Young Life

What is Young Life?

You may have heard it mentioned at a local college campus, or within your high school, but many aren’t aware of what exactly it is. I wasn’t aware of it either, and it was offered right on my own college campus, and I now have many friends who are connected into the YL program, and have seen lives changed for the better because of it. It has created a community of like-minded students throughout the country, who are on a mission to spread the love of God, just by being there and being in relationship with the students around them. At the end of the day it always comes back to the simple word: relationships.

Young Life isn’t a program. It is adults who care enough about kids and college students to go reach out to them, on their “turf” and building true friendships. These relationships don’t happen overnight though, they take time, trust, and consistency, so being a young life leader means spending many hours with kids, and meeting where they are, just as they are. They believe that kids’ lives can be dramatically changed when a caring adult steps in alongside of them, sharing in God’s love with them. The kids that they lead will begin to see that their lives really do have a huge purpose, and they are worth more than anything in this world. Their motto is “loving kids regardless of their responses”. They know firsthand how hard it is to love on kids that give you nothing in return, and don’t seem to respond back to you. But just as a seed that you plant takes time and attention to grow, the same could be said for kids, and the transformation is amazing to watch.

YL’s vision is that together, with eyes forward, they are diving deeper into their walk with Jesus while helping young people grow deeper in their faith, while building relationships with more young people all over the world. They want to help introduce young adolescents to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. How do they accomplish this? They accomplish it by praying for young people, going where the kids are, and providing fun, adventurous and life changing experiences. They also work on preparing kids for a life-long relationship with Christ, and a love for His word, as well as having a like-minded adult community surrounding the leaders.

How can you get involved? There are many different option through Young Life, and it isn’t limited to just one age group! You can work with kids or college students, and they also have different chapters for adults and parents, as well as alumni. They also have different ministry opportunities in different areas like high school, international, expeditions, multicultural, Young Lives, and global leaders. Their ministry opportunities are unique, and they keep the options wide open so that you can find just the right one to fit your likes. Even if you don’t have Young Life in your community, they will help you get in touch with someone who is close and can help you to get started on creating it!

There is so, so, SO much within the Young Life realm, and the options are endless, I can’t even begin to write about them, I wouldn’t know where to start! If this interests you at all, I highly encourage you go online and check out their website to look into all the different experiences they have to offer.

Check out their website! https://www.younglife.org/Pages/default.aspx

 

Change tomorrow by sharing today. Find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *