University of the Nations Kona 
The information on this page was last updated 6/23/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Youth With A Mission ("YWAM") is a Christian missionary movement founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham with the purpose to fulfill the Great Commission. The University of the Nations, Kona (UofNK) was co-founded by Loren Cunningham and Dr. Howard Malmstadt, as a missionary training organization in 1978 and teaches Biblical principles to further the Great Commission through the vision and ministry of YWAM.
UofNK is an independent campus and separate legal entity that follows the ethos and ministry of YWAM. UofNK follows the YWAM structure and values with an independently established Board of Trustees, Elders, various Campus Leadership Teams (Core Team, Circle Leaderships Team, Working Group Team) and the leadership of Circles, Ministries and Schools.
The University of the Nations is not accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education.
Contact information
Mailing address:
University of the Nations Kona
75-5851 Kuakini Highway
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Website: ywamkona.org
Phone: 808-326-7228
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 990240539
CEO/President: David Hamilton
Chairman: Karen Curtis
Board size: 11
Founder: Loren and Darlene Cunningham
Ruling year: 1985
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 1996
Purpose
YWAM is a global movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to presenting Jesus personally to this generation, to mobilizing as many as possible to help in this task, and to the training and equipping of believers for their part in fulfilling the Great Commission. As citizens of God's kingdom, we are called to love, worship, and obey our Lord, to love and serve His Body, the Church in its nurturing local expression and apostolic mobile expression, and to present the whole gospel for the whole person throughout the whole world.
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) seeks to know God and to make Him known in the nations. At the University of the Nations ("UofN"), students have joined us from 214 nations and dependent countries as we train in multiple locations and in 97 language. All of this to see the Kingdom of God in the nations.
Mission statement
To educate and equip young people from all nations in spirituality, integrity, personal life skills, and business skills to be multiplied around the world.
Statement of faith
We, UofNK, agree with the YWAM Statement of Faith.
We of Youth With A Mission believe in God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-and that the Bible is God's inspired and authoritative Word, revealing that Jesus Christ is God's Son, fully God and fully human; that people are created in God's image; that He created us to have eternal life through Jesus Christ; that although all people have sinned and come short of God's glory, God has made salvation possible through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ; that repentance, faith, love and obedience are fitting responses to God's initiative of grace toward us through the active ministry of the Holy Spirit; that God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth; and that the Holy Spirit's power is demonstrated in and through us for the accomplishment of Christ's last commandments, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone" (Mark 16:15 NLT) and "Go and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matthew 28:19 NLT).
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Colleges/Universities
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 19 of 1106 | 1 of 129 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 13 of 1107 | 3 of 129 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 113 of 1107 | 8 of 129 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 95 of 1106 | 9 of 129 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 10% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 22% | 44% | 51% | 61% | 50% | 41% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 78% | 56% | 49% | 39% | 50% | 59% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 92% | 93% | 92% | 91% | 90% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 96% | 98% | 91% | 95% | 98% | 103% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 78% | 90% | 85% | 88% | 89% | 93% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 4% | 2% | 9% | 5% | 2% | -3% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 5% | 2% | 7% | 3% | 1% | -2% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 13% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 8% | 9% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.51 | 0.71 | 0.67 | 0.46 | 0.60 | 0.63 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.64 | 11.25 | 11.93 | 10.40 | 17.18 | 10.89 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.40 | 7.99 | 8.01 | 4.83 | 10.27 | 6.88 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 8.60 | 1.40 | 1.21 | 1.93 | 1.54 | 1.27 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.12 | 0.71 | 0.83 | 0.52 | 0.65 | 0.79 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 7.34 | 0.43 | 0.26 | 1.20 | 0.41 | 0.37 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 24% | 8% | 8% | 15% | 15% | 18% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 11% | 1% | 1% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 151% | 130% | 137% | 182% | 141% | 129% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Cash | $3,460,455 | $2,902,569 | $3,925,069 | $2,311,462 | $3,709,237 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $416,175 | $573,467 | $98,009 | $57,011 | $108,593 |
| Short-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $3,876,630 | $3,476,036 | $4,023,078 | $2,368,473 | $3,817,830 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $35,879,367 | $29,164,084 | $29,820,539 | $30,507,270 | $30,857,269 |
| Other long-term assets | $3,850,667 | $8,822,606 | $8,010,831 | $7,812,140 | $6,896,087 |
| Total long-term assets | $39,730,034 | $37,986,690 | $37,831,370 | $38,319,410 | $37,753,356 |
| Total assets | $43,606,664 | $41,462,726 | $41,854,448 | $40,687,883 | $41,571,186 |
| Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $1,067,313 | $891,099 | $760,496 | $704,110 | $1,427,830 |
| Other current liabilities | $1,695,340 | $1,982,688 | $1,325,066 | $837,374 | $1,583,800 |
| Total current liabilities | $2,762,653 | $2,873,787 | $2,085,562 | $1,541,484 | $3,011,630 |
| Debt | $542,000 | $450,000 | $4,382,493 | $4,553,883 | $4,584,407 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $200,000 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $542,000 | $450,000 | $4,382,493 | $4,753,883 | $4,584,407 |
| Total liabilities | $3,304,653 | $3,323,787 | $6,468,055 | $6,295,367 | $7,596,037 |
| Net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Without donor restrictions | $37,223,873 | $35,003,533 | $32,157,475 | $31,190,857 | $31,307,812 |
| With donor restrictions | $3,078,138 | $3,135,406 | $3,228,918 | $3,201,659 | $2,667,337 |
| Net assets | $40,302,011 | $38,138,939 | $35,386,393 | $34,392,516 | $33,975,149 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Total contributions | $14,001,031 | $15,478,229 | $12,507,128 | $12,364,674 | $10,488,955 |
| Program service revenue | $17,383,712 | $14,847,973 | $8,196,494 | $12,202,019 | $14,889,953 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $35,535 | ($77,912) | ($363,337) | $27,577 | $51,819 |
| Other revenue | $264,164 | $193,997 | $95,651 | $138,322 | $150,289 |
| Total other revenue | $17,683,411 | $14,964,058 | $7,928,808 | $12,367,918 | $15,092,061 |
| Total revenue | $31,684,442 | $30,442,287 | $20,435,936 | $24,732,592 | $25,581,016 |
| Expenses | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Program services | $28,379,098 | $25,806,181 | $17,911,600 | $22,027,911 | $23,694,585 |
| Management and general | $2,333,051 | $1,840,825 | $1,354,353 | $2,021,994 | $2,241,016 |
| Fundraising | $250,124 | $197,604 | $176,106 | $281,503 | $316,053 |
| Total expenses | $30,962,273 | $27,844,610 | $19,442,059 | $24,331,408 | $26,251,654 |
| Change in net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $722,169 | $2,597,677 | $993,877 | $401,184 | ($670,638) |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $722,169 | $2,597,677 | $993,877 | $401,184 | ($670,638) |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Sunawh Park | Treasurer | $79,250 |
| Loren Cunningham | Past Preside | $76,452 |
| David Joel Hamilton | President | $65,847 |
| Paul Childers | Trustee | $56,692 |
| Martin Rediger | CFO | $2,335 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2023
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 6/23/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
This volcanic rock in the middle of the Pacific... the most remote island chain on earth... doesn't sound like a choice location for one of the world's largest mission training centers. But God's ways are above our ways, His thoughts above our thoughts.
In 1973, during an all-night prayer meeting near Honolulu on the island of Oahu, God spoke to Loren Cunningham and other YWAM leaders, staff and students about YWAM starting a work on the "Big Island" of Hawaii. To one, He gave the letter "K", to another, the word "Kona". Others saw visions of very specific places where YWAM was to locate.
This amazing time of "hearing God's voice" (the story of our mission!) led Loren and others to embark on a faith adventure that involved incredible miracles - including the provision of the Pacific Empress Hotel and land where YWAM-Kona's University of the Nations now stands...
We later discovered that God had called us to the very same bay where the first Christian missionaries landed in Hawaii, establishing the first Christian church, and where revival broke out that transformed the whole of Hawaiian society. We are reclaiming this spiritual inheritance and working and praying for revival in THIS generation!
God has transformed the lives of over 50,000 people who have served and trained here during the past 30+ years... and the best thing is, we are bursting at the seams, with more and more people coming with a passion to know God and make Him known.
Hawai'i is often called the "Crossroads of the Pacific." This island chain forms a spiritual and social bridge between the Americas, Oceania and Asia. So whether you come to the Hawai'ian Islands as a YWAMer, a tourist, a business person or retiree, there's a good opportunity to experience diverse, multi-cultural, multi-generational community living. For learning missions work, this is a great place to start.
Beyond that, the geographic location of Hawai'i plays a strategic role in missions. God called UofN Kona to be a "lighthouse" to 26 Pacific island nations of our liquid continent, many of which feel very isolated. In contrast, Hawaii faces the Asian rim nations - some of the most populous nations in greatest need of receiving Good News!
Youth With A Mission here in Kona opens up doors of opportunities as new ministries are constantly growing and developing. Averaging 1,200 students per year, there is a constant flow of new missionaries through the University of the Nations Kona campus.