What You Need to Know About YWAM Ships Mazatlan

YWAM Ships Mazatlan is a ministry that works to bring God’s love to isolated places along the coast of Mexico. Sometimes these coastal regions are not well connected to the rest of the country, leaving the people who live there with unique needs that can’t easily be met via land travel.

That means the best and most efficient way to serve these regions is on a boat! We want to reach these people with real needs via our very own ship, the M/V Amazing Grace, using it as a platform to share the gospel of God’s grace with them.

Let me explain how we plan to accomplish this, why it’s important, and what you can do to help.

The backstory

In 2013, God began speaking to us about the need for a ship to reach isolated communities on the coast after we witnessed something similar in the island nation of the Philippines. We were some of the first aid workers to arrive on the remote islands of this region after the nation experienced one of the most catastrophic typhoons in history.

A ship was the only way to arrive. It was during this experience that we felt God stirring us to bring the same relief to Mexico with a heart of seeing long-term transformation.

In February 2017, the M/V Amazing Grace arrived at the port of Mazatlan, Mexico—the very first vessel in the YWAM Mazatlan fleet! We put the Amazing Grace in the shipyard to be renovated into a medical ship.

Enjoy this throwback to when the M/V Amazing Grace first arrived to Mazatlan!

Who we are

YWAM Ships Mazatlan exists to bring hope to the most isolated and least reached communities on the islands and coastlands of Mexico and beyond. We believe that God has called us to the “all’s and the every’s”, and we want to use ships as a way to access the far-off and hard-to-reach places with the gospel.

YWAM Ships Mazatlan is the mobile expression of YWAM Mazatlan. Our mission is to be a catalyst for transformation in these communities by addressing people's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Our greatest desire is to see change happen through programs like Homes of Hope, medical outreaches, Bible distribution, and community development projects.

We believe that everyone should have access to clean water, medical treatment, a safe home, and the opportunity to hear the word of God. YWAM Ships Mazatlan serves to equip missionaries, both young and old, with the tools to effectively help people in impoverished situations as well as to preach the gospel cross-culturally.

Illness is universal; access to healthcare is not. That’s why we do ship and land-based medical clinics. Our goal isn’t to create parallel services, but rather to align ourselves with specific goals laid out in Mexico’s national health plan and, through partnership with private and government entities, extend the reach into the isolated and hard-to-access regions.

The heart behind it

All people are created to glorify God. This is one of the simplest and greatest things we can all do. Yet many people along the coastlands of Mexico don’t know how to be reconciled with God, much less how to glorify God. Yet God spoke about this thousands of years ago, showing us that isn’t how it should be:

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice… let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands. [Isaiah 42:10-12 ESV]

This is the time to fulfill what the Holy Spirit spoke about thousands of years ago through Isaiah. The coastlands will declare God’s praise! Darkness may cover large areas, but the light of Jesus cannot be extinguished and shall not be put out.

We will traverse these coasts with shouts of joy, replacing the spirit of heaviness in people’s hearts with the spiritual clothing of praise to our God (Isaiah 61:3). God is good, and we want to use what God has given us so that others may also know the goodness of God in their own lives and communities.

Initiatives and services

Since YWAM Ships Mazatlan is the mobile expression of YWAM Mazatlan, that means we'll take the programs and ministries that we do in the city of Mazatlan out to the areas within reach of the M/V Amazing Grace. We seek to extend help through a few different methods into the islands and coastlands of Mexico and the Pacific Rim.

Read more: 21 Things All Missionaries Should Know How to Do (Outreach Edition)

We’re aiming to provide help primarily in 6 different ways: medical help, clean water, education, homes (through our ministry Homes of Hope), Bibles, and the Gospel.

We are not limited to these types of services—they are simply expressions of God’s love and care for all people we have the opportunity to serve. All of it is simply to help people know the love of Jesus who shows us the way back to our Heavenly Father.

Where we will go

As you scan the western coasts of Mexico, you encounter small towns and villages removed from the hustle and bustle of the nation. These isolated locations along the west coast from Baja California (the north) to Chiapas (the south) are our target zones.

We believe that we are called to the all and the every; distance should not be a factor in bringing transformation. Through the use of a ship, we can close the gap between people and resources such as medicine, clean water, etc., all the while sharing the life-giving gospel of Jesus.

Our main focus is on the coastal and island communities within a day’s sail of major ports like Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, and La Paz to name a few.

How to get involved

There are many ways to get involved with the YWAM Ships Mazatlan outreaches in Mexico. You can help in several different ways. We need marine volunteers, healthcare volunteers, general volunteers, and teams of people who simply come with willing hands.

We also run a special Discipleship Training School called the Engage and Impact DTS. Come join us for 6 months and embark on an adventure like never before of Knowing God and Making God Known. 

In addition, you can make monetary donations to provide for the overall costs incurred for running the ship and planning outreaches, as well as in-kind donations such as diesel fuel, equipment, supplies, etc.

Conclusion

YWAM Ships Mazatlan represents the first medical and training vessel to be located and operated in Mexico. Our hope is that you would catch the vision of YWAM Ships Mazatlan and engage with us to reach the isolated.

We're thrilled to participate in what God is doing in this new season of pioneering YWAM Ships Mazatlan and we would love for you to join us!