Young Life is all about reaching kids with the gospel — the next kid, the furthest out kid, the kid who would probably never step foot in a church. It’s the heartbeat that has driven our mission for over 85 years.
But none of it would be possible without our volunteer leaders.
Our volunteers are the boots on the ground, sacrificing time with their families to pursue the next kid in the next school in the next city. They pour themselves out daily to earn the right to be heard.
Which raises the question: Who is pouring into them?
The Heartbreak of Sayang
In the Philippines, volunteers commit to leading for 3.5 years. Kaykay, the Young LIfe Philippines country director, noticed a pattern when leaders finished their commitment and decided to leave Young Life.
While some stayed close to the Lord, other leaders seemed to drop their faith and conviction as soon as they left Young Life. Kaykay was a little sad when they stopped volunteering, but she was devastated to see how easily some of them were able to walk away from their own faith.
When Kaykay brought up this situation to her area directors, they had similar stories of leaders who had appeared to be strong in their relationship with Jesus, but then fell away after leaving Young Life.
They kept coming back to one Filipino word: Sayang. It means, “what a shame” or “such a pity,” referring to something that had great potential but was not used, wasted.
This shared experience led to a strong desire to invest more intentionally in volunteer leaders — to strengthen their faith, encourage their growth, and help them stay rooted in Christ both in and out of Young Life. Kaykay and her leaders knew that the faith of their volunteer leaders needed to be fortified.
Out of love for their volunteer leaders, the “Fortify the 45” program was created.
The Battle Cry: Fortify the 45
Rather than focusing solely on reaching more kids, Fortify is designed to disciple the leaders themselves through three key elements over a three-year period:
- Intentional Community: Groups of about 45 volunteer leaders are discipled together so their personal relationships with Jesus can grow deeper and stronger.
- Adult Bible Study: Volunteers are encouraged to join Bible studies as participants — giving them a safe space to ask hard questions and be spiritually fed instead of leading the group.
- Camp for Volunteers: Young Life Philippines hosts a camp made just for volunteers called Leverage.
- Summer 2025: Launched the first Leverage camp with 85 leaders in attendance.
- Summer 2026: Welcomed 70 leaders for a week of rest and incredible experiences.
Meet Junrel
After serving as a volunteer leader for several years, Junrel moved abroad to study. When he returned to the Philippines, he landed a demanding job that left little time for ministry.
Even though he was no longer leading, he was eager to be involved with Young Life in whatever capacity he could. When a local area director couldn’t attend Leverage camp, Junrel stepped in to accompany his young leaders.
He expected to help out, but he didn’t expect to reconnect with his faith in a new way.
At Leverage, Junrel was deeply moved in his relationship with the Lord. Reconnected to this faith in a fresh way, he restructured his busy schedule to become a volunteer leader again and became a full-fledged participant of the Fortify program.
His passion and involvement is transforming his entire Young Life area, causing it to flourish in ways they hadn’t experienced before. The impact of investing in volunteer leaders’ spiritual growth and needs is tangible.
Faith that Outlasts
Although we desire to have strong, faith-led leaders to reach kids with the gospel, the purpose of Fortify the 45 is to help them build a resilient, ever-growing relationship with Jesus.
Whether they volunteer with us for three years or 30, our prayer is that their faith remains unshakeable — fortified for life.
Join What God Is Doing in the Asia Pacific Region
Our volunteer leaders are on the front lines of helping change lives across the Philippines and the broader Asia Pacific (APAC) Region. Want to learn more about how God is moving in APAC or how you can support leaders like Junrel?
