The full form of YMCA is “Young Men's Christian Association”. The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) is a worldwide organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by Sir George Williams of London, United Kingdom. At first, the organization provided shelter to youth from rural areas to stay for work in the cities.
Formation of YMCA
The YMCA was originally formed as the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA Full Form) and its purpose was to put Christian principles into practice by developing “healthy body, mind and spirit.” From its inception, it grew rapidly and eventually became a worldwide movement founded on the principles of Messianic Christianity.
Local YMCAs provide projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth programs. This includes providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work.
YMCA Established
The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) was founded by George Williams and 11 friends. Williams was a London draper who was typical of the young men attracted to the cities by the Industrial Revolution. They were concerned about the lack of healthy activities for young men in major cities.
Most of the options available to young men at that time were usually taverns and brothels. Williams' idea evolved from meetings he held for prayer and Bible reading among his fellow workers at a business in the City of London, and on June 6, 1844, he held the first meeting that led to the founding of the YMCA.
By 1845, the YMCA began a popular series of lectures which were held at Exeter Hall, London from 1848, and the lectures began to be published the following year, the series lasting until 1865.
Highlights of YMCA
The YMCA was associated with industrialization and the movement of young people to cities for work. The YMCA “combines street evangelism and religious field distribution with a social ministry. Philanthropists saw them as places of wholesome entertainment that would protect youth from the temptations of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution and that would promote good citizenship.
The YMCA spread outside the United Kingdom (YMCA Full Form) thanks to the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first in a series of world's fairs held in Hyde Park, London. Later that year there were YMCAs in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and the United States.
The idea of creating a truly global movement with an international headquarters was led by Henry Dunant, secretary of the YMCA Geneva, who later founded the International Committee of the Red Cross and won the first Nobel Peace Prize. Dunant successfully convinced the YMCA Paris to organize the first YMCA World Conference.
The conference took place in August 1855, bringing together 99 young delegates from nine countries, held before the Exposition Universelle (1855). They discussed joining a federation to increase cooperation between the individual YMCA societies. This marked the beginning of the World Alliance of YMCAs. The conference adopted the Paris Basis, a shared mission for all current and future national YMCAs. Its motto was taken from the Bible, “That they all may be one.”
Other ecumenical bodies, such as the World YWCA, the World Council of Churches, and the World Student Christian Union, have reflected elements of the Paris Basis in their founding mission statements. In 1865, the Fourth World Conference of the YMCA, held in Germany, reaffirmed the importance of developing the whole person in spirit, mind, and body. The concept of physical work through sports, a new concept for the time, was also recognized as part of this “muscular Christianity.”