
To better serve and equip more students to understand and teach the Bible, the Bible School for the Nations (BSN) began in the spring of 2007. And the corresponding BELT (Bible Education and Leadership Training) ministry also began.
Twenty-five years later, YWAM-Madison continues to grow in staff, influence, and areas of ministry. In addition to working with university students and running training programs, YWAM challenges local church members with the call to missions, specifically in providing opportunities for short-term outreaches. Our staff reach into the city of Madison, from the northside neighborhood to downtown and the Allied Drive area. We are members of twenty diverse Madison churches.
