Fuente-del-Peregrino
Ligonde, Spain
The Fuente is located on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail in Northern Spain. All of the guests are pilgrims who are given free room and board. The staff at the refugio cook, clean, and spend time listening and sharing with the pilgrims.
(no YHM teams in 2006)

Intermission Hostel
Bergen, Norway
The Intermission is a small and quaint just like the town of Bergen. The staff uses very creative means for sharing the Gospel with their guests, such as learning about culure on Norwegian Night and Thursdays are always Free Waffle Nights.

What is a Youth Hostel?
A youth hostel is a place which offers inexpensive accommodations to young people under the age of 35. It may be an old farm house, castle or school building, and some require that guests be members of the International Youth Hostel Federation. Guests sleep on bunk beds in dormitories of various sizes, and sometimes they are allowed to use the kitchen. Youth hostels are excellent places to meet and converse with young people, for most of the guests are travelers who have taken time off to see the world and are quite eager to share their experiences with other young people. Because of the friendly and open atmosphere of youth hostels, they are excellent sites for sharing the Gospel in a relaxed, non-threatening manner.

What is a Christian Youth Hostel?
The difference between an ordinary hostel and a Christian hostel is above all the whole-heartedness with which everything is done, not because the staff is so much nicer and better, but because everything is based on Jesus Christ and His love for the world. All staff members, from the highest to the lowest, know that they are united with each other through their personal faith in the Lord God as their Father and Jesus as their Saviour. This relationship is the basis of their approach to the guests and also of the way in which the leaders guide the hostel to promote a good atmosphere.

For example, the hostels in Amsterdam, on checking in, each guest receives a gospel tract, which is offered to him/her in their own language by the receptionist. This is an unexpected surprise for the guest, which makes a deep impression on many people and often opens the way for further contact. The Intermission hostel in Bergen, Norway often hosts evening "programs" for its guests, which encourages guests to stay and chat with the staff members and also hear creative gospel presentations. The Fuente-del-Peregrino in Spain often shows the Jesus Film and every evening, hosts dinner for its guests to rest from their travels.

The overall intention is that a Christian hostel should offer more for less money. It ought to be better than other hostels because the name of Christ is connected with it. It should be a "home away from home" where people care about you and take an interest in you as a fellow human being in a world full of turmoil and devoid of love. The love of Christ is the great secret behind and in everything done at a Christian hostel.