Young Life
Young Life, which began in 1941, is a non-profit non-denominational organization founded by Jim Rayburn. Young Life's focus is on teenagers. Kids are encouraged to explore the purpose of life and the Christian faith through weekly clubs, healthy relationships with adults and peers, as well as a variety of camping experiences.
"Club" typically meets once a week and has been described as an experience in "controlled chaos." Leaders combine songs, humor and group interaction to create an hour of energetic fun where kids can express that teenage tendency to push the limits.
"Young Life" is the name of our organization, and it's also what we call our outreach to high school-aged kids. We have named our middle school ministry "WyldLife" to differentiate between the two age groups and their varying developmental stages and maturity levels. Both ministries stay true to the time-tested practices we've been using for more than 60 years: going where kids are, loving them unconditionally, earning the right to be heard and communicating God's love in terms kids can understand.
WyldLife is Young Life’s ministry to middle school kids. Because middle school kids are at a different developmental stage than high schoolers and have different needs, we make a subtle distinction from our high school ministry.
Young Life is active in all 50 states and more than 45 countries, reaching an estimated 1 million teenagers annually. More than 90,000 kids spend a weekend during the school year or a week during the summer at one of Young Life's 24 camping properties in the United States and Canada.
Young Life's camping history spans more than 50 years and reaches coast to coast. Young Life has 23 camping properties across the United States and Canada. Last year Young Life leaders brought more than 75,000 kids for a weekend during the school year or a week during the summer to experience "the best week of their lives" at a Young Life camp.
Depending on which camp you go to, you may ride horses, go rock climbing and rappelling, take a dip in a hot springs pool, learn to water ski or parasail or challenge yourself on a ropes course or a thrilling zip line. It is camping to the extreme!
Young Life Australia
After being officially started in 1941 by a Texas youth pastor named Jim Rayburn, in 1972 Arthur Ongley introduced Young Life to Australia. While serving in the Australian Navy, he happened upon a book about Young Life in a second-hand book shop. After reading it and seeing merit in the ideas behind it, he aimed to offer a Christian model that was credible in its foundations and principles while acknowledging that young people have many questions regarding meaning and purpose to life. In keeping with the priciple of meeting young people in their own environment, this meant going into schools and connecting with young people outside of what are sometimes seen as normal outreach methodologies.
Since its inception, Young Life in Australia as seen many ups and downs. From times where there were groups operating in cities, regional centres and number of small towns (such as Bowral) Young Life then faced a period of difficulty where many 'old hands' moved on. For sometime this continued until a time of rebuiling under the current CEO, Glyn Henman, with greater organisation and focussed direction, Young Life in Australia is now found in a number of locations around Sydney and Melbourne, as well as Armidale, Canberra, Tamworth, and a pinoneering group in Belarus. In addition to these areas, there is a Ski Mission arm that utilises water sports like Wakeboarding as means for outreach and building friendships by travelling to each area and holding event days. It also takes part in one of the two camps that takes place each year.
Young Life's Statement of Faith
Preamble All those who participate in the ongoing work and witness of the Campaign shall be in sympathy with all its central purpose of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. In order to qualify for office, members of the Board of Directors and members of the regular and colunteer staff and professors at the Young Life institute shall subscribe to the following articles of faith:
Article I
- Position of the Scriptures - The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being given by divine inspiration, are the Word of God, the final and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
Article II
- Doctrine of the Trinity - In the Scriptures, God reveals Himself as the living and true God, Creator of all things. Perfect in love and righteous in all His ways, this one God exists eternally as a Trinity of Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Article III
- Doctrine Concerning Man - God made man in His image that he might have fellowship with Him. Being estranged from God by his disobedience, sinful man is incapable of a right relationship to God apart from His divine grace.
Aticle IV
- Doctrine in Christology - The only Mediator between God and man is Jesus Christ our Lord, God's eternal Son, who as a man fully shared and fulfilled out humanity in a life of perfect obidience.
Article V
- Doctrine of the Work of Christ - By His death in our place, Jesus revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having risen bodily from he dead and ascended into heaven, He rules as Lord over all and intercedes for us as our great High Priest.
Article VI
- Doctrine of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit, through the proclimation of the Gospel, renews our hearts, persuading us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit we are led to trust in divine mercy, whereby we are forgiven all our sins, justified by faith through the merit of Christ our Savior, adopted into God's family as His children and enabled so to live in the world that men may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
Article VII
- Doctrine of the Church - God, by His Word and Spirit, calls sinful men into the fellowship of Christ's body. Thus, He creates the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, united in the bonds of love, endowed with the gifts of the Spirit and summoned by Christ to preach the Gospel and to administer the sacraments, to relieve human need and and to stirve for social justice.
Article VIII
- Doctrine of Eschatology - God's redemptive purpose will be consummated by the return of Christ to raise the dead, judge all men and establish His glorious kingdom. Those who are apart from Christ shall be eternally separated from God's presence, but the righteous shall live and reign with Him forever.
(this information is taken form the Young Life Leader Training Manual as of 2005)
Young Life's Vision and Mission
Vision Every adolescent will have the opportunity to meet Jesus Christ and follow Him.
Mission Introducing adolescents to Jesus Christ and helping them grow in their faith. This is accomplished by...
- Praying for young people.
- Going where kids are.
- Building personal relationships with them.
- Winning the right to be heard.
- Providing experiences that are fun, adventurous, and life-changing.
- Sharing our (the leaders and staff) lives and the Good News of Jesus Christ with adolescents.
- Inviting them to personally respond to this Good News.
- Loving them regardless of their response.
- Nurturing kids so that they might grow in their love for Christ and the knowledge of God's Word and become people who can share their faith with others.
- Helping young people develop the skills, assets, and attitudes to reach their full God-given potential.
- Encouraging kids to live connected to the Body of Christ by being an active member of a local congregation.
- Working with a team of like-minded individuals - volunteer leaders, commitee members, donors, and staff.