The Young Life Blog
Culture is changing. The next generation is searching for friends, hope, truth — and much more. We live at this intersection, offering insight, encouragement, and practical ways to show up in the lives of students.
Young Life ONE is racing against statistics one relationship at a time. It all started in Wyoming when Annie, a Young Life ONE leader, approached the juvenile center with a seemingly simple hope: bringing camp to incarcerated kids. Even with an established pattern of club, bible study, and lunches, she felt there was more to…
Doomscrolling. You’ve probably fallen down the rabbit hole, beginning with a quick glance at a video. What could be more innocent, right? But your quick glance at what to do — say in your state this summer — turned into why you should be worrying about drinking water. That’s just an example. I don’t know…
This month Newt Crenshaw celebrates a decade serving as Young Life’s sixth president. Here he and his wife, Susan, share what they’ve learned over that time. (Interview by Jeff Chesemore). Is there a word you’d use to describe the last decade? Does 2016 seem like “just yesterday” or maybe more like 20 years ago?!? Newt:…
A week at Young Life camp is one of the best weeks of a kid’s life — not just because of the zip lines, theme nights, or exciting games, but because camp is intentionally designed for connection. Kids feel seen. They laugh hard. They unplug. They slow down enough to build real relationships with leaders…
How Young Life staff are taking The Good Way and you can, too. “We’ve grown old, but our Father is younger than we. He has the eternal appetite of infancy,” wrote GK Chesterton, English apologist from the early 1900s in his book Orthodoxy. “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter…
It started with a hand-drawn map and a prayer. In 2019, Tim, a Young Life leader in central Mexico, spread out what he called a “dream map” — a geographic sketch marking nearby cities and towns where thousands of teenagers lived but had no one intentionally pursuing them with the love of Jesus. Dream maps…
A coach’s belief brings wins to the court, the community, and the Kingdom. “You don’t go to Riverside if you want to win.” This was a common belief among many residents of Kanawha County, West Virginia, when it came to high school sports. Jacob Billanti knew all too well of the school’s reputation when he…
Outwardly, Inwardly, and Communally One of the hallmarks of Young Life, along with humor, incarnational witness, intentionality and others, is adventure. In fact, if you look back almost nine decades and reflect on the stories of Jim Rayburn and the early pioneers of the mission, you’ll find adventure woven into our very fabric. From the…
The Young Life Bible App Makes It Easy A way to connect without pressure or perfect answers. A quiet, nagging longing: How do I talk about faith? Whether you’re a parent, leader, grandparent, aunt, or neighbor, talking about faith with an adolescent does not always feel like a simple proposition. Add to this your own…
How Jim Rayburn’s Adventures with Kids Inform Ours Today Rattlesnake and armadillo hunts. Jeep rides and gravel slides. These adventures of the 1940s Young Life teen were a little different from today’s. But adolescents, be they members of the greatest generation or today’s Gen Alpha, have always been full of energy, exuberance, and a hunger…
Just a Few of the Ways Businesses Fuel Camp You might not always think of businesses being such an important part of Young Life camp, but over the years, we’ve seen businesses and professionals come together to get creative with how they’re using their professional backgrounds to make these camps happen. The intersection of faith…
He achieved everything. It wasn’t enough. In our achievement culture, we’re all faced with a choice that beats in the background of our lives: what matters? Milt Abel II left home and achieved all he set out to do. The legendary pastry chef moved from some of the top restaurants in the U.S., to the…
What if your next trip accomplished more than just taking you somewhere beautiful? What if it brought you closer to God, deeper into community with others who love Young Life, and left you with memories you’ll carry for the rest of your life? That’s the heartbeat of Young Life Expeditions trips. Expeditions trips create service…