About
Grounded in Scripture. Called to equip.
YWAM Carolina Foothills is a ministry of Youth With A Mission in North Carolina focused on equipping people for faithful ministry through Scripture, training, collaboration, and service.
Who We Are
A community of learning, teaching, & service.
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is a global movement of Christians from different denominations serving God across cultures and disciplines. YWAM Carolina Foothills is part of that wider family — a local ministry with a particular focus on advanced Bible training and equipping teachers, missionaries, ministry leaders, and serious students of Scripture.
Our Calling
Equipping the saints for the work of ministry.
Bible education and teacher development form the foundation of this ministry. The central idea is not merely providing information. It is preparing people to understand Scripture, teach it faithfully, and serve the Church and the nations with integrity.
Our work is designed to complement — not compete with — existing YWAM Bible schools, seminaries, church training, and lifelong ministry experience.
Why Carolina Foothills
Rooted in a specific place.
YWAM Carolina Foothills is being established in the foothills region of North Carolina, connected visually and culturally to the Blue Ridge foothills and the recognizable landscape of Pilot Mountain.
The location is intentional: near enough to local churches, regional ministries, and YWAM networks to serve them well, and far enough from the noise of larger cities to give students space for careful study, thoughtful conversation, and practical service.
Our Story
A foundation years in the making.
For many years, we have been developing and teaching advanced Bible courses within the wider YWAM movement. Over time, a conviction grew: that this work of careful Bible teaching and teacher development should form the foundation of a ministry — not a side project, but the ground floor.
Leadership
Called to equip others.
Jonathan Spainhour
BIBLE, THEOLOGY, & BIBLICAL LANGUAGE EDUCATION AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT
Jonathan has served with Youth With A Mission since 2004 and has spent much of that time developing and teaching advanced Bible courses. His focus in Carolina Foothills is on biblical and theological education, teacher development, and building the training foundation of the ministry.
Katrina Spainhour
BIBLE EDUCATION, LANGUAGE TRAINING
Katrina has served with Youth With A Mission since 2006 and works alongside Jonathan in the work of establishing YWAM Carolina Foothills. Her focus is on Bible education, English & Spanish, and TESOL, as well as being full time mom!
Global SBS
Staffing the new Global School of Biblical Studies.
Jonathan and Katrina Spainhour are staffing the new Global SBS for 2027 and 2028 — a School of Biblical Studies built for global reach through YWAM's University of the Nations.
YWAM Relationship
Part of a global movement.
YWAM Carolina Foothills is part of the global Youth With A Mission movement and shares YWAM's commitment to knowing God and making God known. We operate in the spirit and values of that wider movement while carrying a distinct focus on advanced Bible training and ministry equipping.