From our friends at Axis We’ve heard it from Young Life leaders and parents: what do I actually say to this young person?  There are few things more fulfilling than spending time with adolescents — the way they bring energy and life, the way they can illuminate the world, the questions they ask. It’s incredible…

We saw a lot of negative headlines during spring break this year. Riots, arrests, violence, public drunkenness, traffic disruptions: college kids were busy. So were the police.  It’s tempting to read those news stories and jump to conclusions. But these young people don’t deserve our condemnation, as Christians.  To be sure, we can and should…

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…