“Just sign up! It will be the best week of your life, I promise!”

My super-cool senior friend had been persuading me to go to Young Life camp in Colorado for months, but I was extremely hesitant. It was during one of the most awkward times of my life, my sophomore year of high school (I’m sure we can all remember what that feels like). I remember not knowing the answers to big questions, and feeling lost- simply going through the motions of life. I remember apprehensively writing my name down on the list of campers, and if we’re being completely honest, mainly just signing up because everyone else was doing it (classic move), having absolutely no idea that it would change my life and who I was forever.

It sounds dramatic, I know, but Young Life changed my life. I went to camp and had the chance to spend a week in the rocky mountains- riding horses, rock climbing, but mainly hearing about Jesus and being loved on by hilarious, incredible people in such big ways. After that I went on to do more work through Young Life- from having the chance to spend a summer serving/cleaning a dining hall to hiking with my best friends in Colorado for a week straight. That summer changed everything, and I have found over the past few years that usually that’s what Young Life does.

The ministry of Young Life is unique because the kids don’t just go to a camp, have a life-changing experience, and then forget all about it when returning back to reality. They focus on bringing the joy and love experienced at camp back home with the campers. Unlike many other camps, the teens are assigned a leader who not only goes to camp with them, but lives in their town. My Young Life leader had the chance to really pour into our lives and lead bible studies, hang out with us, and be our friend for many years and still to this day. Young Life leaders have a huge impact because they are present in kid’s lives, a reminder of how much they are loved, at a time when they truly need it most. I saw the impact that my Young Life leader had and how she changed not only my life, but so many of my friends lives as well.

Not only is Young Life every Monday night, but also every local branch of Young Life gives scheduled bible studies once a week. One of the coolest parts about Young Life is seeing the impact it has on schools as a whole, and how much love is shared through Monday nights and weekly bible studies. Surprise: Young Life is even BIGGER than that. There are 29 Young Life camps in the U.S. like the one I went to, in gorgeous places from California all the way to New York. All of the camps do outreach and ministry work all summer long, spreading the love of Jesus and continuing it with leaders locally provided back at home. 

What’s so special about Young Life is the way it is delivered. Dance parties in big bubbles, Christmas tree pageant contests, and goofy skits turn into intentional friendships filled with the word of Jesus. The gospel is presented in an exciting different way and not forced upon people, but reaches them when they’re ready. Young Life is specifically geared towards high school kids, but also provides College Life (for kids in college obviously), Young Lives (for young women who have had children), Wyldlife (for junior high kids), Capernaum (for special needs kids), and Young Life Missions where people do missionary work all around the globe through Young Life. Because of the mass amount of camps and the way they run, Young Life kids in both high school and college have the chance to serve people as volunteers and further their faith through something called work crew (a.k.a. summer staff for college-aged peeps). At work crew, high school kids involved in Young Life can be assigned to a camp and given the opportunity to work long hours doing various jobs, such as serving in the dining hall, being a lifeguard, etc., in the pursuit of loving people the way Jesus does. 

Another once in a lifetime opportunity that Young Life offers is something called Wilderness, where teens can learn to blindly follow Jesus and spend a week hiking and backpacking in the Wilderness, which means no showers, sleeping on the forest floor, and seeing the Colorado mountains in a way only 8% of the human population is able to (Google how many people go backpacking in the world).

All of that being said, I, along with thousands of other kids, young adults, and adults, am extremely grateful for Young Life and the incredible opportunities it brings to change lives in big ways. Young Life has mobilized 80,000 leaders and 8,000 ministry locations since 1941 and is continually growing. Young Life is in the business of seeking out kids and meeting them where they’re at, but also making things fun, titling events as the best week/moment/time of your life (which truly are). This unique ministry makes an impact because it doesn’t judge who teens are or what their story is, it chooses to love them and pursue them regardless, giving people (both young and old) the opportunity to experience life in BIG ways and love people even bigger.