YWAM was founded by Loren Cunningham after a vision of waves of young people sweeping across the globe with the message of Christ. Since its humble beginnings, YWAM has become the largest and fastest growing mission agency in the world. YWAM is decentralised and each base has it's own culture and expression. It is the heart that is the same. There have been YWAMer's to every single country on Earth. Now the focus is on reaching every single people-group within those countries.
To join YWAM it is recommended that you complete a Discipleship Training School (DTS). This is a five to six month course half of which is outreach to apply the things that you have just learnt. I did my DTS in Fiji with Marine Reach - the ship ministry of YWAM. If you are thinking of doing a DTS, I would highly recommend Marine Reach to you. To visit their website click here.
YWAM Perth (where I am currently) was founded 20 years ago and since then has grown amazingly. There are now 270+ staff associated with YWAM Perth and the list of ministries based here is huge! If you would like more info on YWAM Perth then click here