Let's face it, you've heard of YoungLife before, and you've definitely heard about YoungLife if you live in the South. You hate it. You've seen every teenage girl post that same caption, "Come join us at YoungLife club at 7:27". You've seen the videos they post at club, and you're just a bit confused as to what actually happens at a YoungLife club. It seems like they go to socialize with friends rather than learn about Jesus, as they claim. The people who go to YoungLife club every Monday night are the same people who party on the weekends. You and your friends call it a "cult", and would never step foot in there because it's YoungLife - who needs that.

You hate YoungLife because kids who don't go to Church on Sunday go to YoungLife.

Read that again. That's the real reason. YoungLife is full of the kids who party on the weekend and cussed out their teacher the day before. It's full of the kids who have never stepped foot in Church, much less heard the Bible story of Adam and Eve. It's full of the people you talk bad about behind their backs because WE ALL KNOW what they did with who a week ago, I mean why do they go to YoungLife? Crazy Right?

NO. NOT CRAZY AT ALL.

Jesus loved these people so hard, he reached out to the people that we shun. Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Christ wants us to love the people who find their value in worldly things. He wants us to love the girl who is struggling with her alcohol addiction and the boy who looks at porn every night, but nobody knows. These are the people I want to love on as well, not just your every Sunday church-attendee.

For a while, I too, hated YoungLife. I hated the reputation it got. I hated inviting my Christian friends to club and having them criticize me because I was hanging out with the party-goers every Monday night. I hated hearing them tell me that I was going to have social-hour with friends and that I wasn't there for the message at the end. I hated feeling like I was doing something wrong when I went to YoungLife club. I hated the smart comments I always received when people found out I was a "YoungLife girl". I hated that my Church friends threw me under the bus for hanging out with the people that Jesus told us to love. I didn't understand how they felt like criticizing people for attending YoungLife and hearing a message about Jesus (that they would otherwise never hear because these people would NEVER step foot into a Church) was OK.

I learned to block it out. I acted like it didn't bother me at all and I laughed it off. Sometimes, I even cracked jokes about YoungLife myself because that's what they wanted to hear.

But, here I am, pouring out my heart to you on a Monday night after the first YoungLife club of my senior year, and I'm deciding to take a stand.

I'm Alyssa, and this is why I love YoungLife.

I remember my sophomore year I was sitting in the student section of my High School and it was halftime. I was talking with my friends and I saw this older man in the student section, I mean I knew he had to be at least 25 and no longer in High School. I didn't think anything else of it, until a few minutes later when he came up and talked to me. He told me that his name was BJ Riley and that he was the YoungLife leader for my High School. Now, I had heard about YoungLife, but I didn't know much about it at all, and I definitely thought it was creepy that an older guy I didn't even know was inviting me to come to some YoungLife Club. From then on, I saw BJ at everything and every time I saw him, he invited me to YoungLife.

It took a lot of convincing on BJ's part, I mean A LOT. It took a couple of consecutive months of him asking before I ever attended my first YoungLife club, but little did I know that YoungLife would change my life forever.

I attended my first YoungLife club at a very dark time in my life. My dad had been diagnosed with cancer just a few months before, I was transitioning into the main campus of my High School and trying to deal with drama in my friend group, and I was having a difficult time growing in my Church. I felt alone and I was searching for something, anything. So, I walked into Kickin' Kids for my first ever club.

Sure enough, BJ was the first one to meet me at the door, with a big smile, hug, and a look that said, "I knew you'd come." I can still remember the game they played that night, they tricked people into thinking they were stepping on goldfish, but it was just orange slices. I remember seeing the people I go to school with get lost in the moment and forget what was going on in the world, at school, and at home. I remember the happiness and joy I felt. I remember the leaders coming up to me and telling me to come back next week and asking for my number.

So, I kept going.

One leader in particular who really stuck out to me was Grace Hollingsworth. I remember the first time I saw her, I thought "Wow, she's crazy." Then I got to know Grace, and I learned to love her craziness. She showed me love from day one like nobody ever has. She invested in me and made it her mission to get me to keep coming back every week. She checked up on me and asked me how I was doing daily. She made me feel wanted and accepted. She made me feel like I wasn't alone.

So, yes, I LOVE YoungLife. No seriously - I really do.

YoungLife came into my life at a time when I needed it most. It allowed me to escape reality and it kickstarted my faith. Without it, I don't know if I'd be as far along in my faith as I am today. Now, that crazy YoungLife leader Grace is genuinely one of my best friends. We've done Bible studies together, we've laughed together, and we've cried together many times. I text her daily and love getting advice from her. I would do anything for my YoungLife leader, but I could never repay her for the impact that she has had on my life.

Yes, I go to YoungLife at 7:27 every Monday night. I mingle with the kids you shame because I was one of those kids. I was hurting and lost and I found YoungLife. Or I guess you could say it found me.

It's honestly one of my favorite things to see the kids who party on the weekend walk into club because in my eyes, they are learning about Jesus (even if they don't know it sometimes)...what could be better. Maybe they did come just to hangout with their friends, but who are you to judge them for that. It's a process, but it's God's process. You do the loving, let him do the hard stuff. Another one of my favorite things is seeing the kids who talk bad about YoungLife walk through the club doors because usually, they end up loving it. I've watched people I went to High School with call it a "cult" every day, never attend a single club, but become a YoungLife leader in college. Like I said, you do the loving, let God do the work.

See you Monday at 7:27.