Young Life has been the model for youth ministry for almost the past hundred years. High school and college students alike have flocked to their camps, meetings, and Bible studies. What is it about their model that makes it so effective?
Young Life focuses on forming connections with the students before evangelizing, so it allows them to earn the right to talk about God before just blasting an unsaved kid with the reality of sin. On the YoungLife website, they acknowledge that before anything else, they must have time and patience. The model itself does not focus on just winning over as many people as possible, but rather getting kids plugged into a community until they are ready to learn more. By starting with inviting the kids basically to just hang out, it opens the door for service and conversation that can start to bring them around to the ideas of the gospel. The same function applies to YoungLife camp. It serves as a medium to spend time with kids, not convert or indoctrinate them.
Lastly, YoungLife does a great job reaching every type of kid. The chapters in each geographical area are divided into different types for different age ranges and different unique categories. This ensures that every kid feels at home wherever they go. Their model also enables students who graduate high school to return as leadership, and compound the difference they make.
Overall, Younglife’s impact has only continued to grow in recent years. It is on the cutting edge of ministry and will likely have an impact for even more years to come.